What Happens on Moving Day, From Crew Arrival to Final Box
A stage-by-stage account of moving day, from the minute hourly billing starts to the walkthrough that comes before payment. It also covers the building and street rules that shape where the truck and any moving container can go.
On an hourly apartment move with Move Your Stuff, the rate covers the crew and truck from arrival to completion, and that window includes elevator time, protection setup, and the disassembly and reassembly of furniture. Billing on moving day therefore begins before the first box leaves the unit, so every minute spent waiting on a shared elevator or a locked loading area is paid time, and the arrangements made in the week before the move shape the final total as much as the work done on site.
Protection setup comes first and sits inside the billed window, and the length of everything after it depends mostly on the size of the home. The business publishes a baseline for the two most common units: a bachelor apartment typically needs a two-person crew and two to four hours, while a 1-bedroom takes a two to three person crew and a three to five hour window.
Same-day apartment moves are possible when the schedule has capacity, though elevator access at the building remains the binding constraint, and no crew can shorten a wait for a car another resident has already reserved. Booking at least two weeks ahead, as the business recommends, leaves room to secure that elevator, which moves the next set of constraints to the building's own rules and to the street where the truck will stand for the length of the job.
Billed time starts when the crew arrives, so elevator waits and protection setup count toward the hours on the final invoice.
Building access and city street rules
Where building management requires a certificate of insurance before releasing the elevator or loading area, Move Your Stuff provides one on request, typically within 24 to 48 hours. That turnaround puts the request in the days before an apartment move, because a certificate requested on the morning of the job can leave the crew standing by while the hourly clock runs.
A household planning to park the truck on a Richmond Hill street with a resident's day pass will find the option closed, since the City's temporary parking permits are valid for on-street parking only and cannot be purchased for commercial vehicles other than taxi cabs. The exclusion also covers any vehicle over 5.2 m in length or 3,000 kg, so space in a driveway or at the building's loading area has to be arranged before the crew arrives.
Newmarket's parking exemption program works on a narrower basis: it is sold for one day or for 5 days, priced per plate, is valid 24 hours from purchase, is limited to 15 nights per year per licence plate, and only exempts a vehicle from the 3-hour limit between April 16 and October 31. In North York, Toronto requires a Street Occupation Permit, obtained in person, to place a moving container on the boulevard, sidewalk, roadway or public lane during a renovation or construction project. Confirm with the city which rule applies to your street before moving day.
Who packs the boxes decides what is insured
Households often assume insurance follows every box onto the truck, when coverage on a Move Your Stuff job applies to items the team packed and is voided when the client packed the item themselves. A carton of dishes taped shut the night before travels outside that coverage even when the crew carries it down the hall, wraps it and loads it.
Adding the crew's help once boxes are already half done is the tempting fix, yet free packing has to be booked when the move date is confirmed and cannot be added on moving day itself. Booked that way, packing services are included at no additional charge with a move, all materials are supplied, and no home size cap triggers an extra packing fee. Apartment households can choose full or partial packing, which lets fragile rooms go to the team while books and linens stay with the household.
Taking furniture apart and putting it back
Large pieces that will not clear a doorway or an elevator come apart at the origin, and on an hourly apartment move both that disassembly and the matching reassembly sit inside the rate, so the time appears in the total hours. The published durations give a sense of scale: a standard PAX wardrobe takes 60 to 90 minutes to assemble, and a platform bed frame typically takes 30 to 45 minutes.
Reassembly at the destination is priced at a reduced rate when it is combined with a full move booking, and furniture assembly is otherwise priced per piece by furniture type and complexity. Wall anchoring for bookshelves, wardrobes and tall storage units is included, and the customer does not need to supply tools or materials.
Anchored shelving and wardrobes close out the furniture work for most homes, but a piano adds a rule about who has to be on site. For piano moving, the client or a designated representative must be present at both the origin and the destination. That requirement matters when keys to the old and new homes change hands at different times. Once the instrument is settled, the business advises waiting two to four weeks after the move before booking a tuner.
Reassembly at the new home includes wall anchoring for bookshelves, wardrobes and tall storage units, with tools and materials supplied by the crew.
The final check and when payment is due
Payment for an apartment move is due on completion, although a deposit may be required at booking for larger moves. Packing and assembly follow a stricter order: no packing payment is collected until the job is complete and the client confirms the work is correct, and no assembly payment is collected until the customer confirms the piece is correct. The walkthrough before the crew leaves is where the household's approval actually happens.
For apartment moves, Move Your Stuff accepts credit card, debit, e-transfer and cash, with payment due once the move is complete. For any other service, confirm the accepted method when booking. Settling it in advance keeps the last few minutes of an hourly job from stretching while payment is sorted out at the door.
A loose wardrobe hinge found after the truck has pulled away becomes a follow-up call. The same hinge found during the walkthrough is fixed before the household confirms the piece and pays for it. With the crew still in the room, open the wardrobe doors and test that tall units are anchored to the wall, since wall anchoring of tall units is already part of the service. Then look over the team-packed boxes, because packing and assembly payment is collected only after that confirmation. To plan your own day, request a quote or call Move Your Stuff at 647-982-1819.
Open every wardrobe door and drawer on reassembled pieces
Press gently on bookshelves, wardrobes and tall storage units to confirm each one is anchored to the wall
Open a sample of team-packed boxes from the kitchen and other fragile rooms
Check that bed frames sit level and do not shift under weight
