Guide
Piano Movers in Ottawa
Movers' own websites read 14 October 2026. Last reviewed October 2026.
13 of the 20 Ottawa moving companies in this directory say on their own websites that they move pianos, and 7 of them name grand pianos. The shape and the stairs decide the job more than the weight does, so tell the mover the piano type, the steps at both addresses and where the truck can park.
On this page
What changes when the thing being moved is a piano
Start with the weight. Yamaha Canada's own specification pages give these figures for its current models:
- U1 upright: 121 cm tall, 228 kg. The taller U3 is 131 cm and 246 kg.
- GB1K baby grand: 151 cm long, 261 kg.
- C3X grand: 186 cm long, 320 kg. The CX range runs from 290 kg (C1X, 161 cm) to 415 kg (C7X, 227 cm).
Sources: Yamaha U series specifications, GB1K specifications and CX series specifications.
A baby grand weighs only about 33 kg more than a common upright. The real difference is how each one travels. An upright goes out standing, in one piece: First Rate Movers describes wrapping it in blankets and strapping it to a piano skid. A grand comes apart first.
Men In Trucks describes how it does this on its piano page: the legs and the pedal lyre come off and are wrapped on their own, and the body rides on its flat side on a padded skid board, then goes back together in the new room.
Crew sizes differ between companies. Men In Trucks lists two movers with a dolly for a standard upright, three or four for a baby grand and four for a grand. Parkview Moving Co. recommends at least four people for most uprights. Ask how many people are coming, because that number is the plan for your stairs.
Why the stairs matter more than the distance
A piano that crosses the city on flat ground is a short job. The same piano up a turning staircase is a different one, and the movers' own rules show it. First Rate Movers moves upright pianos only, and only where there are fewer than six stairs at each address. Parkview Moving Co. lists what it prices a piano move on, and every item is about the route:
- the length of the route
- the number of stairs on that route
- how tight the hallways, entrances and stairways are
- the landings, turns and corners on the stairs
- the overhead clearance
In Ottawa the route is often an apartment building. The 2021 Census counted 76,895 of the city's 407,250 occupied homes as apartments in buildings of five or more storeys, 18.9 per cent, and 43,025 more in buildings under five storeys, 10.6 per cent (Statistics Canada, Census Profile, Ottawa). That is nearly three homes in ten where the piano rides an elevator or a shared stairwell.
In a tower, book the service elevator with the building before you book the mover, and check the cab against the piano: a grand on its skid board is at least as long as the piano is deep, 151 cm for the GB1K. In a building under five storeys, ask the building whether there is an elevator at all before the mover quotes the stairs.
How to book a piano move in Ottawa
- Name the piano. Upright or grand, and its size: an upright's height from the floor, a grand's length from the keyboard to the tail. The maker and model help the mover judge the weight.
- Count the steps at both addresses. Include the porch and any step down into a sunken room, note every turn and landing, and send photos or a short video of the route.
- Pick a mover that takes your piano. First Rate Movers takes uprights only. Of the 13 movers listed below, 7 name grand pianos on their own sites.
- Get the damage cover in writing. Ask what the company pays if the piano or the house is damaged, whether that is set by weight or by value, and have the piano itself named on the written estimate.
- Sort out the building and the street. Book the service elevator, ask where the truck can stop, and in winter have the walks cleared and salted at both ends.
- Book the tuning for later. Not for moving day. See the next section.
If the piano is going with the rest of a household move, our guide to what movers cost in Ottawa covers the hourly rate, the travel fee and the minimum the piano gets added to.
Moving a piano in an Ottawa winter
Ottawa averages 76.4 days a year when the temperature never gets above 0 C: 23.7 of them in January, 19.7 in February and 18.0 in December, in Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport station, so a winter piano move usually means a cold truck.
The Piano Technicians Guild says swings from hot to cold and from dry to wet make a piano's wood and felt swell and contract, which changes its tone, pitch and touch. So keep the cold part short.
Ask whether the piano goes straight from one address to the other or waits in a truck or a warehouse overnight, and have the paths and outside steps at both ends cleared and salted before the crew arrives.
After the move: tuning and where the piano sits
Moving day is the wrong day to tune. The Piano Technicians Guild explains that the soundboard swells as it takes on moisture and pushes the strings sharp, then shrinks and lets them go flat, and that a piano stays in tune only while the humidity around the soundboard holds steady.
A piano that has just come out of a cold truck into a different room has not settled yet. Give it time in its new room, then book the tuning, and let the technician say when.
Where it sits matters as much. The Guild's advice, from the same pages:
- against a wall, away from windows and doors that open often
- away from heating vents, air conditioning, fireplaces and direct sun
- on an inside wall rather than an outside one, if the house is not well insulated
- ideally at 68 F (20 C) and 42 per cent relative humidity, which in an Ottawa winter means a humidifier, because the Guild notes the air is very dry in winter in most places
After that, the Guild's page on how often to service a piano quotes Yamaha's advice of at least two tunings a year, and points to its Registered Piano Technicians as the people to call.
Ottawa movers that say they move pianos
On 14 October 2026 we read the website of every one of the 20 companies listed under movers in Ottawa in this directory. These 13 say on their own site that they move pianos, and the note under each says what it says. A Google category alone did not count.
