Walk-up apartments are some of the most common addresses we move in Philadelphia. Two-floor walk-ups in Manayunk, Fishtown, and South Philly. Three-floor walk-ups along Lancaster Avenue, in Conshohocken, and across the Main Line. Converted Victorians in Bryn Mawr, Wayne, and Ardmore where the third floor used to be the attic. They all share one thing: there is no elevator. Here is what to expect when you hire movers for a walk-up apartment in Philly, and how to make the day go faster.

What Counts as a Walk-Up?

A walk-up is any apartment in a building without an elevator. The term gets used most often for second-floor and third-floor units, but a walk-up is technically any non-elevator building, including ground-floor units that just happen to have a few stairs at the entry. The number of flights is what drives the time and effort, not the label.

In Philly, the most common walk-ups are in two-flat and three-flat buildings, converted single-family homes turned into multi-unit rentals, brownstones in Center City, and rowhouses in South Philly and Northern Liberties. Many older Main Line apartment buildings are walk-ups too — Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, and Wayne all have a stock of converted Victorians where the second and third floors are rental units.

How Much Longer Does a Walk-Up Move Take?

The rule of thumb is roughly thirty to sixty minutes added to the load phase per flight of stairs, and the same for the unload. A studio that loads in two hours with elevator access usually loads in three with two flights. A one-bedroom that loads in three hours with an elevator can take five with three flights at one end and three at the other.

That extra time is not a stair fee — local Pennsylvania moves do not bill stair fees as a separate charge. It is just time on the clock under the standard PA PUC tariff hourly rate. The work takes longer because every piece is hand-carried instead of dollied.

What Movers Do Differently on a Walk-Up

On a walk-up move, the crew uses different equipment and a different rhythm. Four-wheel dollies are useless on stairs, so loads are hand-carried piece by piece, with two movers on heavy items. Furniture pads stay on every padded piece — pads protect the furniture, but they also protect your stair walls from dings as the crew turns corners.

Stair landings get used as staging points. The crew may stage three or four boxes on a landing, then run them down to the truck in a chain. Couches and bed frames are usually disassembled if possible — a sectional that came up in three pieces leaves in three pieces, and many older bed frames break down to flats that go down a stair turn easily.

Door removal and hoisting are the last resorts. If a piece truly cannot make a stair turn, the crew may remove an interior door, take off legs or arms, or in rare cases hoist a piece through a window. We will tell you on site if any of that becomes necessary.

How to Make a Walk-Up Move Faster

Have everything packed and stacked at the door before the crew arrives. The single biggest time-saver on a walk-up is a clean apartment with sealed boxes — the crew arrives, starts carrying immediately, and is not standing around while you finish.

Empty every drawer in every dresser. Empty bookcases. Disassemble bed frames the night before. Bag the hardware (every screw, bolt, and washer) and tape the bag to the underside of the headboard or footboard so it does not get lost.

Clear the stairs themselves. If the building’s hallway has a runner rug, plants, kid’s toys, or anything else that makes a stair pass narrower, move it the night before. The wider the stair lane, the faster the move.

Reserve a parking spot directly in front of the building if at all possible. Every step of long carry to the truck adds time on top of the stairs. More on stairs and elevators.

Moving Into a Third-Floor Apartment

The unload phase of a third-floor walk-up move is the same as the load phase in reverse. Plan for the same kind of time. A few things help:

Tell the crew where each piece goes before unloading starts. Walking up to the third floor with a couch and finding out it goes in the back bedroom is a frustrating use of the trip. Have a quick room map or label the boxes by destination room, and the crew distributes as they go.

If you can be on site at the new place to direct, do it. If not, give the lead mover written instructions, including which room each piece of furniture goes in. A two-minute conversation at the start of the unload saves hours of repositioning later.

If the new building has any restrictions — quiet hours, move-in cutoff times, COI requirements — confirm them before the move so the day does not stop short.

Frequently Asked Questions

Moving out of a walk-up apartment: what should I expect?

A walk-up move takes longer than an elevator move because every piece is hand-carried. The rule of thumb is thirty to sixty minutes added to the load phase per flight of stairs, plus the same on the unload. The crew uses pads, hand carries, and stair landings as staging points. Bed frames and sectionals are usually disassembled. Local Pennsylvania moves do not bill a separate stair fee — the extra time shows up on the standard PA PUC tariff hourly rate. The fastest walk-up moves are the ones where the apartment is fully packed and the boxes are stacked at the door before the crew arrives.

Moving into a third-floor apartment: how long does it take?

A third-floor unload phase typically adds about ninety minutes to two hours over a ground-floor or elevator unload, depending on stair width, the number of pieces, and how complex the disassembly was at the origin. To make the unload faster, tell the crew where each piece goes before unloading starts, label boxes by destination room, and confirm with the building that the stairs are clear of obstructions. If you cannot be on site at the new place, give the lead mover written room-by-room instructions.

Can movers move furniture through narrow hallways?

Usually yes, with technique. Crews can angle furniture, remove legs or arms from sectionals, take off interior doors temporarily, and use stair landings as staging points to make tight turns. The hardest pieces are large rigid sectionals, oversized box springs (a king box spring is the most common piece that will not make a turn), and tall armoires. If a piece genuinely will not fit, the crew will tell you on site and discuss alternatives like hoisting or, in rare cases, returning the piece to a seller.

Do movers remove doors to move furniture?

Sometimes, yes. Removing an interior door — a bedroom door or hallway door — is a standard move-day technique when a piece is too wide to fit through the doorway. The crew removes the door from its hinges, moves the piece, and rehangs the door afterward. This is a small intervention and adds maybe fifteen minutes to a move. Front doors and apartment entry doors are rarely removed because they often have institutional locks, but interior doors are routine.

What if my couch does not fit up the stairs?

Try the stairs first with the crew. Many couches that look impossible go up with the right angle, a leg removed, or a cushion taken off. If it genuinely will not fit, the options are: (1) hoist the piece through a window, which requires the right window and a careful crew, (2) take it apart further if it is a sectional or modular piece, (3) sell it locally and replace it after the move. The crew will tell you on site which option applies. Hoisting is uncommon but not unheard of in older Philly walk-ups.

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