The quick answer
A walk-up move takes longer than an elevator move of the same size, and every flight adds a little more. At $165 an hour for 2 movers and a truck, a 1-bedroom on the 2nd floor might run $650 to $800, while the same apartment on the 5th floor is closer to $900 to $1,100. The stairs are the job.
Moves here start outside the building
Before a single box moves, we need the truck close to the door. Brownstone blocks in Park Slope and Harlem are usually lined with parked cars, and on the narrower streets of Williamsburg and Astoria a box truck at the curb can block the whole lane. The closer the truck, the shorter every trip up and down.
Stoops count too. A brownstone has a flight of outside steps before you even reach the front door, so a 3rd-floor apartment can mean four flights from the sidewalk.
Narrow stairwells need slower turns
Pre-war walk-ups often have stairs about 3 feet wide or less, with a tight switchback at every landing. A sofa that came up years ago may not go down the same way if the building has since added a railing, a radiator cover or a fire door. Here’s what we check before moving day:
- The width of the narrowest stair and landing
- The height and depth of your biggest sofa, and whether its legs and arms come off
- Box springs, which don’t bend; in older walk-ups a queen or king often needs a split box spring
- Doors that can come off their hinges for an extra inch or two
- Anything that needs 3 people on the stairs: big dressers, washers, pianos
What happens if it doesn’t fit
We’ll tell you before we try. Most sofas and beds come apart, and our crews take off legs, arms and frames as part of the job. If something truly can’t make the turn, the options are a hoist through a window (a specialist job we’d arrange and quote separately, only where it’s safe and the building allows it), leaving it behind, or having our junk removal crew take it away the same day.
Get an exact written quote, usually back within minutes.
Parking is part of the quote
In most of New York there’s no simple way to reserve curb space for a move, so we plan around the block. We look at the street before the day, note hydrants, bus stops and driveways, and time the truck’s arrival for when parking is easiest. On most residential blocks, an 8am truck finds more open curb than a noon one.
If the truck has to stop farther away, the long carry adds up. A 100-foot walk from the truck to the stoop, repeated 150 times, is real time on the bill.
How prices work in walk-ups
We don’t add a per-flight fee. Our price is hourly or agreed, and stairs simply mean more hours. That’s why we ask for the floor at both ends: a 4th-floor walk-up to a 3rd-floor walk-up is a very different day from elevator to elevator. For 2-bedrooms in walk-ups we usually send 3 movers instead of 2. It costs more per hour, but the job finishes sooner and it’s safer on the stairs.
How to make a walk-up move go faster
- Pack everything before the crew arrives, and keep each box under about 50 pounds so one person can carry it up stairs
- Stack boxes near the apartment door, not in the back bedroom
- Take down shelves, curtain rods and TV mounts the night before
- Tell your neighbors: a propped door and a clear hallway save a surprising amount of time
- Keep pets and kids in one closed room while the crew is on the stairs
Not sure what you’re facing? Send us the floor numbers and a photo of the stairwell, and we’ll give you an honest time estimate. You can also read what NYC movers really cost or see how we handle Park Slope moves.
