Moving to France with a Steinway upright, a pair of framed oils and a 200-year-old French walnut commode is not the same job as a standard household removal. Each item has its own weak points, its own packing requirements, and its own access constraints at destination. Get any one of those wrong and the damage shows up the moment the crate is opened in your new sitting room.
This is a planning guide for anyone relocating to France with high-value or specialist items. It is written by the team at Alltranz, a Daventry-based removals and haulage firm that is an RHA member, holds an International CPC, and moves at least one piano every week. We are not selling you a piano move on this page. We are walking through the risks so you can ask the right questions of whoever you choose, including us.
Why Large and Valuable Items Need a Different Approach
Standard domestic removals and specialist long-distance removals share a van but very little else. A piano moved to France faces more handling points, longer transit, more vibration and a destination property that may be three hundred years older than your current one. Artwork takes the same trip with paper-thin protection unless someone plans the packing properly. Antique furniture sits in the lorry next to standard contents, and the joins, veneers and hinges that survived a careful house move can fail under European motorway conditions.
The risk is rarely catastrophic damage. It is almost always a small failure caused by a missed step: a corner protector not used, a piano lid not strapped, a crate the wrong size for the canvas, or an access measurement in France that nobody actually took. Reducing risk on a France move is mostly about doing the unglamorous planning work weeks before the lorry arrives.
Pianos: Specialist Considerations for a French Relocation
We move at least one piano a week, and most of the small failures we see in the trade come down to three things. The piano was loaded as if it were furniture rather than a heavy precision instrument. The temperature and humidity stability of the trailer was not considered for a multi-day European trip. And the crew on arrival were not the same people who packed the piano in the UK.
A piano needs specialist piano boards and skates to move it onto the lorry without dragging the casters across thresholds. It needs proper strapping, not blanket-wrapping followed by a hopeful ratchet strap. It needs to ride with its weight on the right surface, not on its legs. And it needs a crew who has done this before with a France-bound load, because the truck will be moving for longer than a domestic job and the piano will be sitting still in the trailer for stretches that domestic moves never see.
Upright Pianos vs. Grand Pianos: What Changes
The two have different risk profiles. Treating them the same is the most common error in the trade.
Upright piano
Disassembly: stays whole, no legs or pedal lyre to remove
Weight challenge: top-heavy, can pivot if not strapped properly on stairs
Access risk: stairwells and tight corners, underestimating doorway height
Padding focus: casework, pedals, fall board
Reassembly at destination: position, level, allow to settle
Grand piano
Disassembly: legs, lid and pedal lyre come off and travel separately
Weight challenge: weight concentrated on the rim once the legs are off, needs a piano board
Access risk: doorway width and turning radius, cannot pivot on the legs
Padding focus: lid, rim, action assembly, soundboard side must not press onto anything
Reassembly at destination: reattach lyre and legs in correct order, tuner visit recommended after settling
If you are moving a piano to France and want to talk through the specifics before committing to a remover, see how Alltranz handles piano removals. The page covers equipment, crew approach and what to expect on the day.
Access Planning on Arrival
French properties, particularly older village houses and city apartments, were not built around the dimensions of a 21st-century removals lorry. Stairwells in older buildings are often narrow and turn through tight quarter landings. Lift cabins in apartment blocks may be too small for an upright on a board. Some communes restrict large vehicles in the historic centre, which means the final fifty metres has to be done by trolley or by hand. Access must be confirmed before loading day, not on the day. A short video walk-through from the French property, or a measured floor plan, lets the crew plan a crane lift, a window hoist or a smaller transfer vehicle if needed.
Artwork and Framed Pieces: How to Pack for International Transit
Framed work is fragile in two directions at once. The glass and the canvas are vulnerable to impact, and the frame itself can flex over a long road journey. The right packing depends on the value, the size and the medium.
For framed pieces under glass, mirror boxes are the baseline. The glass is taped in a noughts-and-crosses pattern with low-tack artist tape so any breakage is contained, then the frame is wrapped in glassine and acid-free tissue paper before the box goes around it. Corner protectors stop pressure points on the frame. Canvases never travel stacked face-to-face without rigid separators between them.
