Moving House

Moving House? How To Estimate The Weight Of Your Household Goods

By Wayne Jordan

Moving house companies are often wrong when it comes to estimating the weight and value of your household goods shipment. Some estimators do a pretty good job, but there is such high turnover in the industry that you never know how experienced your estimator really is. If you make your contract decision based on price, you may be in for a big surprise when the driver hands you the final bill at your destination. And when you’re moving houses, that’s the last thing you need.

There are a few simple steps you can take to estimate the weight on your own. Following these steps will keep you in charge of the process and protect your rights in case you need to make a claim. And they will also make moving house a lot easier.

You want to start by sorting and inventorying your belongings. If this sounds like more work than you want to do, there are companies you can hire to inventory and value the contents of your home. No matter who does your inventory, you need to have an inventory done. Without it, you are at a disadvantage from the start. With it, you have a foundational document that can be used throughout your dealings with the moving companies.

Start by separating the valuable stuff from the ordinary stuff, the heavy stuff from the light stuff, and eliminate anything that the movers won't be moving. As you go, simply list what you have. The list will help you determine the weight and value of your shipment. The best way to proceed is to start upstairs and work your way down, or start down then up if you prefer. Move around each room in a clockwise direction and write down everything you see. Write down items on the floor first, and then items on the wall, and then items in cabinets. Stay consistent from room to room so you don't miss anything. Collections can be listed as collections, rather than individual pieces. When you are done with the house, inventory the shed and the garage in the same fashion.

You probably won't take everything in your house. Items that won't be moved fall into two categories: things you can't take, and things you won't want to take. The things you can't take include anything that could explode, start a fire, rot, or give off toxic fumes. Such items cannot be transported or placed into storage. These are the items that are most troublesome to deal with. You can't just throw them in the trash. You will need to call MAF; they will tell you how to dispose of them. Have a plan for getting rid of these items. You don't want to leave a bunch of hazardous waste in your house. Real estate agents hate that. Makes the house harder to sell. Items you don't want to take should be donated to charity, sold, or consigned to auction. Have the items picked up before you get your estimates. If it's not in the house, it won't contribute to an estimating mistake.

Once you know what you are going to move, there are two approaches to estimating the weight of your shipment. The first way is to take an educated guess. Add up the individual weights of the items on your inventory. Remember, you are looking for a good estimate, not an exact number. Add up all the individual items for your total weight.

The second way to estimate the weight of your shipment is to take a wild guess. I'm not kidding; this method actually works. I'm told that the average shipment of household goods will weigh about 18 kilos per item. Remember that some items will be boxes of small goods. Total the number of items on your inventory (including boxes) and multiply by 18. If you have 150 items on your inventory, your weight will be somewhere in the 2,700kg range. Not impressed with this method? That's why I call it a wild guess. Still, if your wild guess came in at 2,700kg and your estimator gave you an estimate of 1,500kgs, wouldn't you want to know why?

Beware if your estimator wants to give you an estimate based on cubic metres; i.e., how much space your shipment will take up in the truck. This is a useless number for billing purposes. Figuring cubic metres is useful, however, in determining whether you will be sharing a truck with another shipper, get a whole truck to yourself, or need two trucks.