Are you moving into a high rise building? Chances are, you’ve got a lot of questions and need a quick item-by-item summary of what’s required to do so. I’ve been there more than once! In the last 10 years, I’ve lived in four large apartment buildings and have moved five times, including the time we moved down the hall. Well, moving is never exactly easy, no matter where you live. Living in a high rise does come with some unique moving logistics, but after reading this complete step-by-step guide, you’ll be in great shape for an efficient, “easy” move. Let’s go!
A Complete Guide For Moving Into A High Rise Building
Inn this article, we’ll just jump right into the good stuff. Here are all of the steps I’ve learned over the years about moving into a high rise building efficiently:
- Get The Floor Plan Of Your New Apartment
- Understand The Logistics & “Path” To Your Apartment
- Take Lots Of Measurements
- Know Your New Building’s Policy
- Sell, Give Or Donate Any Items That Won’t Fit
- Choose A Moving Company
- Connect Your Mover With Your New Building’s Management
- Obtain Your Own Certificate Of Renter’s Insurance
- Pack Your Items Efficiently & Safely
- Make Sure All Logistics Are In Place
I’ll get a bit more into the details of each step below!
Step 1: Get The Floor Plan Of Your New Apartment
Apartments come in all shapes and sizes. Some are like one open space, others take on a narrow “galley” layout, some follow a “Z” shape and on we go.
Before moving into a high rise building, it’s vital that you know the layout of your new place. The building’s website often has some diagrams on the various layouts they offer, and the management office can most likely provide you with something.
It’s particularly important to identify any parts that could be problematic. Are there any really narrow areas, such as hallway? Any low ceilings? Some of your existing furniture may be a no-go right off the bat in terms of where it can (or can’t fit).
Knowing your new apartment’s layout is helpful for planning your own setup and also for buying any new furniture in the future.
Step 2: Understand The Logistics & “Path” To Your Apartment
On a daily basis, getting to and from your apartment is a simple process. As far as moving goes, it’s a bit more involved.
Before you move in, it’s essential that you know, and walk, the path to your new apartment from a mover’s point of view.
Moving into a high rise building is easiest when there’s a designated loading dock. If not, they’ll probably have a driveway or designated loading/unloading area.
It’s key that you find out where it is and check out the path from the loading dock (or driveway, etc) to the elevators. From there, you’re mostly in the clear – just do a quick walk from the elevator to your place once you step off the elevator onto your floor for good measure.
Speaking of measuring…
Step 3: Take Lots Of Measurements
Many logistical hurdles can be overcome simply by ‘eyeing’ the attributes of your new building and apartment. You can easily tell if a hallway or doorway is way too small for an object to fit.
To be precise, we’ve got to take out the measuring tape.
I recommend measuring all of the following if you can. I’ve put an asterisk next to items that are essential, while others are just good to have. Although it’s obvious, make sure these are recorded:
- Hallways / doorways between the loading dock and the elevators.*
- Elevator door openings and interior dimensions.*
- Your new apartment’s main entrance.*
- Width and height of doorways inside your apartment.*
- Hallway widths in your new place.
- Ceiling heights in the lobby and inside your apartment.
- Once home, measure any particularly large furniture and other items you want to bring with you.*
Step 4: Know Your New Building’s Policy
In an apartment building, people move in and out on a regular basis. After hundreds or thousands of moves, the building’s management almost certainly has a moving policy set in place. It’s essential that you know that policy.
Chances are, the management company will review this policy with you by default. They may even have a written one.
The most essential information you’ll want to have is the following:
- Hours of operation for the loading dock and how to reserve it.
- Reserving an elevator for the move. There may be a specific “freight” elevator that you can use.
- How to set the elevator to the “move” setting, where the elevator basically stays on either the ground floor or your new floor with the door open unless a key is used. Also, find out who has the key.
There may be specific steps to your new building’s moving policy beyond the above, but those are the basics.
Step 5: Sell, Give Or Donate Any Items That Won’t Fit
After taking measurements of your new apartment, you’ll probably find that at least one piece of furniture is not going to come with you.
