Can-Do Attitude vs. Murphy Bed
Not every move is straightforward. Some days, the job goes exactly as planned. Other days, you find yourself halfway up a century-old staircase with a queen-sized Murphy bed wedged tighter than a lid on a paint can.
This particular story started with a pickup at Habitat for Humanity in Port Angeles. A customer had purchased a large, solid Murphy bed; well-built, but clearly homemade. It looked great, had some weight to it, and was put together with a mix of nails and staples, which meant it wasn’t coming apart without doing real damage.
We loaded it up with no issue. I’ve been in the moving industry for over 20 years, and I always say loading is the easy part. It’s when you try to squeeze oversized furniture into undersized spaces that the real challenge begins.
The customer’s new place was a beautiful old Craftsman-style home, probably built around 1920. Two stories, narrow hallways, and that classic early 20th-century layout that doesn’t always play nice with modern furniture. She wanted the Murphy bed upstairs.
As soon as I looked at the staircase, I knew we had a problem. The turn at the bottom was tight, and the ceiling was low. I’ve seen that setup before, and I’d bet 99 out of 100 times a piece like this wasn’t making it around that bend in one piece.
But we don’t like saying “can’t.” That’s not how we operate at Sasquatch Moving Company. So my worker, Stefan, and I gave it an honest try. We got it two steps up before it completely locked into place. No room to rotate. No angle that worked. Stuck solid.
A lot of movers at this point would’ve shrugged and asked where the customer wanted it placed downstairs. But that’s not our style. We offered a solution: cut it cleanly in two, get it upstairs, and reassemble it as good as new.
She agreed. I always bring more tools than I think I’ll need: measuring triangles, levels, fasteners, hand saws. Turns out we needed a little more muscle for this one. The customer offered up a brand-new circular saw still in the box. We installed the blade, measured everything twice, and made two clean cuts that would allow us to rejoin the piece with just a few boards and screws.
Once split, with the inner metal frame unbolted, the bed went up the stairs like it was nothing. We secured it exactly where she wanted it, brought in the heavy metal frame, and made sure everything was stable and squared off. No damage to the piece or the house. Mission successful.
We offered to get the hardware and come back to put it back together, but the customer let us know she and her husband were confident they could reassemble it themselves. She even said it might be a good thing it wasn’t put together yet; she still had wallpapering to finish in that room, and having the frame in separate sections made that job easier.
The customer was thrilled; and for us, that’s what it’s about. In a small town like Port Angeles, word of mouth is everything. We don’t just move furniture; we solve problems, treat people right, and leave jobs knowing we did the best work possible.
That’s how you build a solid reputation in this business. One careful job at a time.
