How Many Removalists Do You Need for Your House Move?

Typically, a couple of removalists should be enough for one or two-bedroom houses in Brisbane, assuming there are no staircases involved or too much furniture to carry. Three removalists may be just right for a standard three-bedroom home, whereas four removalists are worth considering for larger houses consisting of more than four bedrooms, homes which have staircases inside or outside the house, or where a large quantity of bulky and heavy items are being carried from one place to another.

However, this can easily go wrong as most people end up getting their calculations incorrect. When removalists are booked insufficiently for a large load, the job ends up taking too long, with movers exhausted after doing unnecessary trips. Similarly, a larger than required number of removalists for smaller amounts will cost money that is better not wasted.

The following guide explains how the size of the removalists’ team is calculated in Brisbane homes and what exactly determines how many removalists are sufficient for your house move.

How Many Removalists Do You Need for a House Move?

By way of a general guideline, most removals companies use a minimum of two workers together with a van depending upon the dimensions of your home and amount of furniture that is being relocated. The typical team size is two removalists when we talk about a smaller property but a third worker would be a good fit in cases where you have a more complex move.

It is not only the amount of space and number of rooms which would determine the team size needed; other factors include the amount of belongings being relocated, nature of some items, distance they would have to be carried, any steps or lift required, or limited access area. A properly coordinated team size helps in getting work done efficiently and effectively.

How Many Removalists Do You Need Based on Home Size?

The size of your house is what will determine the number of moving teams you will require because the house size provides a good indicator for estimating the amount of stuff you have. The chart above is just a guide and your requirement may change based on what you have and the kind of property you have.

Property Size Typical Belongings Recommended Removalist Team Estimated Time / Complexity
1-bedroom house or apartment Bedroom suite, small lounge setup, boxes, compact appliances 2 removalists 2–4 hours — low complexity
2-bedroom house or unit Full lounge and dining setup, two bedrooms of furniture, kitchen appliances 2 removalists (3 if stairs, a lift, or heavy items are involved) 3–5 hours — low to moderate complexity
3-bedroom house Family-sized furniture, multiple bedrooms, outdoor or garage items 3 removalists 5–7 hours — moderate complexity
4+ bedroom house Large volume of furniture, multiple living areas, garage/shed contents 3–4 removalists 6–9+ hours or a full day — higher complexity

Removalists for 1-Bedroom House or Apartment

A 1-bedroom house or apartment will normally take you the least time on the list. Two removalists will easily pack, load, transfer, and off-load all your belongings unless your building is multi-level without an elevator.

Removalists for 2-Bedroom House

A 2-bedroom house can be managed by just two removalists. However, when the job needs a third removalist, there are some factors to be considered like a full set up of furniture for the other room, home office set up, heavy items like fridge and piano, and accessibility of the place like a walk-up unit.

Removalists for 3-Bedroom House

In 3-bedroom houses, there will normally be quite a lot of furniture, appliances, and boxes, so it makes more sense to hire three removalists to move things smoothly and quickly. The thing is, with three removalists, one of them loads the truck properly while others go to carry.

Removalists for 4+ Bedrooms

If you have a larger family with lots of living areas or garage and a shed at the bottom of the yard, three or even four removalists will be more than reasonable on your job. The point is to save your day rather than manage with less labor force here.

When Are Two Removalists Enough?

  • Two removalists are sufficient when:
  • You are moving out of 1 or 2 bedroom house, flat, or apartment.
  • Ground-level access or operating lift is available in both houses.
  • Furniture items are relatively small and easy for two men to handle.
  • The carrying distance from the door to the vehicle is not far.
  • You have prepared almost all boxes yourself before the move.

When Should You Hire Three or Four Removalists?

  • A bigger crew consisting of three or four removalist helpers would be more worthwhile for:
    • A family home of three bedrooms or above
    • If there are stairs, a walk-up property, or lack of a lift
    • In case of far carry from door to truck or truck parking distance is far from property
    • For the presence of difficult items like piano, billiards table, safe box, or large refrigerator
    • When you wish for a quick relocation process in one go
    • When the moving job is unplanned and packing has not been done in advance

What Factors Determine How Many Removalists You Need?

Home size gives a useful starting point, but a few other factors matter just as much when working out the right team size for your specific move.

How Does Furniture and Belongings Volume Affect Team Size?

Whereas houses that have an abundance of furniture or a filled garage will require extra manpower and extra trips from a truck compared to those with less cluttered space. This is the reason why the removalists normally inquire into how many pieces of furniture you have and how many boxes there are for you move.

Do Stairs, Lifts and Difficult Access Change the Number of Movers?

Absolutely. It takes much longer to move via stairs, it is harder work for the smaller crew of removalists, so one more mover will be a good idea to use when moving into apartments where elevators are not available or moving into houses with several floors. An elevator may help, but common lifts in buildings create a problem with additional time spent on every trip, so that is another reason why a bit bigger number of people would be needed.

Heavy or Fragile Furniture Considerations

Furniture pieces such as refrigerators, pianos, billiards tables, dressers, and big couches are usually hard to move with only two people, irrespective of the size of the house. However, delicate goods such as glass-top furniture, pictures, mirrors, and antiques might not always require many people to move; however, it is worth noting the same due to their delicate nature.

How Do Packing Services Affect the Number of Movers Required?