Assuming you are certain that the item won’t fit and that you aren’t bringing it, it’s best to figure out how to sell, give or donate it as far ahead in advance as possible.
Believe me, it’ll be easier to just figure this step out early and get it into motion. Nothing worse than still having a large item to get rid of on the day of a move!
Step 6: Choose A Moving Company
If there are many high rise buildings in your area, there’s a good chance that any moving company you contact will have some experience moving into a high rise building – perhaps even yours.
In any event, you’ll be best served by hiring movers who have experience moving into tall buildings. I personally recommend hiring a company that is on the larger side, mainly because they’ll have a variety of truck configurations and better insurance policies in place.
You can even ask your new building’s management if they have anyone they recommend.
Step 7: Connect Your Mover With Your New Building’s Management
Once you’ve chosen a mover, it’s time to get the bureaucracy out of the way. By that, I really mean just putting your mover in touch with your new building’s management.
Why? Well, your new building will have some insurance requirements that the mover needs to provide. More specifically, your mover needs to provide some insurance paperwork that holds the building harmless from any potential future liability.
For example, if your mover damages any of your property or the building’s property or if anything happens like an injury, accident, etc., then your building is protected via your mover’s insurance policy.
This sounds like more than it is. The last time I needed to do this, I just wrote a brief email to my building’s management office and copied our moving company – they worked out the rest.
Step 8: Obtain Your Own Certificate Of Renter’s Insurance
Before you move in, your new building will require that you provide a Certificate of Renter’s Insurance.
This type of insurance policy essentially covers your property in the event that it’s damaged, destroyed or lost somehow while living in the building. Your insurance company will be paying for any damage costs above your deductible rather than the building (in most cases).
How much does Renter’s Insurance cost? It’ll vary between insurance companies, location and the insurance limits required by your building, but mine costs us less than $150 per year.
Step 9: Pack Your Items Efficiently & Safely
When a move requires that the moving truck drive a long distance, it’s always best practice to pack everything you can in an efficient and safe manner. Moving into a high rise building requires a few extra steps.
Not only will your stuff need to travel in the truck, but it’ll also need to be unloaded at a loading dock (or curbside), brought through various doorways, loaded into elevators, brought from the elevator to your apartment and then finally put down somewhere in your new place.
For any items that’ll fit, I personally like to use medium-to-large sized cardboard boxes for moving, as they’re easy to stack, carry and label. My wife and I have used miscellaneous towels, sweatshirts, blankets and sheets in a strategic manner to give more delicate boxes some additional padding. We’ve always labeled each box by the room they’ll be going to.
For larger items such as furniture, I find it easiest to disassemble and reassemble any furniture that can allow for it. While it’s a bit more work on your end, it’ll make moving it a lot easier, less likely to get damaged (think table-hitting-doorway type of damage) and you’ll be able to reassemble it exactly where you want it.
It’s a good idea tape drawers and any hinge-operated parts of your furniture shut, too.
Remember, when it comes to how much a moving company charges you, time is money – the less time your move is going to take the moving company, the more you’ll save!
Step 10: Make Sure All Logistics Are In Place
Now that we’ve covered the various steps required for moving into a high rise building, it’s time to put it all together. Here are some final checklist items to cover on the day of your move:
- Make sure you’ve gotten all insurance-related stuff out of the way, including you having a Renter’s Insurance policy and your mover giving their information to your building’s management.
- Have the keys to your apartment in hand.
- Ensure the you’ve got the loading dock/area and elevator reserved, along with knowing who has the elevator key.
- Get to your building ahead of the movers to do a final logistics check.
- Make sure your movers arrive on time and that they know the steps they must take.
You’re essentially done! The movers will take care of the rest. All you need to do is figure out where you want them to put stuff and which box to unpack first.
One last thing. If they’ve done a great job, I usually tip the movers once they’re done.
That’s It! Moving Into A High Rise Building Isn’t So Bad…
The first time I moved into an apartment building, we didn’t even have movers – we figured out and did all of the above on our own, for the most part. Not a good time. Take it from me, if you follow the steps above, your move should be smooth sailing, or at least as smooth as a move can be. I hope this helps and thanks a lot for reading.
