Older homes off Charleston and Rainbow
A good number of the homes we move out of near Charleston and Rainbow were built as two story layouts in the seventies and eighties, and the staircases in them tend to run narrower than anything built today. The turn at the landing is often tighter too, which changes how we angle a couch or a large dresser on the way down.
Ceilings drop lower right where the stairs turn in a lot of these houses, so before anyone lifts a piece we check that height against the tallest item on the job. A dresser that clears the hallway easily can still catch that drop in ceiling.
Newer two story homes in the outer valley
Subdivisions built further out toward Mountain's Edge or the streets past the 215 tend to have taller ceilings throughout, but the staircases still turn hard at a landing halfway up, and the extra height does not make that turn any wider. We treat these jobs with the same care as an older home.
Carpeted stairs in these newer builds can also feel softer underfoot than an older tiled staircase, which changes footing when a crew is carrying something heavy. We slow the pace on carpet rather than moving at the same speed on every staircase we meet.
What we measure before we lift anything
Before a couch or a large piece of furniture goes near the stairs, we measure the door width at both ends, the width of the staircase, and the ceiling height at the tightest turn. Desmond keeps it simple with the crew: if you have to guess on a staircase, measure instead, because a guess usually ends with a scraped wall.
We also check how solid the banister is before anyone leans on it for balance. An older banister that looks steady standing still can flex under the weight of someone bracing a heavy load,.
Protecting the stairs and the walls around them
Runners go down on the stairs and padding goes on the corners where a couch or mattress is most likely to brush against drywall on the turn. This matters just as much on the home you are leaving as the one you are moving into, since a scuffed wall at the old place can turn into an awkward conversation with a landlord.
On homes with fresh paint or new flooring, we ask about it before the day and add extra padding at that one tight turn.
When a piece comes apart instead of going down whole
Bed frames, large dressers, and sectional couches often come apart faster than they clear a tight staircase in one piece, and taking them apart is usually the safer call once we have measured the turn and know it is close. A frame that comes apart in ten minutes beats an hour spent working an awkward angle at the landing.
We tell you ahead of time if we think a piece will need to come apart, so there are no surprises once the crew is ready to go.