$349 to $449 for an upright, spinet or console. No grands.
That is the ground-floor price with a clear path, depending on the piano: spinets at the low end, full-size, player and antique uprights at the high end. It covers the carry-out, the haul and the disposal. Each flight of stairs is +$150, and it is +$100 if the piano has to be broken down on site. A real 1920s basement upright in Englewood, one flight up and broken down, came to $600.
Piano prices are starting rates for a typical job. The exact price is confirmed from your photos and again on site before anything is lifted. Text a photo of the piano and the path out and you get a price back, usually within 10 minutes during business hours.
A piano is priced on its own, never by the yard. On the ground floor it is $349 to $449, depending on the piano: spinets at the low end, console and studio uprights in the middle, full-size, player and antique uprights at the high end. Two things add to that: stairs, and whether it has to come apart to get out. A flight is 4 or more steps; 1 to 3 steps at a door or porch are part of the path. Here is how that plays out on real layouts.
| Where the piano is | Price |
|---|---|
| Ground floor, clear path to the door (1 to 3 porch steps included), leaves whole | $349 to $449 |
| Basement or upstairs, one flight, leaves whole | $499 to $599 |
| Basement, one flight, broken down on site (the Englewood job, charged $600 in August) | $599 to $699 |
| Two flights, leaves whole | $649 to $749 |
Piano prices are starting rates for a typical job. The exact price is confirmed from your photos and again on site before anything is lifted.
Why a range, not one number: a small spinet and a 1920s full upright are different jobs. The heavier the piano, the longer every step of the carry takes, and I work solo, so a heavy piano moves slowly and safely rather than fast. Stairs add the most time and risk, which is why each flight is priced on its own. The haul to the transfer station and the disposal fee are in the price either way. Because no two homes are the same, these are starting rates, and your photos and the walk-through on the day set the exact number.
What the price includes
What it does not cover
How the quote works: text a photo of the piano and a photo of the stairs or the path to the door. You get a price back by text, usually within 10 minutes during business hours. On the day, the price is confirmed face to face, you approve it before we start, and every extra is written down first. The full breakdown, with more layouts, is in the piano removal cost guide.
Any vertical piano, from a small spinet to a century-old full upright, is $349 to $449 on the ground floor. Where yours sits in that range comes down to weight, and weight matters most on the stairs.
Under about 40 inches tall. The small apartment and den piano, and usually the lightest.
About 40 to 47 inches tall. Consoles and spinets usually weigh in the 300 to 500 lb range.
About 48 inches and taller. An old full-size upright from around 1900 to the 1930s can run 500 to 700 lb. Antique uprights, 1930s or older, sit at the high end too.
An upright with a player mechanism built in above and below the keys. Still an upright, just a heavier one.
Heights follow the size classes in Piano Buyer's buying basics; weights are from Chupp's Piano Service. For scale, a new Steinway K-52 upright is listed at 650 lb. Not sure which you have? Measure from the floor to the top of the lid, or see the side-by-side in the guide to telling an upright from a spinet or console.
We do not take grand pianos of any size. I work solo, and a grand has to come off its legs and pedal lyre and travel on its side, strapped to a piano board, which is work for a dedicated piano mover with the right equipment.
Many piano movers handle removal and disposal as well as moves, so search for piano movers near you, call two or three, and tell them it is going away for good, which floor it is on and how many steps are in the way. Once the grand is gone, if the rest of the room needs clearing, we can take it from there.
On flat ground, a piano on a dolly rolls. On stairs, all of its weight is working against you, and an upright is tall and top-heavy, so it wants to tip toward whoever is below it. That is why the stairs move a piano price more than the size of the piano does.
I work solo, with a piano dolly, lifting straps and a stair plan made before anything moves. The plan covers:
Each flight is +$150, up or down. A flight is 4 or more steps; 1 to 3 steps at a door or porch are part of the path. Old uprights sit on small brass casters that gouge hardwood and can snap under load, so please do not roll the piano toward the door before we arrive.
