RETIREMENT-HOME MOVES
Retirement Home, Assisted Living and Long-Term Care Moving
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A move into a retirement residence, an assisted-living suite or a long-term-care room is the same job with different rules, and we do all three. What changes is how small the room is, how tight the move-in window is, and how much of the old home has to be dealt with at the same time.
A retirement-home move-in is a scheduled operation inside somebody else's building. The residence has a window it wants used, an elevator that has to be booked, a loading entrance it wants the truck at, corridors it wants protected and paperwork it wants before the day.
A mover who does not know that arrives, finds the elevator taken and the window closing, and the family spends the morning apologising to the front desk.
We do this most weeks. The requirements go into the plan before the date is confirmed, not on the morning.
What We Confirm With the Residence Before the Day
- The move-in window and how long it actually runs
- The elevator booking, and whether the car will be padded
- Which entrance or loading door the truck should use
- Corridor and floor protection expectations
- Any paperwork the residence requires before access
- Where the truck can legally stand for the duration
- Whether furniture assembly or removal of packing waste is permitted on site
Fitting the Furniture to the Suite
Retirement suites are small and their doorways, corridors and turns are frequently the real constraint rather than the floor area. A sofa that measures fine on paper still has to turn a corner in a corridor and get through a door that opens inward.
Get the floor plan and room dimensions from the residence and we will work through the furniture with you first. It is far better to leave a wall unit behind on purpose than to bring it and take it away again.
Setting the Suite Up, Not Just Delivering to It
The point of a good move-in is that the first evening in the suite is liveable. Bed assembled and made, television working, the chair in the right place by the window, kitchen things where they will actually be reached, and the boxes gone.
Unpacking and put-away means exactly that — putting things where they belong, not stacking them onto countertops and calling it unpacked.
Assisted Living and Long-Term Care
An assisted-living suite is usually smaller than a retirement apartment and often has fewer of its own fittings, so the furniture question is sharper: one chair rather than two, a dresser rather than a wall unit, and a bed that may already be provided. Get the floor plan and we will work out what genuinely goes in before anything is packed.
A long-term-care room is smaller again, frequently shared, and most homes set out plainly what a resident may bring — a chair, a small dresser or bedside table, a television within a size limit, photographs and personal things. The bed and much of the rest belongs to the home. That means a long-term-care move is a small load with a large amount of deciding in front of it, and the deciding is where families need the help.
Both also tend to arrive on short notice, because a room becomes available when it becomes available. The practical answer is usually to move what makes the room liveable straight away — bed linens, the chair, clothing, the photographs, the television — and deal with the family home afterwards at a sensible pace rather than compress everything into the same week.
What we will not do is advise on the placement decision itself, or provide any kind of personal or nursing care. We are movers. Ask the home or the care team about the room's rules and limits, tell us the answers, and the physical move is ours to plan.
When the Move-In Follows a Hospital Stay
Sometimes the timing is not chosen. A discharge date arrives, a suite becomes available, and the family has days rather than weeks. We cannot promise a timeframe — availability is availability — but call us and we will tell you honestly and quickly what is possible.
Where the whole move cannot be done at once, the usual answer is to move what makes the suite liveable first and deal with the rest of the house afterwards.
What a Retirement-Home Move-In Includes
- Confirmation of the residence's requirements before the date is set
- A furniture plan measured against the suite
- Packing, in whole or in part, labelled for a small space
- Protection of furniture, floors and corridors
- Assembly and disassembly of beds and furniture
- Unpacking and put-away, with packing waste taken away
- Donation drop-offs and removal of what is not going to the suite
Every Task in This Category
Senior Moving & Downsizing
Move Services
- Seniors full-service moving
- Packing and unpacking
- Furniture rearrangingIn-suite or throughout the home
- Bed moving
- In-home moving for renovations
- Downsizing move assistance
- Micro-moves within a retirement residenceBetween floors or suites
- Staging support with realtors
What This Costs
SENIORS APARTMENTS & LIFE LEASE
Seniors Apartments, Life-Lease and Independent Suites
What the Building Will Expect From You
Because there is no residence staff to organise it, the requirements land on the resident or the family. It is worth asking the property manager these questions before you choose a date rather than after.
