Two kinds of moves that need a different plan
A senior leaving a family home and a student leaving a residence room have little in common, except that neither move looks like a standard household move. The first is usually a large home going into a small suite, with decisions to make about every room and a residence that has its own rules. The second is a small load on a tight date, often with no car, no tools and a building that allows the elevator for one hour. Both are billed like any local move — by the hour, at the same rates, with our own crew — but they are planned differently, and that planning is what this page is about.
Moving into a retirement residence or assisted living
Most private seniors’ residences (RPA) and assisted living buildings in Greater Montreal manage move-ins closely: a set day, an elevator reserved for an hour or two, a specific door for loading, and sometimes a rule that corridors are protected. Once you know the move-in date, we contact the residence’s move-in coordinator, confirm the elevator window and the entrance, and size the crew so the move fits inside that window. If the residence needs a certificate of insurance, we send it directly.
On the day, we set up the rooms that matter first: the bed assembled and made up, the favourite chair where it can be reached, the lamps plugged in, clothes hung in the closet. A new resident should be able to sleep in the new room the same evening, even if a few boxes are still waiting.
Downsizing from a family home
Going from a house or a large apartment to a suite of one or two rooms means most of the furniture cannot come. The hardest part of the move is that decision, and it is better made before moving day than in the hallway of the residence.
- Start with the floor plan. We ask for the plan of the new unit, or we measure it. Pieces that fit are marked, so the crew loads only what has a place.
- Decide what goes where. Furniture for children or grandchildren can be delivered to their addresses in the same trip. Pieces for charity go to the drop-off. What the family is not ready to decide on can go to storage for a few months.
- Pack early, or let us pack. Packing a home of forty years takes longer than anyone expects. Our crews can pack the whole home, or only the kitchen and the fragile pieces, the day before — see packing services.
- Keep the move in one day where possible. Staying overnight in a half-empty house is hard. When the volume allows it, we move the suite first and clear the rest of the house afterward.
Working with the family
Senior moves are often organized by a son or daughter who does not live nearby. We send the written estimate and the schedule to whoever is organizing, agree in advance who decides on the day, and the crew chief calls that person when the job starts and when it ends. If the person moving prefers a slower pace, more breaks or the same two movers from start to finish, tell us when you book and we plan for it.
Student moves
Student moves are small but fussy. Residences at McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal, UQAM and the CEGEPs set move-in and move-out days, and apartment leases in Montreal mostly turn over on July 1. The load is typically a bed, a desk, a dresser, a bike and some boxes — often less than an hour of loading, but with a narrow window to do it in.
- Book the date early for the last week of August, the first week of September and the days around July 1. Mid-month and weekday dates are easier to get on short notice.
- Share the crew with roommates. Two or three moves from the same building or to the same area can run back to back with one crew and one truck, billed as one job.
- Flat-pack furniture comes apart and goes back together with the tools we bring. Bed frames, desks and shelving are included in the hourly rate.
- Between leases, keep your things in our storage over the summer and have them delivered to the new address when you are back.
If the move is small enough that you have a car or a rented van, our moving helpers can do the carrying and loading only, which is usually the cheapest option. Moving to another city for school — Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto — is a long-distance move priced as a fixed amount.
Prices
These moves are billed like any local move: $120 per hour for two movers and a 22 ft truck, $160 per hour for three, with a minimum of 2 hours of work plus 1 hour of travel time on the island of Montreal, in Laval and on the South Shore. There is no stair fee, no weekend premium and no surcharge for a residence with strict elevator rules. Boxes and packing materials are billed per item, only if you order them.
