Old Pianos Hauled Away
Piano hauling, piano removal, piano recycling, piano salvage:
- Moving? Out of time?
- Don’t know what to do with your old piano?
- Do you need some extra space and don’t need a piano that no one plays? Do you want to get rid of an unused piano, but you don’t want it to go to the landfill?
You have come to the right place. I haul away old pianos. Why?
I am a piano recycler. I can’t stand seeing pianos being thrown in the dump. I would rather have them remain functional in the world and to be used in some form. Read on.
How:
Email, call, or text Dean Petrich at (206) 324-5055, or petrich@whidbey.com.
We need to know what type of piano you have (spinet/console/upright/grand), what city the piano is in, how many steps are involved for the move, and your timeline for us to show up.
Within about 24 hours, you should receive a call from Chad, in Lima, Peru, to discuss timing and any other details about the move.
On the appointment date, Joe the truck driver will call ahead to let you know when he and his helper will arrive to pick up your piano. He will ask for cash.
Where:
Greater Seattle area: King County, Pierce County, Snohomish County, Island County
Outside Seattle (south of Renton, east of Sammamish, north of Everett) the price goes up. The farther the distance, the more the price rises incrementally. Longer distances are negotiable.
How Much:
Greater Seattle Area:
– Spinets and consoles: $400 cash
– Upright pianos: $440 cash
– Grand pianos: $500 cash
Additional charges:
For more than three steps, add $50 to the base price.
For more than ten steps, add $100.
For unusual terrain, such as hills, rough terrain like grass or gravel, tilted slopes, extremely tight corners, tedious obstacles or severely inclement weather, add another $50.
For long distances, call to discuss options outside the greater Seattle area.
When:
Our pick-ups are on weekends, with occasional exceptions. Call ahead to schedule.
Where Do These Pianos Go?
Your Friend
Of course, absolutely the best option is for you to find a new local owner for your piano. Ideally, it should go to a good friend who will enjoy it, take care of it, and carry on the joy of playing it in your memory. The piano will be preserved, and you will know where it ended up.
Lima, Peru
Share your piano with an appreciative new owner. The pianos we pick up are shipped to Lima, Peru, where they are sold to new happy owners. The store has access to skilled wood refinishers, tuners, piano technicians, and movers. Your piano will find a new life and will bring joy into the world.
South America is like the United States in the 1950’s when everyone wanted a piano and was eager to learn to play. Chad is selling a piano a day from his store and is considering opening a second store. These pianos are delivered all over Peru.
We haul pianos from the greater Seattle area to a holding area in Everett until we have enough to ship to South America. When the pianos arrive there, they are repaired, displayed in the store, and ultimately delivered to new happy owners.
Landfill
The landfill should be the very last resort for old pianos.
Consider these options instead:
– Make the decision to resume playing your own piano: take lessons, teach yourself, & start composing.
– Pass your piano on to someone who will appreciate it.
– Think what else the piano could become. Turn it into art or something functional. Take a look at some of the ideas on this web site: https://www.PianoRecycling.org
Happy home
Locally on Whidbey, if it plays, it will be given away for free.
I would rather have these pianos played and appreciated than to watch them sit in storage or fall apart in the weather. My goal is to give new life to these period instruments and to put them back into the world again, so that they can continue to please, inspire, and enhance lives.
Due to Covid, I am no longer hauling pianos locally, and I am giving away the remaining few I have. However, if you don’t want your piano, please let me know and I might be able to connect you with someone who wishes to own one.
If it needs work, one of five things will happen to it:
Restored and recycled into the world as a playing instrument
Ship it to Peru to find a new home
Given away locally for free as-is
Dismantled and salvaged for parts
Converted into art pieces
If you want to do this yourself:
There is one other option for your piano, and that is to turn it into something else.
Consider this option if you do not want to pay to have it hauled away, yet you do not want it thrown out.
Think what it could become: a piece of furniture, a work of art, or a practical useful item in your house.
For advice, options and ideas, check out this inspiring site: https://www.PianoRecycling.org.
I have donated twenty pianos to schools in Cambodia, ten pianos to schools in Viet Nam, two pianos to Zambia, and hundreds to Peru. If you know anyone locally who wants a piano, please let me know. I am always looking for outlets for these pianos: starving musicians, foster children beginning piano lessons, artists who would like an endless supply of piano parts, metal sculptors, and wood workers who are looking for old-growth wood and unusual pieces, school art classes, or projects for people with nothing else to do.
Regardless of its fate, my goal is that your piano will not end up in a landfill.
(I do not do what happens in this NY Times article: For More Pianos, Last Note Is Thud in the Dump – NY Times.com ARTS | December 31, 1969, Video Library Player: A Requiem for Pianos O’Mara Meehan Piano Movers has been the business since 1874. The vice president, Brian O’Mara, laments the fact he has to dispose of five to ten pianos a month.)
Watch this video of what Dean does with pianos instead of dumping them:
http://komonews.com/news/erics-heroes/erics-heroes-the-piano-man-who-puts-music-in-the-northwest