- Whether the elevator must be booked, and the maximum booking length
- Which days and hours moves are permitted
- Where the loading door is and whether the truck can stand there
- The posted height clearance if there is an underground loading bay
- Whether a certificate of insurance or a deposit is required
- Whether corridor and elevator protection is provided or expected
The Storage Locker Question
Almost every seniors apartment comes with a locker, and almost everybody counts on it for more than it holds. Lockers are frequently the size of a small closet, are sometimes in a basement reached by a service corridor, and are not a substitute for a garage or a basement.
We will measure it into the plan with everything else. It is better to know in the old house that four boxes fit rather than fourteen.
Trusted by Retirement and Senior Care Companies Both Large & Small
- Chartwell Retirement Residences
- Schlegel Villages
- Revera
- Sienna Senior Living
- The Westhill
- Luther Village on the Park
- Trinity Village
- Highland Place Retirement Residence
- Parkwood Seniors Community
- The Elliott Community
- Guelph Lake Commons
- S&R
Stallion has moved residents into communities operated by these organisations.
Reviews
What Families Tell Us
Brett and his team are always professional and caring, I feel as if they would treat each person they help move as their own Grandparent. They respect guidelines surrounding move times for our building, and make sure each piece they move is treated with care and concern.
Amanda M.
Chartwell, Terrace on the Square · via Retirement community
Their whole team are extremely organized, flexible, dedicated and friendly. Stallion makes the moving process seamless and enjoyable for residents and staff.
John Whiting
Chartwell, Westmount · via Retirement community
Brett, Wendy and their whole team are amazing. Professional, courteous and always so very helpful. They are patient with their clients and treat them with great care and respect. I never hesitate to recommend Stallion Movers! It's a no brainer.
Vicki L.
Chartwell, Bankside · via Retirement community
I had Stallion Movers today to move my dad from his home to a retirement home and am so pleased with their professionalism, punctuality and friendliness. Brett and Mitch were so careful getting around the items that weren't being moved. They were very thorough and moved quickly. Also Wendy in their office was extremely helpful and patient with all my questions and emails. I highly recommend them for any service you need that they provide. They came highly recommended so I didn't even get other quotes and that was the right decision. Thank you!
Britta W.
Daughter of a client · via Adult child of client
Wow. Excellent service, clean, professional, timely etc. We needed to move my mother to a senior's residence and her stuff. The residence recommended 2 services and I elected Stallion - possibly (likely) the other may be as good but Stallion were exceptional. I would highly recommend them for any move not just a senior transfer...
Scott A.
Son of a client · via Adult child of client
Great company, prompt and professional. I have used Stallion Movers twice to move my parents into retirement residences. They are professional, and super easy to deal with and understand and respect the protocols with senior residences. I highly recommend them.
Neil T.
Son of clients · via Adult child of client
Ready to Get This Moving?
Tell us what is moving and we will come back with a real plan and a real price — or call and talk it through with someone who does this every day.
Prefer to talk? Call us.
Questions Families Ask Us
Do you know the retirement residences in our area?
We move into retirement communities across Waterloo Region most weeks, and where we have moved families into a residence before we generally know how it prefers moves to run. We still confirm the current requirements with the residence for every move rather than assume they have not changed.
Who books the elevator?
Usually the family or the residence, and it should be done as early as possible. Give us the window and its length once it is booked and we will size the crew to fit it. If you would rather we spoke to the residence directly, give us the contact.
Do you move into assisted living and long-term care as well?
Yes, both. The rooms are smaller than a retirement apartment and long-term-care homes usually set out exactly what a resident may bring, so more of the work is deciding what goes in and what happens to the rest. Ask the home for its list and the room dimensions, send them to us, and we will plan the move around them.
Can you take the boxes and packing material away afterwards?
Yes — and in a small suite it matters. An unpacked suite with twenty flattened cartons in it is not really unpacked, and most residences would rather the waste left with the truck.
What if the furniture does not fit once we get there?
That is what the measuring beforehand is for, and it is why we ask for the floor plan. If something genuinely will not go in, we will tell you the options on the spot — but the aim is to have had that conversation weeks earlier, in the old house.
Keep Reading
- Senior Moving
- What Fits in a Retirement Suite
- Senior Packing Services
- For Retirement CommunitiesIf you work in one.
- Senior Care ProfessionalsCare managers, PSWs and case managers.
- Packing, Unpacking & Setup
- Downsizing Services
- Senior Move Planning
- Estate & Executor MovesIf a family home is being cleared as well.
Planning a Retirement-Home Move-In?
Send us the suite details and the residence's move-in requirements and we will build the day around them.
Prefer to talk? Call us.