Guides
Steep driveway moves
Lane Cove is a valley, and valleys put houses above and below their streets. A steep drive does not make a move hard; it makes a move planned. This is how the planning works, so you can see your own driveway the way a crew does.
The first decision: truck down, or carry up?
Every steep-block move starts with one question: does the truck go down the drive, or does it stay on the street while the furniture climbs? The answer depends on the drive's grade, its surface, the turning room at the bottom, and whether the truck could actually get back out loaded. When you enquire, describe the drive the way you would to a friend with a trailer: how steep, how long, what is at the bottom. Photos help; so does the story of what your delivery drivers already do.
What slope honestly does to the hours
A carry up a steep drive is slower than a flat walk, and pretending otherwise is how other people's quotes go wrong. The honest version: the crew moves at a controlled pace with more rest points, heavy pieces go two-handed or four-handed with a spotter, and the hours reflect it. Because our partner removalist's rates are hourly and published ($250, $350 or $500 depending on crew), slope shows up in your bill as time. Often the right answer is one extra mover: a three-person rotation keeps the carry continuous, and the move finishes faster than a cheaper crew would have managed.
Free preparation that genuinely speeds the day
- Clear the route. Pots, hoses, loose pavers, kids' bikes: everything off the path and steps. Clean footing is crew pace.
- Sweep and dry. A mossy or wet path after rain is the single slowest surface there is. If rain is forecast, an old towel at the door and ten minutes with a broom earn their keep.
- Light the dark sections. Side paths under trees stay dim even at midday in the valley. A propped door and a couple of lamps at the turns help more than you would think.
- Claim the kerb. If the truck stays on the street, park your own cars to hold the stretch of kerb closest to the path until it arrives.
When the house is below the street
Houses that step down from the kerb load in reverse: everything climbs on the way out and descends on the way in. Downhill carries are their own skill, slower and more controlled than the climb, with the spotter below the load. Tell us how many steps run to the door and the removalist places the crew accordingly. It is a normal Lane Cove move; it just should not be planned like a flat one.
Not sure which side of the line your drive falls on? Describe it in the enquiry, or run the Two Doors planner and pick the steep-drive door; the preparation list it returns is this guide in miniature.
The next step
Tell us about both doors
Five minutes of form beats a week of phone tag. Two addresses, the size of the place, the access story at each end: from that our partner removalist sizes the crew, names the hourly rate and rings you back with the day already sketched.