Survey and scope
Volume, access and handling established in person or by video, then written down. You see what you are buying before you agree to it.
House removals
A whole household, under one scope
A house move is not a price, it is a scope: what is included, who does it, how the property is protected and what happens if the dates move. Everything on this page is what that scope contains.
Protection
Floor runners and door-frame protection at both ends, laid before anything is carried, and lifted at the end rather than left.
Wrapping
Blanket wrap on upholstery and case furniture, corner protection on anything with an edge, crates for mirrors and glass.
Dismantling
Beds, wardrobes, tables and anything that will not pass a door assembled — taken apart, kept together, rebuilt at the far end.
Wardrobe cartons
Clothes travel hanging rather than folded into boxes and ironed again at the other end.
Inventory
Written as the load goes on, checked with you at delivery before the crew leaves.
What the survey settles
The honest volume first, which means the loft, the garage, the shed and the garden as well as the rooms. Those four account for nearly every underestimate we see in this county.
Then access at both ends: where a vehicle can stand and for how long, how far the carry is, the width and turns of the staircase, and whether anything large arrived before a wall went up. Then what comes apart, and what will not survive coming apart again.
Kent houses, and what they ask for
Timber-framed and Wealden. Uneven floors, low beams and staircases that decide what gets dismantled. Slower, entirely ordinary, and quoted for the house rather than for a modern average.
Ragstone and village cottages. Thick walls, small openings, and frequently a gate rather than a drive — which means a longer carry and a vehicle further away than anyone would like.
Medway and market-town terraces. Narrow halls and a parking question that decides the morning. Settled at survey, not on the day.
Newer estates. Straightforward to load, with their own risks: plasterboard marks, stair spindles, and unfinished estate roads in wet weather. Protection goes down exactly as it does in an old house.
When the chain fails
Long chains are the normal shape of a Kent sale and they do give way. The household goes into storage, inventoried as it loads, and comes out when you have keys — arranged in advance it is a line on the quote rather than a scramble.
If your date is fixed by a school place, see family moves. If the destination is outside the county, long distance explains how those are planned.
Worth knowing
House moves, the practical questions
What does the survey cover?
Volume including the loft, garage, shed and garden; access and parking at both ends; stairs, turns and doorways; what comes apart; and anything needing special handling. The output is a scope you can read rather than a figure you have to trust.
Do you dismantle and reassemble?
Beds, wardrobes, tables and anything that will not pass a doorway assembled — included rather than extra, and rebuilt at the far end. Flat-pack that has already been dismantled once is the exception, and we say so before touching it.
How do you protect the property?
Floor runners and door-frame protection at both ends before anything moves. Blanket wrap on upholstery and case furniture, corner protection, crates for mirrors and glass, wardrobe cartons for hanging clothes.
Our house is old and the floors are not level.
Ordinary across the Weald and the Downs villages. Uneven floors and narrow turns mean more dismantling and a slower carry, which is a scoping question rather than a problem — as long as the quote was written for the house you actually have.
When should we book?
As soon as a date is realistic. End-of-month and Friday completions fill first across the whole trade. Short notice is still worth asking about; cancellations happen more often than people assume.
Can you work weekends?
Saturdays regularly, Sundays occasionally and with more notice. Some leases restrict weekend moves, so check the building before fixing on one.
Ask for the scope, not just the price.
Any firm can produce a figure. What is worth comparing is what the figure covers, and what would change it.