Moving out of an apartment on the North Shore
Lift bookings, dock heights, strata paperwork and where the truck can actually stop. Apartment moves are won or lost before anyone lifts a crate.
· 6 min read · Wombat Crates
House moves are about muscle. Apartment moves are about logistics. From Neutral Bay to Dee Why, the jobs that run late are almost never the ones with the most furniture, they are the ones where nobody rang the building manager.
Book the lift first
Most buildings only let one resident use the lift for a move at a time, usually in a two or three hour block on weekdays or Saturday mornings. Those blocks go fast at the end of the month. Ring the building manager or strata as soon as you have a settlement or lease date, before you book the removalist.
Ask three things while you have them on the phone: how long the block is, whether the lift needs protective padding fitted, and whether your removalist has to supply a certificate of currency in advance. That last one has stopped more trucks at the door than any parking inspector.
Know your access before the day
- Dock height: many older North Shore blocks have low clearance basements that a large truck cannot enter.
- Distance: measure the carry from the loading zone to the lift. Sixty metres of corridor changes how you pack.
- Stairs: walk ups over three storeys usually cost more and take longer, so tell your removalist honestly.
- Parking: check for resident only zones and whether the council needs a permit for a stationary truck.
Why crates beat cardboard in a lift
Crates stack square and roll five high on a dolly, so a lift block moves far more in each trip than an armful of cartons. They also do not collapse when the base gets damp in a wet basement, and the clipped lids mean you can stack them in a corridor without anything tipping out.
Be a good neighbour
Keep fire doors clear, do not prop the lift open outside your block, and pad the corridor corners if the building asks. Strata has a long memory and, if you are renting, so does your bond.
Our delivery to apartments
Tell us your unit number, the floor, whether there is a lift and any dock or buzzer detail when you book. We deliver in a two hour window seven days a week from the Harbour Bridge north to Palm Beach, and we bring the crates to your door, not to the kerb.