White Glove Isn't an Upgrade at Horsepower
Most movers sell white-glove as a premium tier you buy up into. We don’t run it that way. The protection, the wrapping, and the disassembly happen on every job – that’s the standard, not the package.
This page covers what that standard makes possible: the heavy and awkward pieces most crews would rather not touch, and the coverage that should sit behind them. Horsepower Moving and Storage is family-owned, licensed and insured, registered with the FMCSA as USDOT 4474565, and every mover on our crews is background-checked on an ongoing basis.
What Counts as a Special Item
Some pieces require extra crew and specific equipment, and they need to be named before move day rather than discovered on it:
- Upright pianos, as part of a household move
- Safes between 300 and 500 pounds, which need at least three movers on site – a safe concentrates enormous weight on a very small footprint, which is what damages floors and stair treads
- Full-size treadmills, meaning the real thing rather than a folding walking pad
- Large massage chairs
- Trampolines
Ping-pong tables need no special handling. Pool tables and above-ground pools we’ll move once they’re disassembled – slate is heavy and brittle, and a pool table should never travel assembled. Steepleton handles that work locally if you need a referral.
When you request an estimate, tell us the piece, its weight, and the staircase involved, and we’ll tell you honestly what it takes.
Protection for High-Value Items
Tell us what your white-glove items are worth and we’ll prepare a custom protection plan for them, every time. We put it in writing before you book, so choosing coverage is a decision you make knowingly rather than something buried in paperwork you sign on the driveway.
What We Won't Move, and Why That Matters
Being straight about the limits is more useful than a promise that collapses on move day.
We don’t move grand or baby grand pianos. Not because they’re difficult, but because of liability – and for those, we’ll point you to Gist Piano Center, who specialize in exactly that. We move uprights, and we’re clear about the difference.
We also don’t move sheds, saunas, or grandfather clocks. Heavier safes we’d need to assess first. We also can’t transport flammables, fuels, propane tanks, aerosols, paint, pool chemicals, ammunition, or perishable food during interstate moves.
If you own something that falls outside this list, ask at your estimate. A straight no now is worth more than a yes that unravels with a truck in your driveway.
How Everything Else Is Handled
The same care applies to the ordinary items, which is where most damage actually occurs.
Furniture is wrapped before it leaves the room rather than at the tailgate, because the carry does more harm than the drive. Mattresses and box springs come off frames and go into mattress bags. Flat-screen televisions are wrapped – take them off their wall mounts beforehand if you can, since we don’t re-mount them. Anything that won’t clear a turn comes apart rather than getting forced, and goes back together at the destination at no additional fee. When a banister is the obstacle, we remove it.
There’s no limit on box count or total weight. It only has to fit our trucks: 26 feet long, 7 feet 9 inches wide, and 6 feet 10 inches high, with a liftgate or a ramp, and roughly 1,600 square feet of normally furnished living space per truck.