Crating vs. Wrapping: When Each Is Appropriate
Crate it
Large canvas over a metre wide: yes, custom timber crate
Sculpture, fragile object, three-dimensional piece: yes, foam-lined crate
Valuation above a few thousand pounds: yes, the cost of a crate is small against the value
Mid-size framed print under glass, well-protected: optional
Wrap and box it
Mid-size framed print under glass, well-protected: yes, mirror box plus blanket wrap is sufficient
Smaller framed piece, robust frame, lower value: yes, glassine, corner protectors, mirror box
Large canvas over a metre wide: no, too much flex
Sculpture or three-dimensional piece: no
A rough rule of thumb: if the item would be expensive or impossible to replace, crate it. If it is replaceable and well-made, wrap and box it. If you are unsure, ask your remover for both quotes and decide.
Antiques and Fragile Furniture: Reducing Risk in Transit
Antique furniture has weak points that modern furniture does not. Veneers lift if damp, marquetry inlays pop with vibration, and gilding chips easily. Drawer runners and door mechanisms swing open in transit unless secured.
Use closed-cell foam against painted, gilded or polished surfaces, never bubble wrap. Avoid vacuum-pack bags. The vacuum draws moisture and damages finishes. Tape wrapping only, never the piece. Immobilise drawers and doors with soft cotton tape across the carcase, not by stuffing. Packing materials touch wrapping, not the antique.
Access Planning: The Part Most People Overlook
Access is the failure most often blamed on the property and most often caused by missed measurement. At both ends of a France move, you need three numbers and one photograph. The width of the narrowest doorway, the height of the lowest threshold, the turning radius of the tightest landing, and a photo of the parking situation on arrival.
In France, watch for historic-centre restrictions, low-clearance arches, lift dimensions in apartment blocks, and steep village lanes. Some communes require advance notification for large vehicles. A good remover checks this. A poor one finds out on the day.
What to Ask Your Removal Company Before Booking
The most useful section of this post. Ask these questions before you sign anything.
How many pianos, framed artworks or antiques have you moved internationally in the last twelve months?
Do you carry specialist piano equipment in your standard kit, or do you sub-contract that part of the job?
Have you worked in the specific region of France I am moving to, and what access challenges did you encounter?
What insurance policy covers my high-value items in transit, and what is the per-item limit?
Will the crew that loads the items in the UK be the same crew that unloads them in France?
Do you crate artwork in-house, or is that brought in from a third party?
What happens at customs, and who handles the paperwork?
Can you provide written references from clients who moved similar items to France?
How Alltranz Helps
Alltranz is a family-run Daventry firm with over fifty European trips on record. We move at least one piano every week, we crate artwork in-house, and we hold an International CPC and Waste Carriers Licence alongside Road Haulage Association membership, which means the haulage side of a French relocation is properly resourced rather than bolted on. Our crews are our own crews. The Daventry team loads the cargo on Monday and the same crew opens the crate in France on Friday, so items stay in the same pair of hands throughout.
If you are moving to France with valuable or specialist items, we will visit, survey, agree a written packing plan and quote it transparently. Call 01327 876007 or use the contact form to start the conversation.
Equipment, crew approach and what to expect on loading and delivery day.
Alltranz LTD's full European removals service: surveys, export packing, tracked transit and delivery to France and across Europe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do pianos need to be tuned after a long-distance move?
Yes. Most pianos need a tuning visit two to four weeks after they have settled in the new property. The wood needs time to acclimatise to the new humidity. Tune it too soon and you will be tuning it again a month later.
Q: Can you crate artwork for an international move?
Yes. We crate in-house using timber custom-built to the dimensions of each piece, foam-lined where the work needs cushioning, and we mark the crate clearly for handling. For pieces above a certain value or fragility we recommend crating as standard.
Q: How do you handle access problems at French properties?
We ask for a video walk-through, measurements of the narrowest entry point, and a photograph of where the lorry can park. If the standard truck cannot reach the property, we plan a transfer vehicle, a crane lift through a window, or a window hoist. The plan is agreed and costed before loading day.
Q: What insurance covers high-value items in transit?
Standard removals insurance typically has per-item limits that are too low for valuable pianos, artworks or antiques. We arrange specific high-value cover for items above the threshold and ask for a written valuation on each piece before we quote. Get the cover confirmed in writing.
Q: Do I need to be present when the piano is loaded and unloaded?
You do not have to be present, but it helps. If you cannot be there, nominate someone who can sign for the condition at both ends and who knows where the piano is going to live in the French property. We will provide a condition report at load and at delivery.
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