This is not a ranking. Listings claimed by their owner come first and the rest are in alphabetical order, the order explained on our methodology page. We have not hired any of them. Check your piano type and your stairs with each one before you book.
First Rate Movers
Listing claimed by its owner.
Its piano page sets clear limits: upright pianos only, no grand or baby grand, and only where there are fewer than six stairs at each address. The upright is wrapped in blankets and strapped to a piano skid, and the page pitches it as the economical choice when the piano goes along with a household move.
Professional Movers Ottawa
Listing claimed by its owner.
It has its own piano movers page, which names upright, grand and digital pianos and mentions organs as well, and talks through narrow hallways and stairs as the hard part of the job.
DB Movers Ottawa
Based in Nepean. Its piano page names grand, upright and digital pianos and offers piano moving across Canada as well as in Ottawa.
High Level Movers Ottawa
Its home page lists pianos with gym equipment and pool tables among the heavy items it moves. There is no separate piano page, so tell them the piano type and the stairs when you ask for a quote.
Magic Movers
Its piano page names grand, baby grand, upright and digital pianos, for local moves and longer ones, and asks for both addresses and any stairs or narrow entrances in the quote request.
Men In Trucks
Its piano page covers uprights, baby grands, grands and antique instruments, describes how a grand is taken apart and laid on a skid board, and publishes its own piano rates.
OC Movers Ottawa
Piano moving is one of the services you can pick on the quote form on its home page. It has no separate piano page, so give the piano type and the stairs in the message.
Ottawa Pro Movers
Its piano page names spinets, grands, baby grands, uprights, consoles and studio pianos, and describes the move from taking the piano apart through putting it back together at the new address.
Parkview Moving Co.
Its piano page names grand and upright pianos and lists what it prices on: the length of the route, the number of stairs, tight hallways and stairways, landings and turns, and overhead clearance.
Prestige Moving Inc
Pianos are not one of its separate service pages. Its white glove page names grand pianos alongside fine art and antiques, so that is the service to ask about.
Pronto Movers
Its home page offers single-item moves and names a piano as one of them, alongside large office desks and bureaus, for local or long-distance moves.
Tender Touch Moving & Storage
Its Ottawa page lists piano moving among its services. The piano page that link opens is written about its Toronto crews, so confirm on the call that the Ottawa crew takes the job.
Two Men and a Truck Moving
Its Ottawa page links piano moving to the company's own piano page, which says its movers are trained to move all types of pianos with specialty equipment.
To compare every Ottawa mover with its rating and service areas, not only the ones that take pianos, see the full Ottawa movers directory. Our list of Ottawa movers by Google review volume orders the larger companies by how much public feedback each one has.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to move a piano in Ottawa?
Ottawa movers price a piano in different ways: Men In Trucks quotes piano moves at a flat rate, and First Rate Movers adds a piano surcharge to a household move. Three things set the number: whether it is an upright or a grand, how many steps, turns and landings stand between the piano and the truck at both addresses, and how far it travels.
Men In Trucks publishes its piano rates on its own site. Ask for a written quote that names the piano and the stairs.
- Can a regular moving company move a piano?
- Many do, as part of a household move, but most set limits. First Rate Movers publishes its own: upright pianos only, no grand or baby grand, and fewer than six stairs at each address. For a grand, a long staircase or a tight turn, pick a crew whose own site names that job, and say what you have before they quote.
- How heavy is a piano?
- Yamaha Canada lists its U1 upright at 228 kg and its taller U3 at 246 kg. Its GB1K baby grand weighs 261 kg, and its CX grands run from 290 kg for the C1X to 415 kg for the C7X. So a baby grand is only about 33 kg heavier than a common upright; the shape is what makes it a bigger job.
- Does a grand piano have to be taken apart to move it?
- Partly. Men In Trucks describes how it does this on its piano page: the legs and the pedal lyre come off and are wrapped separately, and the piano travels on its side on a padded skid board. It is put back together in the new room. An upright moves upright and in one piece.
- How many movers does it take to move a piano?
- It depends on the piano and the route, and Ottawa companies staff it differently. Men In Trucks lists two movers with a dolly for a standard upright, three or four for a baby grand and four for a grand. Parkview Moving Co. recommends at least four people for most uprights. Ask how many are coming, and send photos of the stairs so the number is right on the day.
- Should I tune my piano after moving it?
- Yes, but not on moving day. The Piano Technicians Guild explains that a piano's pitch rises and falls with the humidity around its soundboard, and that it stays in tune only while that humidity holds steady. Let it settle in its new room first, then book the tuning; your technician will say when. The Guild puts the ideal room at 68 F (20 C) and 42 per cent relative humidity.
- Can you move a piano in winter in Ottawa?
- Yes, with some planning. Ottawa averages 76.4 days a year that never get above 0 C (Environment and Climate Change Canada, 1991 to 2020 normals). Keep the piano's time out of a heated building short, ask whether it goes straight to the new address or waits in a truck overnight, and have the walks and steps at both ends cleared and salted before the crew arrives.
See every mover in Ottawa listed here, with service areas and sourced ratings.
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