We have over 40 years' experience providing removals and storage services across Kent, London and the UK. We specialise in piano removals and have moved Beethoven's piano on a European tour. Our facilities in Ashford include container storage, piano storage and document archive.
We were privileged to conduct the Tunstall Primary School move from their old home near Sittingborne to their new shiny building at the end of last term. The school is expanding and we had the job of moving every chair, crayon and computer to their new purpose built home. Like any commercial move, the Tunstall School move was no easy task, it required detailed planning and accurate execution to ensure everything ended up in the right classroom.
School Move Planning
Our experienced team are used to managing large moves, early and extended discussions with the Headmistress made sure we knew exactly what Tunstall’s teachers and pupils needed from us. We were able to work out a plan that gave minimal disruption to the teachers and pupils during the school move. We did all of the dismantling and packing at quiet periods around the end of term and did the school move itself during the Easter break. This preparation meant the removal went very smoothly with all items being moved and in place ahead of schedule. The school was fully functioning and ready to accept their pupils immediately after the school break. A great testament to the planning, skills and commitment of the whole team.
Removals with a Difference
What was different about this move compared to most was the size of the furniture. All of the children’s chairs, table and toys looked tiny compared to usual in the back of 18 tonne removal lorry. It also took us all back to our childhood with memories of new friends, school dinners and scuffed knees. That said all the computers and SMART boards made the classrooms quite different to the blackboards and chalk of old.
Congratulations to Tunstall Primary (www.tunstall.kent.sch.uk), we hope you all enjoy your new school and that it is a great place to grow and learn. Thank you for letting us do your school move, we appreciate it and hope we can help you again in the future.
Over the years we have gleaned loads of piano care top tips and advice from pianists, manufacturers, tuners and shop owners. So here is the best piano care top tips from the piano industry to help keep your pride and joy in brilliant health.
Piano Care Top Tips #1 – Location
Try and position your piano on an internal wall away from direct sunlight. External walls vary more in temperature than internal walls. If you can keep pianos away from windows as UV light can bleach the piano casing. Also try and keep your piano away from any sources of direct heat or cold e.g. a radiator or air conditioning unit. If you need to place you piano next to a radiator consider turning it off or at least turning it down. We will happily move your piano to any location in your home so think about the best place for your piano to enjoy it, play it and keep it in the best condition.
Piano Care Top Tips # 2- Humidity
A piano is made of natural materials such as wood, felt, cloth and leather. As such it expands and contracts with variations in temperature and more importantly humidity. The natural materials will swell or shrink as the relative humidity goes up or down and this can affect the sound of the piano. For instance, felt will absorb water if the humidity increases which can dull the action, piano strings can rust and keys can expand and become sticky. In the worst case large and regular humidity changes can cause cracks in the sound board or loosen the tuning pins.
A piano does not like being in an overly damp or an excessively dry environment, therefore it is helpful if you can keep your piano in a room that holds a fairly constant humidity. For instance, try and avoid placing your piano near an external door. To help maintain the humidity you may also wish to consider buying a piano humidifier or a cheaper option is to keep a small jar of water underneath or inside the piano. Just remember to move the water jar before the piano movers arrive!
Piano Care Top Tips #3 – Cleaning
Dust can dull the hammer action and affect the sound of the piano. Most experts recommend you dust your piano every other week using a feather duster or soft cloth. Never use chemical cleaners or alcohol to clean the piano. If you need to clean the piano use only mild soap and water and use a well wrung out damp cloth. Avoid using any water on the internal parts of the piano.
Piano Care Top Tips #4 – Vases and Displays
We would recommend you avoid placing items on the top of the piano. These can cause poor tone or vibrations whilst you are playing. Heavy items placed on the lid may mark the piano case. Vases filled with water could obviously spill, causing water damage to the case, strings, hammer or action.
Piano Care Top Tips #5 – Piano Storage
If you need to store your piano, for instance if you are temporarily emigrating or down sizing whilst you decorate, you should look for a professional piano mover and storage expert to take care of you instrument. Just like in your home your piano will need to be protected from UV, temperature and humidity changes to keep it in the best of condition. Any professional piano mover will be able to offer you a range of piano storage services to meet your needs and budget. From standard storage to climate-controlled storage, where the temperature and humidity are maintained at optimum conditions, there are many storage options. In addition, if you are storing a grand piano you should consider storing the piano on its legs, this is how the piano was designed to be kept. However, storing a grand piano in this way does cost more, as it takes up more space, so most professional piano movers offer an option to store your grand piano on its side. This is perfectly safe and may be a better value for money option for you.
Piano Care Top Tips #6 – Piano Tuning
Your piano is a living instrument and as such it needs a check-up every so often. The piano will slowly go out of tune over time, whether it is used or not. As such it is recommended that you get your piano tuned every 6 months. If you have a brand new piano this increases to 4 times in the first year, as the new strings stretch more in the first 12 months as they bed in. Leaving a piano out of tune for a prolonged period of time can permanently alter the pitch of the piano or require major re-tuning to bring it back to concert pitch. To avoid this expense and stress for the piano go for regular tuning. You should also consider getting you piano tuned when it is stored, the effects of time on the pitch and tune apply to pianos in store as well as time at home. To find a reputable piano tuner in Kent, Sussex or London check out – piano-tuners.org.
