You’ve got your form down, your follow up is straight and relaxed, and you’ve got more moves than fast Eddie Felson the color of money. Playing pool: slick, moving a pool table: not so slick. Even if your eight ball makes it to the corner pocket with ease, it’s going to take a lot more than a steady hand and a good eye to get a pool table across the country.
Pool tables weigh a ton, literally. As in, they can weigh up to 1,000 pounds. (that’s a ton last time we checked). Moving them requires a tedious disassembly process that takes knowledge, patience, and skill (not to mention enormous strength) that has nothing to do with pool playing. Think you can handle it?
At Colonial Van Lines, we know we can. We’ve been moving pool tables across the country for so long we have it down to a science. But if you want to test your beginner’s luck, we can help with that too. Here are some of the secrets of our trade. You can repay us with a few pool lessons after you get your table reassembled.
How To Move a Pool Table Long Distance
Before we get to moving a pool table long distance, we should talk about moving it out of the house first. The first things you’ll need are a few good men. You’ll also need:
- A power drill
- Screwdriver
- Socket wrench
- Staple remover (for taking off the felt)
A word to the wise: Label everything! It won’t be long before you start mistaking your corner pockets for your side pockets.
Renting A Truck
Forget about driving down the !-5 with the wind blowing through your hair and the frame of your pool table hanging out of your convertible. You’re going to need a rental truck to move your pool table. Standard pool tables measure 3.5 x 7’, 4’x 8’, 4.25’x 8.5’ and 4.5’x 9’. Choose your rental truck accordingly.
Measuring doors, stairs, and hallways
Don’t eyeball your way through your move, especially if the fit looks tight. At Colonial Van LInes, we always measure doors, stairs, and hallways to get an idea of how easy (or hard) it will be for us to get the parts of the pool table around your home. We also make sure that the floors and walls are protected before we begin.
Bonus Tips for Protecting Your Interior:
- For wood and tile flooring: Use plastic sheet covers, newspapers, blankets or old clothes to pad
- For walls: Hang drop cloths, especially in tight places
- For carpets: Apply self-adhesive tape film using a paint roller like tool- the adhesive will not harm the carpet
- Get a professional mover like Colonial to do it for you
Disassembly:
Now its time to get a few screws loose in more ways than one. Disassembling a pool table can be a nerve-wracking task. If you’ve never disassembled a pool table before it can be hard to know where to start. Here’s a step by step guide from Colonial to help maintain your inner zen.
- Breathe deeply.
- Remove the tables ball pockets by taking out the staples that hold them in place. If they’re held down by screws, use a screwdriver to remove them.
- Use a socket wrench to loosen the bolts on the side rails. Once the side rails are free, take them off, making sure to store all the nuts and bolts separately in a clearly labeled bag.
- Use a staple remover to gently (and we repeat gently) extract each staple that holds down the felt. Once the felt has come off, hopefully in one piece, pack it away.
- Use your power drill to remove the side slates. Each of these side slates can weigh up to 450 pounds, hence the above-mentioned ton. Make sure to have plenty of manpower on hand to prevent serious injury.
- Once the pockets, slates, and rails have come off, the legs are next. You may need to turn the pool table over for a better angle.
Packing and Loading
Now that your screws are completely loose, the truck still needs to be loaded. Wrap each part of the pool table in blankets and pay attention to the slates when loading. The slates are just as delicate as they are heavy, (the bigger come, the harder they fall). Once the pool table is loaded, drive with caution. Remember, when you shift and break, so can the items in your truck.
Reassembly
Once you reach your destination, you’re really to need to get it together, and probably more than your pool table. While it can be difficult, reassembly is basically just like disassembly in reverse order,
- With help from your friends, reattach the legs to the frame
- Place slate and felt on top
- Attach rails and pockets
Moving a Pool Table Long Distance
Ready to say Mercy? Before you even get to the reassembly part, you’re going have to think about moving that pool table long distance. That means you’re facing a move that can take you north to south, coast to coast and along with any combinations of state routes across the country. After getting your pool table packed, we wouldn’t blame you if you were thinking about packing it in.
This is where Colonial Movers can really come in handy. We know the quickest routes to get you and your belongings to your destination with the least amount of effort, time, and expenditure. Plus, with our professional packing service, we’ll have your pool table disassembled, transported and reassembled so the only thing you’ll have to worry about lifting is your pool cue.
Visit our website for a free quote or download our moving app to get a free reliable quote and use the app to send us pictures of your belongings, pool tables included. With Colonial you’ll get:
- Free, no obligation quotes: We won’t ask you to shell out any cash until you know you’re getting what you’re paying for.
- Friendly movers: We treat you and your move with the attention and respect it deserves
- Nationwide service: Our team has the experience and knowledge to get state to state and coast to coast.
Ready to rack ‘em up? Take a cue from Colonial Van Lines and give yourself the break. At Colonial, we’ve got moving a pool table in the pocket.