How to move books down stairs

So, we are almost at the point where I am ready to start moving books!

I am basically just moving them down two flights of stairs with a moderately tight 180 deg turn in the middle.

How would you recommend as the easiest and most efficient way of moving ~5000 books down two flights of stairs? I have no real time limit, two people total to help, and the homeowner says we're not removing any more walls or putting in any more trapdoors, but otherwise creativity is welcomed.

Things I have considered:

-Building some kind of large sledge that will slide down stairs (would it be worth getting it around the corner?)

-Turning the handrails into some kind of monorail cable-car system (maybe overcomplicated? :P)

-Given the windows of the two rooms are only a few feet out of alignment, building some kind of chute or ramp so I can drop them directly out of one window into the other (presumably in bags on a rope, so I can control velocity.)

-Getting some big ikea-type bags I can just drag behind me two at a time (boring, also might beat up the books more?)

-Put them in boxes, carry the boxes (This seems to be my mom's plan, but I think she is severely underestimating how many boxes that would be.)

Has anyone done a similar small-scale move of their library? What did you do?

How wide are the stairways?

This kind of situation is why it’s good to have adolescent grandkids.

I think the last time I did something like this I was still at a point in life where all you had to do was buy a crate of beer and spread the word around campus that you needed a few strong helpers for a couple of hours. Sadly not something you can do in current circumstances.

I would be inclined to move the books in small batches — find a box or bag that holds a weight of books you can carry safely. The exercise of going up and down stairs will probably be a welcome relief from bending and stretching to reach the shelves.

>2 2wonderY: Probably somewhere in the vicinity of four feet? But with occasional obstructions like hooks and railings.

The last time I did something like this I *was* the adolescent helper paid in pizza! I could probably ask the neighbor kids, except pandemic.

You might just lay boards along one side and use them as a rough slide for ikea type bags of books; holding onto the bag handles, but not having to bear the weight the whole distance.

Ooh, turn the stairs into a ramp! Great idea, thank you. I bet we have enough scrap paneling at this point to do it, if I pull the nails out. That might even work for boxes, depending on how steep it turns out.

Unfortunately it's a pandemic, but "hire movers" is really the right answer.

Alternately, invest time in training a vast team of small woodland creatures to do your bidding.

Comment deleted.

My husband suggested moving boxes with a rubber wheel hand truck. It was how we moved things into our attic.

Seeing as how I've live alone for the past year and a half, and 68, and am generally unsteady on one leg, when I have to bring the laundry downstairs to be washed, I carry the plastic laundry basket to the top of the stairs and drop it (not down them -- at the top.) Then I'll go down a few steps, and grab the handle of the basket with one hand and the banister with the other, and descend. When I get to the bottom, I turn around and hardly have to bend over at all to grab the other side of the basket.

It'll work with books, too.

If the panelling is really scrap, ie you are going to throw it away afterwards, you might want to use spray cooking oil on it.

If any of your friends have cats, ask them to save the plastic kitty litter containers. They are sturdy and easy to carry down stairs. If you can get enough containers (and helpers) you can set up a sort of "bucket brigade" system to move your books.

Probably you've made your move by now but one question that does not get a lot of coverage here is how valuable the books are and how important is it that they remain in exactly the same condition they are in before the move.

The ramp is a pretty good idea. You might want to use some boxes with padding for the toboggan to go down the ramp.

When we moved in to our new place in Feb. 2021 we had the opposite problem. Hundreds of boxes (about 1 cubic foot each and heavy) needed to go upstairs to "library west" and "library east." Our movers did a bucket brigade where each handed the box to the next one on the list and the color-coded box labels indicated where they were to be stacked for either room. It was not without incident but worked fairly well, certainly better than walking each box up one at a time.

James

I'm still working on it, actually! Just about finished. I've ended up using mostly >10 WholeHouseLibrary: 's suggestion about the laundry baskets - I didn't realize I hadn't come back here since then! The laundry baskets have worked really well. They're fast to fill and to empty and a good size, and they slide down the stairs very well. We've completely destroyed several baskets but I think all the books survived!

We did decide to leave the collection of old Stratemeyer Syndicate books on their original shelves upstairs for now, though, as well as some of the other older ones.

I still don't have enough bookshelves though! No matter how many new ones I get, that keeps happening...

(meanwhile we ended up re-using most of the scrap paneling to make a secret door....)

I have about 400 xerox paper boxes of books to move down from a second floor library to a truck. I was considering borrowing the local high school football team for the job, but decided instead to rent a roofer’s ladder hoist, aka a “shingle hoist” for the day.

That’s essentially a 27-foot ladder with a platform, motorized winch, and a 200-lb. capacity – you’ll find a lot of pix and videos online.

In my area they rent for about $120/day, and it looks like it just might do the trick – right out a window and onto a flatbed truck.

The boys can work on their passing and defense. If/when I ever get around to this mammoth task, I’ll let you know how it went.

This should work if you have a window that overlooks a spot where the hoist can be set up. One time we moved, the movers had counted on using a hoist, but the flat looked out the back of the building and there was no way to use the hoist. The actual moving men were not amused that the men on the other end had had an elevator, and therefore filled the book boxes very full. There were three flights of stairs to carry the boxes up.

I guess you know that Stratemeyer Syndicate books are a big part of our collection. We have the books personally written by Edward Stratemeyer on the top three shelves of these cases. Then we follow with early Syndicate series for series that start in 1925 or earlier. These happen to be cases we had from before but the new ones we had made look similar.

We were lucky that this 1990s house had a secret room hidden behind a bookcase door. The room is small but it is a fun feature.

James

>17 Keeline: "a secret room hidden behind a bookcase door"

Brilliant. I want one. Hmm, if I got rid of all other family members it could be made to work.

>17 Keeline: A secret room? Now I'm jealous :)

>19 Nicole_VanK:

It is supposed to be the books that do that. :) But when we saw this house had this feature, it was a major reason we mad the offer last year. :)

The secret room is relatively small, about 7x20 feet. The ceilings are 45° so make it a challenge to use the space fully. We have painted it light blue and added bookcases and a small desk.

James

>18 Cynfelyn: Oh ... yes. Hmm *starts plotting*

>20 Keeline: Secret library. Obviously :0)