Most of an upright's weight is the cast-iron plate inside it, the harp-shaped frame that holds the strings. Chupp's Piano Service puts the combined pull of the strings at tens of thousands of pounds, all of it absorbed by that plate. When a piano cannot leave whole, this is the order it comes apart in:
We learned step 4 the hard way on the Englewood job: the saw went through the case fine, then made no progress at all on the plate. The sledgehammer did. Once a piano is broken down it cannot be put back together, so decide on keepsakes before the day.
On August 20, 2026, an Englewood customer needed a 1920s upright out of the basement. One flight of stairs stood between it and the door, and it was not coming up whole. So it was cut and broken down on site, the cast-iron plate fractured with a sledgehammer, and every piece carried up the stairs. With the cleanup it took 3 to 4 hours, and the job was $600.
The same layout today is $599 to $699, depending on the piano: $349 to $449 for the piano, $150 for the flight and $100 for the breakdown. Publishing the range means you can see roughly where a hard piano job lands before anyone drives out. It is a starting rate: the exact price is confirmed from your photos and again on site before anything is lifted.
Read the full Englewood piano removal case study: the plan, the saw that lost, the sledgehammer that won, and what we would do faster next time.
"Worked hard and did a good job!!!"
Four stars, not five. The case study covers what we would do faster next time.
We would rather you try the free options first if your piano has a real chance. Here is when each one makes sense.
A tuner can tell you in one visit whether the piano will hold a tune and whether it is worth anything. The Piano Technicians Guild directory lists technicians by area. If the answer is "not worth fixing", you have your answer.
Local piano donation programmes place pianos in homes and schools, but they are selective and take the ones they can tune and place. A playable, well-kept piano is worth a call; one that will not hold a tune is a long shot.
Free pianos flood the online marketplaces, and most sit. A piano tuner quoted by CBC News in 2024 said he stopped taking free uprights because the repair costs would exceed anything he could resell them for. If you list yours, say which floor it is on and how many steps, so takers do not back out on the day.
If the piano is going to a new home, or it is a grand, call a dedicated piano mover. If it is going away for good and nobody wants it, that is removal and disposal, and that is us.
Why so few old pianos find a new home, with the sources, and whether yours might be worth something: see the honest answer on old piano value in our cost guide.
1. Decide on keepsakes
The bench, the sheet music, a photo of the brand name on the fallboard. Once a piano is broken down, nothing goes back together.
2. Empty it
Check inside the bench and under the lid for sheet music, photos or anything else you want to keep.
3. Clear the path
Rugs, furniture and anything on the stairs or in the hall between the piano and the door.
4. Measure two things
The piano's height and depth, and the narrowest doorway or stair turn on the way out. That tells us early whether it leaves whole.
5. Save a parking spot
The truck and 6x10 trailer need a spot as close to the door as possible. Tell us about alleys, steep drives or HOA rules.
6. Leave the moving to us
Do not roll it or tip it ahead of time, and keep kids and pets clear of the stairs while it moves. Be there to approve the price.
What to text for a fast price
A front photo of the piano, a photo of the stairs taken from the bottom so the turns show, which floor it is on, the narrowest doorway in inches if you have it, and your city.
Text Piano PhotosNearly all of it goes to an STS transfer station, and the disposal fee is already in your price. The cast-iron plate is scrap metal, and big loads of scrap metal get recycled. We do not resell pianos, we will not tell you yours is being "rehomed" when it is not, and we do not issue donation receipts.
We cover the Denver metro, with most of our work in Golden, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Edgewater and Denver's west side. There is no travel fee. Piano removal gets its own block of time, Monday to Saturday 7am to 7pm, Sunday by appointment, and you always get an arrival window.
The other job that gets cut apart on site: a spa sectioned, loaded and hauled.
Clearing a parent's home where the old family piano is one piece of a bigger job.
Pianos next to safes, pool tables, hot tubs and fridges, with every starting price.
Clearing more than the piano? Everything else is priced by the yard on the junk removal pricing page.
Text a photo of the piano and the stairs. Uprights are $349 to $449 on the ground floor, +$150 a flight, +$100 if it has to be broken down. Piano prices are starting rates for a typical job. The exact price is confirmed from your photos and again on site before anything is lifted.
Drop your number below. Darius texts your price back, usually within 10 minutes during business hours.
Darius will text you a price shortly. Keep your phone handy. The reply comes from (720) 689-3713.
In a hurry? Call now and skip the wait.
