So the snow is with us again, and after last year’s chaos we can understand why you may have concerns about your removal in this weather.

We have learned a lot from last year’s extremely harsh winter, an although this year has been milder so far, even a little snow seems to cause such huge problems in Scotland, mostly due to poor preparation.

We have certainly put in the preparation in the run up to winter and we want to let you know what about our plans to deal with snow and ice, and give some tips and advice on moving in winter.

One of the biggest issue’s we had last year was the gridlock on our roads, especially the motorways with people even being stuck overnight on the M74. In this extreme case even the best preparation are going to fall short, and short of bringing in Chinook helicopters, which I’m sure will be outwith most people’s moving budgets. We have fitted all our moving vehicle’s with special winter tyre’s, snow shovels, rock salt and even snow chain’s, so we can easily deal with most icy road’s.

The snow shovels can also come in handy for clearing snowy drive’s and paths, and all our vehicle’s will also be carrying pure white rock salt, so we can easily clear an access route to your home without messy brown grit being trailed through your rooms. Of course we always use carpet protectors regardless of the weather.

Vehicle break down’s can be more common when the temperature drops, so we have made sure all batteries are topped up and fully charged, or replaced if not up to standard, all vehicle’s are serviced and winter anti-freeze added, it is often just these little thing’s that can make all the difference, and make sure we can complete all our move’s on time.

It’s not just vehicle’s that suffer during the winter, our relentless removal men battle through the fiercest conditions, and although the are kitted out with thermal’s gloves, hats, and flasks, a warming cup of tea will always be welcome.

We will go to great lengths to ensure our customers are looked after, so we have a few tips to help you prepare to:

1. Our crew’s do carry shovels and salt, but to let the crew get off to a great start you should make sure your path is clear and salted, especially stairs, if you are able to do so.
2. On snowy morning’s many people decide not to venture out, so there may be more cars then usual parked in your street. Park you own car as close to the access point as possible, if you have more than one car, or a neighbour has a car they can move, park nose to tail, with a several feet of space between the cars. Let neighbours know you could will need some extra space on your move date, they may have family staying for Christmas taking up parking space. Our removal vehicle’s come in lots of shapes and sizes, some are 40 feet long, you coordinator will be able to tell you what size of vehicle will be coming to you. We can sometimes have your local authority or council cone off a parking area, or if the access is very tight, we can send two smaller vehicles rather than one large one.
3. Scotland’s weather is notoriously unpredictable, it may be bright and sunny in one end of Glasgow, while the other side is in the middle of a blizzard, so keep us informed to any changes in the weather.
4. Even with our best plans, the weather can change quickly, if it snows or rains heavily, our crew may have to take a short break, we don’t want your belongings getting soaked after all. If you are in a moving chain, the chances are the removal companies at the other ends are having the same issue’s so keep in touch with your solicitor or agent. It is also a good idea to check progress on the people moving out of your new home, their movers may not be as prepared as we are, and having notice of any delays in access will be useful.
5. If possible, don’t have gas cut off until after your move, people will often give their supplier the moving date and the supply will be stopped first thing in the morning. Although you should still give them plenty of warning, make sure the provider knows you will need heating in the morning. You can call your supplier when the move is completed, as long as you have a meter reading when you leave the house for the last time, you will not be charged for anything you haven’t used.
6. The same can apply to your television provider to keep young children occupied and indoors, our removal teams love a snowball fight as much as anyone, but a misplaced snowball while your removal men are carrying your triple wardrobe to the truck could end in disaster.
7. Planning and preparation is the key to a successful move in any weather, if you have anything you are unsure of, even if its just a bit of packing advice, call your coordinator, or our office and we will be happy to help. If you know of anything that could cause us a problem, or have an indication there could be late keys, let us know as soon as possible, we can plan round this. Many people just cross their finger and hope it goes to plan, if we know about it in advance, we will make sure there is no need to worry.

If you need advice on moving in winter we would love to hear from you, our team are waiting on your call seven days a week.