Moving out of an old house without damaging it

Moving out of an old house is a different job from moving out of a modern one, and the difficulty is almost never the distance. It is the doorway, the staircase and the parking. This part of Suffolk and north Essex has an unusual number of period properties: Lavenham alone has more than 300 listed timber-framed buildings, Coggeshall almost 300, Clare 250 and East Bergholt over 100. If you are moving out of one, here is what actually makes the difference.

What makes moving out of an old house harder?

Four things, and they compound: doorways narrower than modern ones, staircases that turn part way up, floors that are not level, and no driveway to park on. None of them is a problem on its own. Together they turn a straightforward day into a long one, particularly if everything is in wide cardboard boxes that have to be carried out in front of you.

Will moving crates fit through a cottage doorway?

Yes. Crates are sized to pass through a standard doorway and to go up a normal staircase, and they carry flat against your body rather than out in front of you the way a wide box does. In a house with a low door frame and a beam just inside it, that difference is what keeps the paintwork intact.

How do you get things down a narrow turning staircase safely?

Carry less per trip, keep both hands on proper handles, and make sure you can see your feet. A crate gives you all three: it has handles, it has a flat lid you can see over, and it does not need a hand underneath propping up a sagging base. A tall stack of cardboard on a turning stair is how people fall and how bannisters get chipped.

• Do not overfill. A crate holds up to 30kg, which is more than most people should carry down an old staircase
• Pack heavy things low and in fewer crates, rather than spreading weight across many awkward ones
• Take the crates down before the furniture, so the stairs are clear when the big items go

What do you do when there is nowhere to park?

Plan it before the day rather than discovering it on the morning. Tell us when you book if you are on a narrow lane, a village green or a stretch with no frontage, and we will bring the dolly and allow the time for the carry rather than turning up expecting a driveway.

A dolly is what makes a long carry workable. A stack of crates wheels out in one or two trips where loose boxes would be a dozen, which matters when the van cannot get closer than the end of the lane.

How do you protect floors and paintwork on moving day?

• Nothing dragged. Everything goes on the dolly or is carried
• Crates stack squarely, so a stack does not lean into a door frame the way a pile of boxes does
• Lids on means nothing is balanced on top and nothing spills on a sloping floor
• Clear the route first, including anything on the walls at shoulder height in a narrow hallway
• Do the awkward staircase early, while people are fresh and careful

Are crates better than boxes in a period property?

Yes, and more so than in a modern house. Everything that makes an old house awkward, the narrow openings, the turning stairs, the uneven floors, the long carry from wherever the van can stop, is made worse by boxes that are wide, soft-sided and need both arms. Crates are the same size every time, they stack, they wheel, and they have lids.

Which villages do you cover?

Sudbury and everywhere within 30 miles, which takes in Lavenham, Long Melford, Clare, Cavendish, Nayland, Dedham, East Bergholt, Coggeshall and Hadleigh, along with the towns around them. Delivery and collection are included and there is no charge for a village rather than a town.