House removals
Two houses with the same number of bedrooms can be completely different jobs in this city, depending on which side of the Trent they sit and how the staircase turns. So we come and look before we put a figure on anything.
Nottingham's housing stock splits sharply. North and east of the centre it is overwhelmingly Victorian terracing, built on a hill, with narrow halls and staircases designed for people who owned considerably less furniture than you do. South of the Trent and west towards Wollaton it opens out into interwar semis with drives and side gates.
Those two are not the same job, and no amount of describing your house over the phone tells us which problems yours has. The survey does. It takes about an hour, it costs nothing, and it produces the access notes the crew works from on the day.
Sherwood, Mapperley, Carrington, Forest Fields
Long hall, front room, back room, a return extended into a kitchen at some point since the war. The staircase turns twice and the gradient outside means the van is rarely level with the door. Most of our terrace work is a shuttle from the house to wherever we could legally stop.
West Bridgford, Wollaton, Arnold, Carlton
The easiest houses in the city to move. A drive, a side gate, a hall you can turn in, and usually a garage that turns out to hold far more than anyone admitted at survey. Loading is quick; the loft is the variable.
The Park, Mapperley Park, parts of Sherwood
Generous rooms and, consequently, large furniture. Three storeys is common, cellars are common, and in The Park the estate controls vehicle access. These want a bigger crew and a longer survey than their bedroom count suggests.
Clifton, Bilborough, the edges
Modern layouts, sensible doorways and room to park. The complication is usually at the other end rather than this one — most of these moves are somebody upsizing into an older property with none of those advantages.
We will not print a figure here, because a figure without a survey is a guess that gets revised later — which is precisely what people hate about moving. What we can do is be open about what moves it.
Volume, measured properly rather than inferred from a bedroom count; lofts, cellars and garages are where estimates go wrong in this city. Access at both ends, which swings hardest — a terrace with a shuttle and a permit is a different day from a semi with a drive. Distance. And how much packing you want us to take on.
If you are comparing quotes, compare what each includes rather than the number at the bottom. A cheaper quote that assumes easy parking, excludes materials and sends one fewer person is not cheaper — it is a different job.
Much of inner Nottingham is controlled parking and the terraced streets fill before eight in the morning. Where a street genuinely needs it we apply to the City Council for a bay suspension and put cones out ahead of the move. Where a sensible loading point will do, we use that and accept a short carry.
Two local things worth knowing. Tram routes restrict where a vehicle can pull in along parts of the city, Beeston and Clifton. And if you are moving in West Bridgford on a Saturday, we check the fixture list first — a home game turns the bridges and the A60 into a car park.
A lot of older Nottingham houses have a cellar cut into the sandstone. Steep steps, low head height, a tight turn at the bottom. If something substantial has to come up out of one, say so at survey — it changes the crew and occasionally it changes whether the piece comes out at all.
A city-centre or Lace Market flat brings lifts, concierges and managing agents, all covered on the flat removals page. A single room is usually man and van. And if the move is coming up from the capital, the London to Nottingham route is the one we run most often.
Good to know
Mostly the terraces and the hills. A great deal of the city north of the centre is long Victorian terracing on a gradient, with a narrow hall, a half-landing that turns twice, and on-street parking that has gone by eight in the morning. South of the Trent it changes completely — interwar semis with drives, which are some of the easiest loading anywhere.
Volume first, measured properly rather than guessed from a bedroom count — lofts and garages catch people out. Then access at both ends: stairs, lifts, how close the van gets, whether a permit is needed. Then distance, then packing. A survey sees all four, which is why the written quote after a survey is the only figure worth having.
Yes. Beds, wardrobes, dining tables, desks and flat-pack units come apart, with the fixings bagged and taped to the piece they came off, and go back together at the other end. Fitted furniture with its own manufacturer fitters is the exception — better they take it down.
It is the standard Nottingham problem and it is exactly why we measure the turn at survey. Most upholstery makes it with the feet off. Where something genuinely will not, you hear it before the day, with options, rather than discovering it with a sofa jammed on a half-landing.
A lot of older Nottingham houses have one cut into the sandstone — steep steps, a low head height and a tight turn at the bottom. If anything substantial has to come out of one, flag it at survey. It changes the crew size and occasionally it changes whether the piece comes out at all.
Often the sensible answer for a larger house — a packing visit first, then loading and delivery as separate jobs. It also helps when the two ends have different key-release times, which in a chain they usually do.
A survey, then a written quote with the access notes in it. That is the whole process before anything is packed.