Managed buildings · MB
Mansion block moves in Putney
The purpose-built blocks around the Heath and along the main roads are a different animal from a converted terrace. There is a lift, there is usually a porter, and there is certainly a managing agent with a view about when a move may happen.
Better organised than a conversion, and completely dependent on arrangements you have to make in advance.
What a mansion-block move involves
The lift door, not the lift car
People measure the inside of the lift and conclude their sofa will fit. Frequently it would, if it could get in — but the door opening is narrower than the car, and an item has to pass through the opening before it can be angled inside.
Both numbers matter and they are rarely the same. We take them at survey, along with the lobby turn, which in older blocks can be tighter than either.
Book the lift for longer than they offer
A managing agent asked for a lift booking will usually propose a short window, because short windows inconvenience fewer residents. A flat's worth of furniture does not fit into a short window.
We will tell you roughly what to ask for based on the volume and the floor. Negotiating that a week out is straightforward; running out of booked time halfway through a move is not.
What goes by the stairs instead
There is almost always something — a mattress, a long mirror, a wardrobe carcass — that the lift will not take. In a block with a service staircase that is a simple alternative. In one without, it needs planning and it needs crew.
Agreeing that list in advance is the difference between a smooth job and an hour of standing in a lobby deciding.
Older blocks and newer ones
The newer developments around the main roads are generally straightforward: proper goods provision, defined bays, and management that has handled a hundred moves.
The older mansion blocks are more variable. A single passenger lift, no bay, and a service-charge regime that takes communal decoration seriously. Those are the ones where protection matters most and where we allow more time.
Mansion blocks
Questions about mansion blocks
01 What should I ask the managing agent for?
Three things: a lift booking for a realistic window, a parking or bay arrangement at ground level, and confirmation of any restriction on move days or hours. Ask as soon as you have a date.
02 What if the lift is out of service that day?
Then the job becomes a stairs job and it takes considerably longer. It is worth confirming the lift is not scheduled for maintenance on your date — it happens more often than you would expect.
03 Will you protect the lift and the lobby?
As standard. Blankets and boards in the car, runners through the lobby and corridors. Most blocks require it and we would do it regardless.
04 Can we move at the weekend?
Depends on the block. Many restrict weekend moves or charge for out-of-hours access. Check early, because it can change the whole plan.
05 Is a block easier than a conversion?
Once the permissions are in place, yes — a lift beats three flights every time. Before they are in place it is the slower of the two, because more of it depends on other people.
Which floor, at both ends?
That and the two addresses. If you can also measure the clear diagonal at the turn in your staircase, we can usually answer the furniture question straight away.