When the boxes have been pre-packed and labeled, then the removal crew will simply have to move them without having to worry about doing any labeling themselves – this process takes less time and requires less people to carry it out. If you would prefer the removalists to do the packing too, then this could be another reason to make sure the removal crew is large enough to pack and load simultaneously.

How Does the Number of Removalists Affect Moving Time and Cost?

The more removalists there are, the quicker the job will be done, as more goods will be able to be carried out at one time and less trips will be required from the truck to both locations. The expense of employing more people per hour will obviously be greater, however, since the time involved in completing the work will be reduced, the total difference in expense will be lower than you may think.

Should You Hire More Removalists to Finish Faster?

This will depend upon your preferences. If your schedule for either the moving-out of your old place or moving-in to your new one is strict, you might find it convenient to have another removalist on board. In case time does not matter much and money is the major concern here, having a single worker work longer makes perfect sense as well.

Removalists vs DIY Moving: How Many People Do You Really Need?

The do-it-yourself type of move would require more personnel to complete compared to when professionals perform the task due to a couple of reasons. Two experienced removalists can complete the task for a 2 bedroom apartment; however, for the DIY type of move, four to five people should be involved in order to finish within similar time. Additionally, it is difficult to safely move large or bulky items with inexperienced help as there is the risk of injury to both people and items.

Professional removalists are well versed in techniques as well as have all the necessary equipment and experience in completing the move process safely and efficiently. Trolleys, movers and other useful devices and accessories come in very handy when dealing with heavy and/or large or fragile household items. For the more complicated types of moves, it makes sense to use professionals.

How to Choose the Right Removalist Team for Your Brisbane Move

In addition, there are certain quirks of Brisbane housing that need to be taken into account when determining appropriate crew size:

Queenslanders and high properties: the typical Queenslander home often involves stairs leading to the main living space, which sometimes might be steep or narrow; hence, one more removalist could be considered

Units and apartments: in case the building has lifts, for instance in the city center, South Brisbane, or in New Farm areas, booking the lift would be required to transport your belongings and thus taking into account additional waiting time between each trip could take more workers to perform tasks faster

Inner city terraces with narrow streets: a situation when there is street parking available or even a narrow driveway would mean more time is spent for transporting goods from the truck to the doorstep of the property regardless of the latter’s dimensions

Sloped blocks and multilevel properties: these are quite frequent in areas such as The Gap, Kenmore, as well as some bay sides

Brisbane weather: storms during the summer moving period require the presence of extra personnel who will assist with quickly loading and covering your belongings

However, the best thing would be to let the experts make the decision by providing them with all the necessary information concerning the number of rooms, amount of furniture and any particular access problems.

Residential Moves

How to Prepare Before Your Removalists Arrive

A little bit of planning can go a long way in ensuring an efficient move, regardless of how large a team you hired:

  • Package your items in boxes and mark them per room for easy lifting and placement
  • Disassemble beds, shelving, and any other big items that wouldn’t fit into a room normally
  • Clear a direct line for getting from every room in the house to the outside of the house
  • Let the movers know about any very delicate or heavy items upon their arrival
  • Make sure to get access to any lift in case you’re moving from an apartment complex
  • Get parking reserved near the door for the truck if at all possible
  • Store any important items in a backpack that you personally take along

Frequently Asked Questions

How many removalists should I get for a move?

The number of removalists needed for a house move ranges between two removalists for a 1 or 2-bedroom house, three for a typical 3-bedroom home, and three to four for more spacious houses like 4-bedroom+. The actual number is determined by the number of items to move, presence/absence of stairs or difficult access, and urgency.

How many movers should I hire for a 2-bedroom house?

Two removalists should be sufficient to perform a move in a 2-bedroom home or unit. An additional mover might be required to deal with stairs, lack of lifts, fridge or a large wardrobe to be moved.

How many removalists do I require for a 3-bedroom house?

For a 3-bedroom house, a number of three removalists appears to be the most effective solution in terms of speed as the number of items to be moved and packed makes the move take time anyway, so it is better to have someone helping out constantly.

How many removalists would it be optimal to hire for a 4-bedroom house?

Three to four removalists can cope with the move in a 4-bedroom+ home and might be helpful with loading/unloading a garage/shed in addition to moving furniture from all the bedrooms.

How many people would it take to move house without removalists?

If you are not hiring professional removalists for the move, you will need a bit more people as it will take more time even for untrained people. For an average home, four or five people will be needed for the DIY move to save a bit of time at least.

Will stairs increase the number of removalists I need?

Usually, yes – the work takes more time as a result, as loading takes longer with stairs and becomes harder. Thus, an additional removalist can make sure that the work does not take much extra time because of the stairs.

Is the cost higher if I hire a bigger team of removalists?

The hourly cost of a bigger team is higher, however, due to finishing the work faster the total cost becomes similar to the one of the smaller team hired for a longer period.

Can two removalists move a house with lots of furniture?

It is possible for two removalists to move such house, but the work takes more time and trips than if there were three removalists hired to manage the job.

Do I need to hire extra removalists if I have a large fridge or a piano?

It is better to hire three or more removalists when moving an item like a piano, pool table, a safe, a large fridge and others, irrespective of the size of the rest of the house.

How do the packing services affect the number of removalists required?

In case when boxes are packed and the removalists will only need to load them into the truck it is possible to manage with less removalists. In case packing and loading should be performed at the same time, a bigger team is advisable.

How do I choose the appropriate removalist team size for a Brisbane house move?

The best way is to discuss your house details (number of bedrooms, volume of furniture, stairs or access difficulties).