Pianos are such special and beautiful instruments. To keep them in the best of condition they need to be looked after and cared for. A small amount of preparation will help you choose and maintain the best environment for the piano. Regular, careful cleaning will help keep the look and tone while professional tuning will keep the pith perfect throughout its life. If you look after your piano it will provide many years of joy for you and your family. By applying these piano care top tips you will keep your beautiful instrument sounding and looking great.
We are really pleased to say we have had some fantastic house removal reviews from our customers from Kent in February 2016. A big thank you to all the customers who took the time to give us this feedback. We really appreciate the feedback and overall 99% of our customers would recommend our house removal and piano moving services to their family and friends.
It is always great to receive positive comments but we want to hear all comments, good or bad. This is why all of our reviews are collated and verified by an independent company, Reference Line. This allows us to continuously challenge ourselves to improve our removals service. You can read all of our house removal reviews by following the link in the footer or clicking here – House Removal Reviews.
House Removal Reviews February 2016
Here are the reviews we received in February 2016:
Maidstone House Removal
Great service from the office staff and the team of guys who worked really hard on the day.
Tenterden House Removal
Excellent service from Colin Batts
Maidstone House Removal
The team were very courteous, helpful and flexible. they were very professional with removal of all items from the house. The move ‘in’ went equally well and flexibility and meeting our requirements was a key point of the success.
Gillingham House Removal
The team were terrific.
Maidstone House Removal
Very helpful. Dismantled big furniture pieces and reassembled where needed. Guys were courteous and listened to my needs and wants. Thank you!
Using the House Removal Reviews
Choosing a house mover is a tough job. Independent reviews help you to gain a true picture of a company’s performance. Always ask for references or search online for any removals ratings or reviews. Any reputable removal company, such as members of the British Association of Removers, will have a customer feedback procedure in place and will be able to show you their customers’ comments. Use these to help down-select the removal companies you like and then get a minimum of 3 quotes from different companies for your move.
There are many reasons that you might need to use a professional storage service to temporarily store some of your household items. You might be redecorating your house in Maidstone, downsizing in Canterbury or emigrating for a few years from Ashford. Whatever your reason, here are our top storage tips to protect you and your furniture and to help you manage the storage process. These storage tips are there to help whether you are using a professional container storage solution, self-storage or even using a friend’s garage.
Storage Tips #1 – Dispose or Store
Do you really need to store these items or would it be better to sell them or give them to charity? It can be expensive to store items that you are never going to use again so do challenge yourself on the real need to keep your items. We can help you dispose of any unwanted items by taking them to an auction or delivering them to a charity of your choice.
Storage Tips #2 – Dangerous and Flammable Items
Remove any perishable, flammable or dangerous goods from your storage items as well as any liquids e.g. gas canisters, petrol cans etc. Perishable goods will only rot and damage surrounding items. For safety and fire protection flammable or dangerous goods like acids cannot be stored. If you have items such as these that need storage you should contact a specialist dangerous goods storage company.
Storage Tips #3 – White Goods
If you are storing your white goods you need to make sure they are fully defrosted, drained and completely emptied. Water and food are not good items to store as they can leak and rot, damaging the rest of the items you have in store. To help with this you may wish to hire the services of a plumber to help disconnect your washing machine, dishwasher etc.
Storage Tips #4 – Future Access
Before you pack and send your items to store have a think whether you may need access to any of the items while you are in store. For instance, avoid storing your insurance documents and passport etc. Make a note if there are items that are more likely to be required than others and tell your removal company what these items are so that they can store them in more readily accessible areas.
Storage Tips #5 – Owner Packed Goods
When using a professional removals storage service, we recommend you ask your removal company to pack all the items you wish to store. Removals companies cannot insure items that have been packed by the owner as they cannot confirm the condition of the item nor the quality of the packing prior to removal. We realise that this may be an additional expense you cannot afford and so if you do pack items yourself make sure all heavy items are placed at the bottom of boxes, all items are wrapped and boxes are not over filled. You can also purchase your own insurance to protect yourself if you self-pack.
Storage Tips #6 – Oversize Items
A professional removal company will take your goods away and store them in purpose built wooden containers. These containers are approximately 7x7x5feet or 215x215x150cm and can store approximately 250cubic feet or 7m3 of goods. Self-Storage units come in various sizes from a floor space of 16 square feet up to 400 square feet. This means any large and oversize items of furniture that cannot fit into these containers or rooms will need special handling e.g. a ladder or a large sofa. Most professional companies have designated areas to be able to store these items. Let your storage company know if you have any oversize items to store so that they can prepare the appropriate space and equipment for your furniture.
Storage Tips #7 – Piano Storage & Antique Storage
Pianos and antiques are especially delicate and fragile items that require special handling and storage. With pianos or antiques we would always recommend you use a professional storage company and mover to transport your goods. They will have the right equipment, skills and insurance to move these delicate and often heavy goods. When you are storing these items ask about heated rooms or environmentally controlled areas to keep your piano or antique in the best condition.
