What Each Appliance Actually Requires Before It Moves
Every machine in the kitchen and laundry room has one preparation step that decides whether it survives the truck, and one question about who is allowed to touch it. Here they are, side by side, with weights from published manufacturer spec sheets.
| Appliance | Published weight | Before the crew arrives | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | ~260–335 lb (36” French-door specs); built-ins heavier | Empty, defrost, water line off — full physics in our fridge guide | Whether it may lie down depends on the model type |
| Front-load washer | ~205–250 lb | Transit bolts reinstalled — the model-specific kit, ordered ahead | Manufacturers warn suspension damage without them |
| Dryer | ~120–145 lb | Electric: unplug and cap the cord. Gas: a licensed plumber disconnects | Vent duct comes off and travels separately |
| Gas range | ~150–175 lb | Licensed master plumber — never the crew, never you | NYC law, not mover policy; see below |
| Dishwasher | ~58–81 lb | It is plumbed and often hardwired — agree the uninstall in advance | Lightest machine, most connected |
The pattern worth noticing: the heaviest machine is rarely the hardest part of the job. The connections are.
Why No Moving Crew May Touch Your Gas Line in NYC
This is the section every appliance guide skips, and it is the one with a statute behind it.
Under New York City’s Local Law 150 of 2016, it is unlawful to perform gas work unless the work is done by a licensed master plumber, or by a qualified person working under one. That is not a permit technicality — the city’s Department of Buildings classifies even replacing a range or dryer at an existing shutoff valve as plumbing work reserved to the licensed trade. The narrow relief the code offers is that such like-for-like swaps may not need a permit; there is no version of the rule that lets a homeowner or a moving crew do the work instead. The penalty for unqualified gas work runs to $5,000, and Con Edison’s own customer guidance is blunt: call a professional if you need to move or replace a gas-fired appliance.
National moving companies’ published policies point the same direction — movers do not disconnect utilities or perform plumbing and electrical work, and capping a gas line is technician work. So when a moving company tells you its crew will handle the gas stove, that is a company to question, not to book.
The practical sequence: a licensed plumber disconnects and caps the line before moving day, and at the new address a licensed plumber reconnects — and if gas service was shut off in the process, restoration involves filings with the Department of Buildings and the utility, which is one more reason to put the plumber on the calendar before the truck.
The Small Parts That Decide the Move
Transit Bolts
Front-load washers ship with bolts that lock the drum, and manufacturers require them reinstalled for any transport: without them the drum swings and the suspension and internal parts can be damaged. Kits are model-specific — order yours by model number a week ahead, and one manufacturer goes as far as recommending a technician fit them.
Water Lines
Anything plumbed gets shut off and drained before the carry: washer hoses, the dishwasher supply, the refrigerator’s ice-maker line. The fridge has its own order of operations, covered in our refrigerator guide.
The Dryer Vent
The duct comes off, gets emptied of a truly humbling amount of lint, and travels separately. A crushed vent hose is the cheapest part on this page and the most commonly destroyed.
Cords, Hoses and Manuals
Taped to the machine they belong to, in a bag. Twenty minutes of labeling at the old place saves an hour of guessing at the new one.
Walk-Ups, Freight Elevators, and the Paperwork In Between
The machine is only half the problem in New York; the building is the other half.
In our experience, most doorman and managed buildings will not release the freight elevator until the moving company has filed a certificate of insurance with management — and appliance moves trip that requirement as surely as full moves do. We handle COIs routinely; if your building needs one, it is a paperwork step to start a week out, not the morning of. Our certificate of insurance service covers what buildings typically ask for.
Walk-ups are a crew-math question. A washer at 205 to 250 pounds on a tenement staircase is a strapped, two-to-three-person carry with the turns measured first — pre-war stairwells with 180-degree half-landings defeat more appliance moves than the apartment door does. Measure the stair turn, not just the doorway, and tell the mover the floor count when you book, because it changes the crew that gets assigned.
Since 1979 we have carried more washers up Brooklyn walk-ups than we could count, and the honest rule is this: the building decides the method. Give your mover the building’s facts up front and the day goes to plan.
Who Does What, and When
Two weeks out
Book the licensed plumber for any gas appliance, order the washer’s transit-bolt kit by model number, and give your mover the full appliance list so the crew and truck match the job.
One week out
Start the certificate of insurance with building management at both addresses if either has a freight elevator or a doorman. Confirm the plumber’s date sits before the move date.
The day before
Empty every machine. Fridge defrosting per its own rules, washer bolts in, dryer vent off, water supplies closed and drained, cords bagged and taped to their machines.
Moving day
The plumber’s cap-off is done, the paperwork is filed, and the crew does what crews are for: the protection, the stairs, and the truck — machines riding upright and strapped.
Moving Heavy Appliances — Frequently Asked Questions
In New York City, no crew legally may. Local Law 150 reserves gas work for a licensed master plumber or a qualified person supervised by one, and unqualified gas work carries a $5,000 penalty. A licensed plumber disconnects and caps the line before moving day; the crew handles the carry. Treat any mover who offers to do the gas themselves as a red flag.
Yes, for any front-load washer and any distance — the drum suspension does not care whether the truck drives ten blocks or ten states. Manufacturers state that machines transported without the bolts can suffer suspension and structural damage, and the kits are model-specific, so order yours by model number ahead of the move.
From published spec sheets: a 36-inch French-door refrigerator runs roughly 260 to 335 pounds, a front-load washer 205 to 250, a dryer 120 to 145, a 30-inch gas range 150 to 175, and a built-in dishwasher 58 to 81. The weight tells you the crew size; the connections tell you the schedule.
It is the most connected machine in the house — plumbed in, often hardwired, and screwed to the countertop. Agree in advance who handles the uninstall and get it on the order for service in writing; what a crew may do varies by company, and the water and power must be off before anyone slides it out.
Very commonly, yes. In our experience most doorman and managed buildings require the mover’s certificate of insurance on file before the freight elevator is released, for an appliance delivery as much as a full move. Start the COI with management about a week out — it is routine for us and slow for nobody except the person who forgot it.
Machines ride upright and strapped as the default. Washers travel upright with bolts in, ranges and dryers upright, and refrigerators follow model-specific rules that we cover in our fridge guide — several door configurations should never travel on their side at all.
It is quoted per job, and the access usually drives the number more than the weight — floors without an elevator, stair turns, and the disconnection work that has to be arranged around the move. Get it in a written estimate with the appliance list and the building details stated, so the number you see is the number that holds.
Same rule in reverse: a licensed master plumber makes the connection. And if gas service was shut off along the way, getting it restored involves the plumber filing with the Department of Buildings and the utility — a process measured in days, which is why the plumber goes on the calendar before the truck does.
