Seeing that pool tables clock several hundred pounds, it would be difficult to start moving them from one point to another. If the business is to happen around the house, it is impossible to move it alone; the mission can only be accomplished by 3 to 4 people working diligently on the item. To move the table to a storage area or another house will also need a couple of people doing the job. Regardless of the situation, you will need a lot of patience and tools to make work easier.
This article will open you up to the moving of a pool table, either around a house or to another place. In the end, you will get the flip side of the story: why you need to hire professionals to move the pool table. Read on.
Moving a Pool Table 101: Around the House
1. Make a Purchase of Wooden Dollies
Depending on your pool table’s number of feet, you need to get these wooden pieces that come with wheels. The number of dollies recommended is four. These are the essential items in the moving business, and you may be surprised at what they can do for you. When you buy them, wrap their edges in the fabric or carpet. This will help in preventing the scratching of the pool table’s legs.
2. Get the Dollies in Position
Distribute the wheeled items to each corner of the pool table you are trying to move. This should help you to prepare to slide each one of them under the legs. Ensure that the entire area around the pool table is clear; no objects should get entangled to the wheels, making moving difficult.
As you make the clearance, ensure that all rugs are kept away. If these items are left out in the open, they may hamper or bunch your dollies’ rolling.
3. Start by Lifting One of the Corners of the Pool Table
Try lifting any one end of the pool table. While you may complete this task on your own, I suggest that you get a helper friend to assist you because pool tables are heavy. When you get an excellent pair of hands, the efforts will be lessened. You just need to tilt the table from one of its longer sides. As you do this, avoid injuring your back by lifting the corner with your legs.
4. Get the Dollies in Position
If you’re taking this up as a DIY solo job, trying snagging the dolly with your stronger foot. Guide the item into position – right beneath the leg of the pool table. As you do this, be careful not to overexert yourself while you are doing this maneuver. If you do, you will likely lose your grip over the table, meaning that it will come down with a significant impact that is likely to destroy it. If you have an extra pair of hands, ask them to roll the dolly into its position.
When the first dolly is positioned successfully, go ahead, and repeat the process for all the other ones. Do not start moving the item without ensuring that all the dollies are in position.
5. Jam the Other Dollies’ Wheels
When you are working on another foot, you may apply special force and pressure to the table. This may cause a backward roll on the dollies that you have already positioned. To prevent the rolling from happening, ensure that you lock the wheel of the other dollies. You can get an object and place it between the wheels to prevent it from moving. Confirm that the dolly you just positioned is stationary before you start lifting the other feet of the pool table.
6. Raise the Other Ends of the Pool Table
If all the dollies are stationary, ensure that there are within reach of a foot or if your helper can slide them into place. If all is well, get the other side of the table lifted. Then, move the remaining dollies beneath each leg at the table’s end.
7. Undo the Jamming and then Get the Rolling Business Ready
You now need to unblock and unlock the dollies that you had jammed. Do this carefully and check if the pool table is moving by itself. Before you start pushing the table, you should walk through the path you want to take the pool table. Ensure that you measure the wideness of the doors you’ll pass– they should be able to accommodate your pool table’s width. As mentioned in the second step, get all items and carpet moved away as these may jam or bunch your dollies’ wheel. When a wheel gets clogged, the table may get jostled. This out-of-position move may cause a dent on your wall, the table, or any prized possessions you have.
8. Start Moving the Table with a Steadily Firm Pressure
It would help if you had control over the speed at which the pool table rolls should depend on you. Since the pool table carries many pounds, you wouldn’t want it to gain too much momentum. If it does, it will be nearly impossible to stop it. Get a friend to help you push the table from the same side on opposite corners. Ensure that you make these moves slowly and in a controlled fashion.
If you have no one to help you, take a central position. As you move with the pool through the home, have it in mind that the pool table’s weight is a little difficult to bear when turning corners.
9. Get Your Dollies Retrieved
At this moment, I believe that you have gotten to your destination. You need to remove the dollies carefully as you place them, but not before you lock or jam them. Start lifting the table from the middle of its longer side. If you can, kick the dolly off. If you have a friend, tell them to pull the wheeled wooden pieces free. Then, lower the table slowly to the ground to avoid damaging it. Once you remove one dolly, get the wheels of the other dollies unlocked.
Moving a Pool Table 101: From House to House
1. Remove the pool table’s pockets
The standard pool table comes with two pockets on the side and four on the corners. Depending on the table’s specific size and design, the pockets may be attached to the pool’s table in a couple of ways. Many times, however, you are likely to find them attached with staples. Try prying out the staples using a staple puller or a flathead screwdriver.
2. Get the Rails Detached
For the most part, the rails used on pool tables are held in place by bolts. So, get a regular socket wrench to remove these bolts with ease. Once you are done, free each rail by sliding it. If the table’s rails are in the sectional attachment, you should get someone to flip them and help you get them disconnected.
3. Get the Felt (or the Pool Table’s Surface) Free
If you didn’t know, the felt is the most fragile and delicate part of the pool table. If you tear it even for one bit, it is likely to be completely ruined. If the felt you are dealing with is held by staples, get a staple puller to prevent damaging the fabric. If the felt is glue, try and pull it backward with gentleness. Please, do not do it upwards as this may cause a tearing impact on it. The last thing you want is a compromised piece of felt cloth. If you plan to use or reuse the felt, fold it up gently so that it does not get wrinkles.