Storage Tips #8 – Storage Inventory
Once you have decided exactly what you want to store make a comprehensive list of all these items, including their condition and value (for insurance purposes). If at all possible we recommend you take pictures of your items so that you have a record of their condition. If you are using a professional removals storage service your removals company will make an inventory and condition report for you.
Storage Tips #9 – Storage Insurance
When you are selecting your storage company make sure you ask them about their insurance. You want a fully comprehensive insurance to protect you from any accidents that may happen, as well as fire and theft. Accidents are rare but you want peace of mind that your goods are protected should the worst happen. You also need to check that the full value of your goods are covered rather than only part of their full value.
Storage Tips #10 – Pack Early & Use Quality Materials
Packing takes time, it is not a quick job to sort, dismantle, wrap and pack all of your items and you have to fit it around work and family life. As such start your packing as early as possible and plan on doing a little bit each day and week. You can buy packing materials from any reputable removal company whether you plan to store with them or not. If you are sourcing your own materials make sure to buy ‘double-walled’ boxes and strong tape – the boxes need to be strong enough to take all the weight and be built to last. When packing your storage boxes remember they will be stacked together so make sure you fill every box and tape them shut.
Off-site storage can free up important space to give you more room to work, decorate or declutter. Whether you use professional container storage or self-storage you should plan ahead and get prepared, prior preparation really dies pay dividends. Our storage tips will help to get you sorted and ensure your goods are well protected. Give us a call if you have any other questions or concerns regarding storage. We will be more than happy to talk through your issues and help where we can.
We’ve moved! We are extremely pleased and proud to announce that Colin Batt Removals has moved to a new site in Ashford and we now have a new and enlarged storage facility and offices. We have expanded and have more space to offer container storage, archive storage and piano storage. You can now find us at The Mill, Maidstone Road, near Hothfield, between Ashford and Maidstone.
Moving Home
We are sad to leave our old home in Challock, where we have been for over 30 years, but we are excited about the opportunities and potential at our new removals headquarters. If you are driving past our site on the A20 please pop in for a tea or coffee, we’d love to see you and show off our new home.
Removals Services
Our new site allows us to expand some of our services, whilst still offering the same high quality piano moves and house removals. These improved removals services include:
Container Storage
We use industry standard wooden containers to store approximately 250 cubic feet of furniture in each box. This is a cheap, secure and efficient way to keep your items safe and in top condition, whether you need to store your items for weeks, months or years. We provide inclusive comprehensive insurance for your items and you can access them at any time. Follow the link for more information about our Container Storage service.
Piano Storage
Pianos need careful protection and our storage facilities offer a safe and controlled environment for this very reason. Whether you need to store an upright piano, grand piano or square piano we have the facilities for you, we even offer a heated room to keep your piano in the best condition. For the gold standard of care we are able to store your grand piano on its legs, as it would be in your home. This is the best way to store your instrument and helps to maintain its pitch and tone.
To help keep your piano in prime condition throughout the storage period we can also offer a regular tuning service. Whatever your piano storage needs we the have facilities, experience and equipment to keep your piano stored for how ever long you need.
Archive Document Storage
We have a dedicated building to provide off-site archive storage for any all of your files, folders or documents. We have a flexible and scalable service where you can store anything from one box to hundreds with no fixed contract. This means you can free up valuable space in your home and office, leaving us to safely and securely store your files. We can collect or deliver items on request, in a matter of hours if required, and can securely shred the documents when you no longer need them. We offer the complete document archiving and storage service; from cataloguing to collection, delivery to destruction. Click the link to learn more about our Document Storage services.
As well as all this additional storage Colin Batt Removals continue to conduct superior house removals for our many customers. We provide a complete removals service, from packing to insurance and storage to shipping. Whatever your removals needs we stand ready to help – just give us a call in the new office or you can write to us at Colin Batt Removals, The Mill Business Park, Maidstone Road, Hothfield, Ashford, Kent, TN26 1AE. We’re ready to help you say
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School Move Planning
School Move Planning
Removals with a Difference
Removals with a Difference
Piano Care Top Tips # 2- Humidity
Piano Care Top Tips #3 – Cleaning
Piano Care Top Tips #5 – Piano Storage
Maidstone House Removal
Tenterden House Removal
Maidstone House Removal
Gillingham House Removal
Maidstone House Removal
Storage Tips #1 – Dispose or Store
Storage Tips #4 – Future Access
Storage Tips #6 – Oversize Items
Storage Tips #7 – Piano Storage & Antique Storage
Storage Tips #8 – Storage Inventory
We have a dedicated building to provide off-site archive storage for any all of your files, folders or documents. We have a flexible and scalable service where you can store anything from one box to hundreds with no fixed contract. This means you can free up valuable space in your home and office, leaving us to safely and securely store your files. We can collect or deliver items on request, in a matter of hours if required, and can securely shred the documents when you no longer need them. We offer the complete document archiving and storage service; from cataloguing to collection, delivery to destruction. Click the link to learn more about our 
