Man and van in Blaydon

Blaydon, Winlaton and the villages

Blaydon is a short run west of us and one of our regular patches. It is a spread-out area — the town itself, the older streets of Winlaton on the bank above, the newer estates at Stella and Blaydon Haughs, and the villages heading out towards Ryton and Crawcrook. Distances between them are small but the housing is very different, and so are the moves.

What does not change is how we work: two experienced movers, a clean van with blankets and straps, and a fixed price agreed before we lift a thing. You will know what it costs before we start, and you will pay that.

Banks, estates and village lanes

Winlaton and the streets above the town sit on a proper bank, and some of those terraces have a staircase that turns twice on the way up. We would rather find that out during a quote than at eight in the morning with a mattress in our hands, so for anything substantial we will come and look. It costs you nothing and it is the reason our prices hold.

Down at Stella and the newer developments, access is usually straightforward — driveways, wide doorways, a van that can sit outside the house. Those moves are quick and priced accordingly. Out in Ryton, Greenside and Crawcrook the lanes get narrower and some properties have a long carry from the nearest place a van can stop. We factor that in up front rather than adding it afterwards.

Removals, clearance and the garden

We do a lot of family moves in and out of Blaydon — people moving out from Newcastle and Gateshead for a bigger garden, and people moving in the other direction when the house gets too big. Full packing is available if you want it, and it is usually money well spent on a kitchen and a loft.

Clearance is the other half of the work. Blaydon and the villages have plenty of properties with big gardens, long-standing sheds and garages that have been quietly filling since the eighties. We clear all of it — hedge cuttings, old decking, fence panels, greenhouses, the shed itself if it needs to go. Green waste goes for composting. Everything else goes where it should, and as a licensed waste carrier we can prove it.

Builders waste comes up regularly too, from the steady run of extensions and refits around here. If there is no side access we carry it through the house on sheets and leave the hallway as we found it.

What to expect

Send the postcodes, the floors, the parking situation and anything you think might be awkward. You get one price back, usually the same day, and it covers the van, both of us and all the equipment. There is no hourly clock and no list of extras at the end.

On moving day we arrive when we said we would, wrap and load carefully, and set everything down in the right rooms. Beds and wardrobes go back together. Packaging and anything you want rid of leaves with us. It is meant to be an unremarkable day, and mostly it is.

Clearance instead of a skip

A lot of Blaydon properties have a driveway, which means a skip is at least possible — but it is rarely the better option. A skip costs you the hire, often a permit if it has to go on the road, and a week of it sitting outside filling up with things that are not yours. You also have to load it, which is the actual work. We turn up, load it ourselves, and it is gone the same day, and you only pay for the volume you use rather than for a container size you guessed at.

The other difference is where it ends up. A skip goes one place. We sort as we load, so usable furniture and household goods go to reuse or charity first, green waste goes for composting, and only what genuinely has to be tipped gets tipped. We are a licensed waste carrier, so if you want the transfer paperwork for a landlord, an executor or your own peace of mind, you can have it.

Booking, timings and being told the truth

We would rather turn a job down than take it on badly. If you ring on a Wednesday wanting a four-bedroom house moved on the Friday and it is not realistic with the crew and daylight available, we will tell you that instead of taking a deposit and hoping. Usually there is a version that does work — two shorter days, or an early start, or moving the boxes ahead of the furniture.

For most Blaydon jobs a week or two of notice is plenty. Single items and small clearances can often be done within a few days. The dates that go first are Fridays, the last few days of any month, and the weekends either side of school holidays. If your date is fixed by a solicitor or a tenancy end, tell us early and we will hold it.