4. Get the Slate Separated from the Pool Table
The slate is most likely being held down to the pool’s frame by screws. You can effectively remove these using a power drill. Ensure that the drill you get is fitted by the right bit type. In many situations and to prevent damage, beeswax is used on the slate’s screw. If you find that this is your case, get a flathead screwdriver to scrape the beeswax off. Then, you can go on and unscrew the slate.
5. Get the Slate in the Vehicle You’re Moving With
So that your future games happen with integrity, you need to ensure that the rock forming the surface’s level remains unblemished. If you didn’t know, slate either comes in three or one solid pieces. You can lift the slate from the legs of the pool table. Then, get it into the vehicle.
The safer and better thing for you to do is to stack the slate pieces on each other. As you do that, however, ensure that they are correctly fastened. Also, do not get anything jostled to prevent any kind of damage. To ensure that the slate remains undamaged the entire period of the drive, you can use some covering on it, something like a cloth or a blanket.
6. Get the Legs of the Pool Table Removed
Since you have already dealt with the delicate parts and stowed them away, take off the legs from their frame. This should not be a challenging thing to do. You can use a good bit and a drill to get the leg off. These can be put in boxes before you load them up into the vehicle.
7. Get the Frame onto the Vehicle
If you are comfortably done with the slate and the legs, you won’t find it challenging to deal with the frame. Actually, you can set it on the slate’s top. If the table has been finished with lacquered wood, you should cover the finished surfaces with some padding type or drop-cloth. This will help prevent the frame from getting any kind of damage.
8. Take the Items to the New House
I assume that the most important things are already in the vehicle. At this point, therefore, there is no need for any further disassembling. All the parts that remain should get loaded into the vehicle. Now, you can move the table into a new location.
9. Study the Provided Space in the New Location
You need to comprehend the much space you have in the new location for your pool table. This is important because the table will indeed and comfortably fit. Also, you will need to get the new pool room cleared. When the path is clear, you may start bringing in the item. You wouldn’t want to get tripped by a rug as this would ruin the objects making the table.
10. Get the Table Rebuilt in Reverse
While disassembling the pool table may have been easy, this step will need your unlimited patience and focus. If you install the table improperly, the pool table may end up having no balance or little level. To begin the reassembling business properly, you can start with the legs and the frame.
11. Get the Slate Placed
As mentioned earlier, the slate is very delicate. It is the one item that dictates the shape and form of your game of pool. Also, even the slightest damage to the slate will undoubtedly ruin the entire thing. If your pool table has single slate pieces, you will find the installation easy and more comforting. If the table’s slate is in three-piece parts, move each piece carefully, setting them atop of each other. As you take care of this final step, here are some essential pointers to have in mind:
- Ensure that all the slate pieces fit together with neatness and don’t have any damage. When you look at the dowel pins connecting the pieces, do they look warped or bent? If that is the case, you should get new dowels at the hardware store.
- The three slate pieces should be slid together using the right connectors between them. Then, ensure that the assembled slate piece is placed in its rightful position on the pool table.
- Ensure that your hands don’t get caught up between slate pieces. If they do, you may require to make a trip to the doctor.
Moving a Pool Table 101: Why You Should Get Pros
For the most part of this article, we have been focusing on the pool table moving job as a DIY. This section takes a different trajectory and will now look at the idea of getting professionals.
You may be looking at the DIY thing as a challenging thing to do. If you feel like the job is a little too much for you to do, you can consider going for pros. Billiard table removals can indeed be challenging to do, considering the weight of the items making up the pool table. This meaning that you may have to go for experts. This section will look at the perks of seeking pro pool table services instead of taking up the job as a DIY. Read on:
1. You will be dealing with experts
The experts you choose to call will have handled pool and billiard tables for quite a while. This implies that they will take care of the tables, depending on condition and age. They know the disassembling and assembling techniques that come with the different types of tables. If you are a DIY mover, you are likely to handle all kinds of tables in the same way.
Before the tables are moved, these experts engage in table inspection. They will look at the joints and frames to see if there are any cracks. This kind of examination helps them to know the best way of moving the item. For example, if they discover any fissures in the pieces of wood, they are likely to treat the moving with a lot of delicateness.
2. You will get to enjoy the benefits of insurance
As you already know, the different parts that make up pool tables are weighty. The components can easily be damaged during a move. If you accidentally drop a piece of slate, you would have to replace it using your money. If you hire professionals and something goes wrong during the move, you should rest easy because compensation will come your way. As you hire a professional, ensure that you ask about the insurance cover they offer in case of damages.
3. You won’t have to worry much about any mistakes happening
Pool table movers are experts and understand why accurately estimating space for pool tables is essential. The pros will check and recheck the measurements to ensure that the destination has enough room. At times, the final distance may be too tight to accommodate the pool. Experts will also give suggestions on how to go about such eventualities.
4. They use proper transportation and tools
These experts have the right equipment to start and finishing the entire business of disassembling and reassembling. They have padding blankets, screwdrivers, and dollies that help in the business of moving the table. All the parts of the table will be removed and stowed expertly.
The experts will also not use a sedan or a Cadillac to move your table; they have expert trucks that hold the billiard tables firmly in place to prevent sudden and wobbly movement as the transportation is happening.
5. In the long run, you will incur fewer costs
The friend you call in to help you might have had a tiresome previous day. When he messed up, you would be a bad person to take him to court. Or maybe, he may want to take shortcuts to save on time and effort. If you need to get the job done well, contact a team of experts to save you on the cost.
