When you’re trying to pack up your house and put all the boxes onto the truck, it’s nearly impossible to determine how long it might take you. However, residential moving companies are able to give you a relatively accurate time frame by simply asking you a handful of questions over the phone or by email. If you’re curious as to what factors determine how long it takes movers to move you out of your old home, this list should be able to give you a good insight into the process.
The Layout of Your House
The most crucial factor that moving companies have to ask about is your home’s layout. Details such as the number of rooms, sets of stairs, and how far away they have to park will all have a massive impact on how long the move will take. This will also start to give them an idea of how much stuff you might have; even if it’s not much, a larger house will take longer to pack than a condensed one.
If You’ve Started Packing or Not
Typically, the next question will be about whether you’ve started packing or not. Some movers can help you pack up your boxes for an additional fee, but that will obviously increase the amount of time the move will take once the movers arrive. If you already have some or all of your boxes packed, the movers will be able to gauge that number and give an estimated time for how long it will take to move them into the truck.
What Kind of Furniture You Own
Of course, not everything will fit into boxes. Items like furniture and appliances will require more effort to get outside. Whether it’s because the movers need to take the item in question apart to get it through the door or simply that the item is extremely heavy, these types of things will add to the overall time approximation.
Number of Fragile Items
The number of breakable items you own is also something that the movers will ask about. Fragile objects take a lot more time and coordination to pack into the truck since the moving company won’t want to be liable if the items break. If you have a significant number of fragile items, you can expect the time it’ll take to move to be much longer.
The Day of the Move
The final factor that determines how long it takes movers to move is what day you want the move to take place. If the weather is going to be bad that day, the movers will not be able to move things into the truck as efficiently, especially if the ground is icy during the winter. Another reason why they’ll want to know the date is so that they can see how busy they’ll be that day. If a bunch of people are trying to move that day, the moving company’s employees will get stretched quite thin, meaning that there might be fewer movers available to help you.
Once the moving company considers these factors are considered, they will likely give you an estimate ranging anywhere from 2 to 10 hours. While this means that you should always be able to get the move done in a day’s time, obstacles do occur, so be aware of the fact that the entire process could still take longer than the number they give you.
