Man and Van, Oldham
Covering Oldham, Chadderton, Royton, Shaw, Failsworth, Lees and the Saddleworth villages.
- Things going out rather than coming in? That is ordinary work
Our customers' reviews
Not every job is a move in
A fair share of what we do is the opposite. Furniture leaving rather than arriving.
A room being emptied before it becomes something else. A garage or a loft that has finally been dealt with. A sofa going to a relative across town. Things going to a charity shop that will take them but will not collect them. A load going into storage while a decision gets made.
People often assume this needs a specialist, or a favour from someone with a van. Usually it just needs a van and someone to help carry.
What we need to know:
- What is going, roughly. The big items matter more than the count.
- Where it is going. A charity shop, a storage unit, a relative’s house, another address of your own. Some of those have opening hours or booking requirements, so it helps to check first.
- Which floor it is coming from, and whether there is a lift.
- Whether anything is staying. Half-cleared rooms are where confusion happens, so it helps to be clear about what is not going.
Two things worth sorting first
Decide where it is actually going before the day. This is the single most common hold-up. Charity shops have their own rules about what they will accept and when they can receive it. Storage units have access hours. A relative might not be in. It is worth one phone call in advance, and it is the first thing we will ask.
Some things cannot travel in the van at all. Anything flammable, so paint tins, gas bottles, aerosols and fuel. Anything with fuel in it, like a mower or a strimmer, needs draining first. Perishables and plants are out too.
Neither of those is a problem when it is known beforehand. Both are a problem at the door.
Sorting before the day, not during it
The single thing that makes a clear-out run well is deciding where everything is going before anybody arrives.
It sounds obvious and it is the step most often skipped, usually because sorting is the tiring part and moving feels like the real job. In practice it is the other way round.
Work in three piles. Going with you, going somewhere else, staying put. Anything that has not been assigned to one of those by the day will end up on the van by default, which means paying to move something that was never wanted.
Do the deciding when you are not under pressure. Judgements made on a Saturday morning with a crew waiting are not good judgements, and they are the ones people regret.
Anything undecided is a storage question. If something genuinely cannot be decided yet, that is fine and normal, but it is worth saying so at quote stage so it is planned rather than improvised.
Lofts and garages hold more than anyone remembers
Both are worth a proper look before anybody quotes, because both are consistently underestimated and both are slow.
Cannot be judged from below
What looks like a few boxes through a hatch is routinely three times that, and getting things down through a hatch takes considerably longer per item than carrying them along a hallway. A boarded, lit loft with a proper ladder is a different job from bare joists and a pull-down hatch.
The heavy end of a household
Tools, paint, garden equipment, tyres, things that were put there temporarily some years ago. Weight rather than volume is the issue.
Smaller than expected, with a catch
Usually smaller than expected but almost always containing something with fuel in it, which needs draining well before the day.
Twenty minutes with a torch before we quote is worth more than any description, and it is the single biggest reason an estimate and a moving day end up disagreeing.
Timing, and why it is worth splitting
Clear-outs run differently from moves, and the difference is that there is rarely a hard deadline.
That is an advantage worth using. A move has a completion date and everything has to happen on it. A clear-out usually does not, which means it can be split into two visits: the easy, obvious things first, then whatever is left once the decisions have been made.
Two smaller visits often beat one long one, because the second one happens after you have seen the room empty enough to think clearly about what remains.
It also helps with destinations. Charity shops have limits on what they will take in one go, and a storage unit is easier to organise when it is not filled in a single afternoon.
If a deadline does exist, a tenancy ending or a room needed for something else, say so at the first conversation, because it changes what is sensible.
Standard jobs, and the ones that are not
We have standard services, and for most jobs one of them is the simplest way to book.
Some do not fit. Two drop-offs on one run, some to a charity shop and some to storage. A job spread across two visits. Something taken away today with the rest following once a decision is made.
Say so and we will tell you what can be arranged around it.
The quickest route is the form. Give us the outline and we will come back to you.
Get a price
Tell us what is going, where from, which floor, and where you want it taken.
The other jobs we do around here
Clearing out is one of them. There is also the single large item, one room rather than a house, a first flat, and part of a move with the rest following later. There is more on all of it on our man and van in Manchester page.
Where we cover
- Oldham
- Chadderton
- Royton
- Shaw & Crompton
- Failsworth
- Lees
- Springhead & Grotton
- Greenfield & Grasscroft
- Uppermill & Dobcross
- Delph & Diggle
Across the OL and M postcodes. We are based in Manchester city centre, so Oldham is a short run, and drop-offs further out are straightforward.
Questions people ask
Can you take things to a charity shop for me?
We can take them where you tell us to. It is worth ringing the shop first, because they have their own rules about what they accept and when they can take it.
Where can things be taken?
Wherever you nominate. A charity shop, a storage unit, a relative’s house, another address of your own. Tell us the destination when you get in touch and we will confirm what works.
Can you clear a garage or a loft?
Yes, provided the access is safe. Worth a look before we quote, because both hold more than people remember.
What cannot go in the van?
Anything flammable, including paint, gas bottles and aerosols. Anything with fuel in it needs draining first. Plants and animals travel with you.
Can it be done in two visits?
Yes. Mention it at quote stage so it is priced as one job rather than two.
How much notice do you need?
Smaller jobs are usually easier at short notice, especially midweek.
Get a price
Tell us what is going, where from, which floor, and where you want it taken.
RCM Removals
20 Swan Street, Manchester M4 5JW
Telephone: 0161 768 2056
Email: info@removalscompanymanchester.co.uk