Moving can be exciting and stressful all at once. With so many things to do and plan, there’s no doubt that it can become overwhelming quickly. One way to minimize stress and make the process easier is to hire professional movers. But, how many movers do you need to hire? There are several variables that you should consider before making a final decision. We’ve compiled the most important factors below to help you make an informed choice.
The first thing to determine is who will pack your belongings? Will you take care of this part or have the professionals do it? Keep in mind that most moving companies expect that the client will pack items and disassemble furniture before they arrive. If you plan to add this to their services, you’ll need to discuss these needs upfront. Rather than the movers arriving and simply loading the truck, they will now need to spend more time packing and unpacking.
Consider that a small apartment can take up to 4 hours to pack and unpack, so this adds a considerable amount of time. To speed the moving process up, you may want to hire one or two additional movers in this case.
How far from the house to the truck?
In a perfect world, the truck will be backed right up to the door and the movers won’t have to walk far. Yet, this is rarely the case. If your home sits back off the street or has flights of stairs then you may want to hire more movers. Remember that the movers will require breaks, so these added obstacles will add more time to the process.
This is especially true if you own large furniture that’s heavy. Even though they are professionals, the movers will get tired quickly when walking such items a long distance. Hiring additional movers will not only speed up your move, but it will also reduce the risk of your furniture becoming damaged.
If your move is long-distance, the movers who load your truck will not be the same ones who unload it. If money is a factor, consider unloading the truck by yourself. While it may not be an ideal situation, it can save you a great deal of money. Not to mention, loading the truck is the hard part as it takes experience to know how to make everything fit correctly!
The load time for professional movers depends on what types of items you own. Do you have mostly items that are square or boxes, or do you have a mix of many shapes? Unloading the truck is much easier than loading, so if you’re up for the work, you can save yourself money by requiring half the movers.
If you have movers unload the truck, take into consideration how far the new house is from the truck and what other obstacles they must deal with.
Most moving companies pay their employees hourly, rather than a flat-rate fee. So, in general, the more movers you hire, the higher the cost you will pay. To put this simply, here’s an example:
A three-bedroom home takes 10 hours for 4 movers to load and unload the truck. This equates to 40 hours of work. The same home will take 2 movers about 25 hours to load and unload, so this is 50 hours of work you’ll have to pay for.
The best idea is to evaluate your entire situation and come up with a plan that works for you, but just remember that hiring more movers may save money.
The following outline doesn’t fit for every situation, but it can give you an idea how many movers you need.
Size of Home | Number of Movers | Hours Required |
---|---|---|
Small Apartment | 2 | 4 |
1 or 2 Bedrooms | 2 | 5 |
2 or 3 Bedrooms (Moderate) | 3 | 6 |
3 or 4 Bedrooms (Large) | 3 | 8 |
4+ Bedrooms (Large Home) | 5 | 8 - 10 |
As you can see, there are many factors that need to be considered when it comes to hiring movers. If you are looking for movers in Canada, check out Top Move and start getting quotes from reputable companies today!
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