Booking the elevator
Almost every building along the Metrotown, Brentwood and Lougheed corridors requires a freight elevator reservation, and the good slots near the end of the month disappear fast because so many leases turn over on the same date. As soon as your move date is set, contact the building office and pass the confirmed window to us so we can plan the crew around it.
Some older buildings only have a single elevator with no separate freight setting, which means we share it with residents on a schedule the concierge sets. We build extra time into the quote for those buildings rather than being surprised on the day.
Strata paperwork and move-in inspections
Many strata corporations ask for a certificate of insurance, a refundable damage deposit, and a move-in or move-out inspection of the hallway and elevator before and after your booking. We carry the paperwork buildings usually ask for and can walk the hallway with the concierge if that is part of your building's process.
If your strata has a specific move window, such as weekday mornings only, tell us early. Weekend and evening slots are common but not universal, and a mismatched booking is the single most common reason a condo move gets pushed.
Protecting the building on the way through
Corner guards go on doorframes, floor runners go down in the lobby and hallway, and the elevator cab gets its own padding before a single box moves. Buildings care about their common areas, and a scuffed wall in the lobby becomes your problem if nobody protected it first.
Inside the unit, furniture is wrapped before it is carried, and anything with a cord, such as a television or a computer, is disconnected and boxed with its cables labelled rather than left loose in a bag.
Smaller loads, same standards
A studio or one-bedroom move is not treated as a lesser job. It still gets a proper walk-through, a crew sized to the unit rather than padded for the sake of it, and the same care wrapping a couch as we would give a dining set in a house three times the size.
Working with property managers
Most Burnaby towers have a property manager or a strata council that sets the rules for moves, and it is worth building a relationship with them rather than treating every visit as a first meeting. We keep our insurance certificate current and ready to send, and we introduce ourselves to the concierge or building manager on arrival so the day starts on the right foot.
For buildings we have worked in before, this step is quick because the relationship already exists. For a first move into a new tower, we treat the introduction as part of the job rather than something to rush through on the way to the elevator.