Planning Furniture Shipping in Philadelphia Around Your House and Block
On a Philadelphia pickup, the hard part is usually the building, not the mileage. Most of the city’s homes are attached, a large share of them more than a century old, and a staircase or a crowded block decides how the morning goes.
Trinity Houses and Winder Stairs
Trinity houses, also called bandbox houses, are tiny rowhouses with one room per floor stacked three or four stories high. Plenty survive on the small streets of Queen Village and Washington Square West. The floors connect by a tight winding staircase, often called a winder or Betsy Ross stair, and box springs, armoires and king headboards often cannot make the turn. That is why so much furniture in these houses came in through a window or in parts.
Shipping large furniture out of one takes some planning. Measure the narrowest point of the stair, note which floor each piece is on, and take apart bed frames or desks that are built to come apart. Every estimate includes white glove pickup from the first floor, so if a piece sits on an upper floor with no clear way down, call (866) 333-8018 before you book.
Alleys, Courts and Curb Space
Old City and Queen Village kept many of their 18th-century alleys and courts. Elfreth’s Alley, for one, is about 15 feet across. In Pennsport, Point Breeze and Port Richmond, the problem is different: rowhome blocks lined with parked cars on both sides. When you book, say if your door faces a court or a one-way side street and name the nearest wider cross street, so the crew knows where the truck can stop.
Loft Conversions and Condo Buildings
Converted factory and warehouse buildings in Callowhill and along the Delaware riverfront often have a freight elevator that must be reserved. Ask your building what it requires as soon as you have a pickup date, then call (866) 333-8018 to check access at your building before you book.
Suburban Pickups From the Main Line to Chester County
Past the city line, the houses get bigger and the issues change. Stone colonials and twins in Narberth, Wynnewood, Media and Swarthmore tend to have steep front steps and furniture stored in the basement or attic, so say where each piece sits. In townhouse communities around Paoli, Downingtown and Kennett Square, check whether your HOA limits how long a truck may park on the street.
Furniture Pickup and Delivery in Bucks County
In Bucks County we pick up in Yardley, Bensalem, Levittown and New Hope, the river town known for its antique shops. A Levittown ranch is about as easy as pickups get. An old stone farmhouse up a gravel lane north of New Hope may need the truck to stop at the road, so mention a long or unpaved driveway on the estimate.
Furniture delivery works for Bucks County and the rest of the region too. A shipment coming in from another state can be collected at the destination terminal (Will-Call, the lowest price), dropped at the nearest accessible point at your address (Curbside), or carried inside by the crew (Full Service).
What Leaves Philadelphia Homes Most Often
- Rowhome-sized pieces: loveseats, apartment sofas, narrow bookcases and bar stools
- Bedroom furniture from a parent’s house: a four-poster, a highboy, a cedar chest
- Dining tables, sideboards and corner cupboards from estate sales in Mount Airy, East Falls and Jenkintown
- Antiques and mirrors from Pine Street dealers, crated when the piece calls for it
- A work-from-home setup: desk, office chair, monitor stand and file boxes
- Cartons of books, kitchenware and linens added to round out the load
Humid Summers, Icy Stoops and Booking Ahead
July and August in Philadelphia are hot and humid, which is hard on veneer, glue joints and old finishes left in a third-floor room with no air conditioning. Keep antiques somewhere cool until the crew arrives. From December to February, clear and salt the stoop and sidewalk the night before, since marble and brick steps get slick fast.
Pickups are scheduled 2 to 10 business days after you book. Late summer is busy near the campuses as leases turn over, so give yourself about 10 days of notice if your move-out date is fixed.
