Checklist

Someone calls us and says “I have a 1 bedroom apartment, there isn’t all that much stuff so it will take 2 hours tops!”

• Our movers are great people who work hard and we promise them 4+ hours of work a day or we give them the day off.
• Garbage bags cannot be stacked in an elevator or on moving dollies and wheeled long distances to the truck. This takes significantly longer to transport.
• Used boxes crumble under the weight of other boxes AND, if they are 10 different sizes they will stack poorly and need to be transported back and forth in more trips taking more time

• She failed to mention that her building does not have an elevator, it has a 3 story staircase from her apartment that only comes down the building on the opposite side of where we were able to park the truck.

This job took 5 hours.

A non profit calls and says “we just have 2 storage lockers and all they have is boxes. It will take 2 hours maximum it will be easy!”

• The storage lockers were 1000 cubic feet (X2 – 2000 cubic feet)
• The boxes were in fact, large plastic bins filled with hygienic products such as soap and and conditioner. Imagine carrying the equivalent of 2-300 medium size fishtanks weighing 30-90 pounds. The content of your cargo is important even if its “just boxes”
• ~15000 pounds of cargo was moved from one storage facility to another locally.

This job took 8 hours.

• Have you been physically threatened by a teenager in a U-Haul because he decided your move was taking too long and he thinks he has a right to your metered parking? We have, and we are used to it.
• Do you have a lock for the back of your truck when it is un-attended? A cheap lock won’t work, people break them with crowbars in an instant.
• Do you know your rights if building management or someone claiming to be an authority figure asks you questions about your move or threatens to have you towed? We do, and we will forward their contact information to you should you wish to speak to them. We do not share your information with anyone regarding where you live, where you are moving, or who you are. We are also friends with large tow truck operators, they like us a lot more than your building concierge and it’s a small world.

• Typically moving from 1 apartment to another apartment (same problems on both ends)
• Shortages of parking at each location (especially in Vancouver) requiring a long carry to the truck boosting the cost significantly if not planned with the city in advance.
• Predatory building management practices such as 2 hour elevator bookings that have a 2-300$ fine attached to time overages on top of a 2-300$ move in or out fee. We will generally send more guys to do these jobs faster.
• Low ceilings not designed to accommodate full size couches or ikea furniture in 1 piece. They may have fit out of your first apartment building… but they might cause delay and cost you a fine at your next building if not fully dismantled.

• Often times Vancouver homes are heritage buildings or again located in congested areas with no parking. This is especially true of Kitsilano.
• Not all houses are the same. A 3 bedroom home in surrey could be 4000 square feet and a 4 bedroom house in fairview (Vancouver) could be 2700 square feet…. The Vancouver house will almost still always cost more to move because its never as simple as rural surrey and general quotes mean nothing. Make sure someone has a look in person at your home if it is greater than 2 bedrooms!