Moving Your Pool Table

A pool table is a fun addition to your home. However, if you are moving, you will need to decide whether to move your pool table yourself or hire a professional service. We recommend letting us help you with disassembly, lifting, carrying, loading, unloading, and reassembly of your pool table.

If you decide to do it yourself, take a look below at what you will need to do.

Moving Your Pool Table

A one-piece pool table slate can weigh over 400 pounds. That can cause some real injuries to you and your helpers.

1. Gather tools and moving supplies.

Having no tools or the wrong tools can result in a complete disaster. To complete this task properly, you will need:

• A power drill
• Safety goggles
• A carpenter’s level and shims
• A socket wrench set
• Phillips and flat head screwdriver
• A staple puller and scraper for removing the felt
• Individual parts bags and a parts box
• Enough quilted moving blankets to thoroughly pad each piece

2. Get enough moving help from family and friends.

Moving a pool table takes a lot of muscle power. It also takes finesse to navigate the pool table through doorways and down hallways. You will need at least 3 to 4 young, fit helpers. They will also need some mechanical aptitude to help with disassembly and reassembly.

3. Rent a suitable moving truck.

Your SUV or pickup truck will not be adequate. Most pool tables are between 7 to 9 feet long. Most weigh over 1,000 pounds total. Though renting a moving truck may be another expense you’d rather not incur, having a large enclosed cargo area, a walk board, and heavy-duty logistics straps make it imperative.

4. Measure staircases, doorways, and hallways.

O.K. We said staircases to remind you that this can be a very difficult task. If you have stairs, that’s even more reason to contact us for a quote.

Most fully disassembled pool table parts will easily fit through your home or apartment’s doors, halls, and stairways. But it’s a good idea to measure anyway to be on the safe side. This is especially important if you’ve had renovations done after your pool table was moved in and set up.

5. Disassemble the pool table.

Take it step-by-step.

• Remove the corner and side ball pockets.
• Remove the side rails with pliers or a socket wrench
• Use a staple puller and scraper and gently lift the felt from the wood or slate surface. Be careful not to stretch or damage the felt.
• After removing the hardware with a power drill, lift the exposed slate or wood from the pool table frame. Make sure you have at least two other strong friends on hand, and carefully lay each piece on a moving blanket for wrapping
• Lastly, disassemble the frame and legs. You may need to turn the table upside down to accomplish this.

To make reassembly more manageable, take pictures of hardware and joints before disassembly, pack nuts, bolts, and screws in plastic bags, and label them clearly.

6. Protect each piece.

Wrap each piece of your pool table in thick quilted moving blankets. To make sure the moving pads stay in place, secure them with packing materials such as tape or rubber bands.

The slate should be wrapped in bubble wrap, secured with shrink wrap, and packed in heavy-duty cartons. The best protection would be to have your slate slab professionally crated.

7. Load and secure the pool table in the moving truck.

The pool table slate should be loaded in the truck in the upright position perpendicular to the floor – never laid flat. Slate will be much less likely to crack this way. Use more moving pads to protect the slate in the truck.

Then, secure the slate pieces together against the truck’s bulkhead or a wall and secure them with at least two heavy-duty logistics straps.

Even if you’re just moving a short distance, drive slowly and carefully between your old and new home, keeping an eye out for potholes, speed bumps, and road debris that could cause the truck to bounce erratically.

Final Thoughts

Once you have arrived at your new home, unload and reassemble your pool table. This is a tremendous amount of work. And, you take some risks when you move a pool table yourself. You or a friend could be injured. You could drop the heavy slate and break it or damage your home. Give Alliance Relocation Services a call first. We will give you a free quote. Then you can carefully weigh the benefits of hiring a professional versus doing it yourself.