Moving questions, answered by a Reno mover

People who call our Sparks office ask the same questions again and again, and the answers differ by the kind of move. A studio apartment across Reno raises different questions than a Carson Valley family heading to Texas, or a hotel waiting on furniture. Each topic page below collects the answers for one kind of move, written by a family company that has moved northern Nevada since 1941.

Start with the topic that matches your move

If you are still comparing options, begin with estimates and pricing. It explains how an O'Brien's estimator turns a walk through your home into a written, itemized number, and why that number comes before anything is loaded. If you have already chosen a date, the scheduling, seasons and winter moves page covers booking and what Sierra weather can do to a moving day.

Packing questions have their own page, packing and boxes, covering full packing, partial packing and box packing only. Anyone with a piano, a hot tub or a pool table in the house should open pianos, hot tubs and specialty items before anything else.

Questions about protection, paperwork and authority

Questions about what happens if something is damaged are answered on the valuation and claims page. Licenses are on licenses and insurance: O'Brien's holds U.S. DOT No. 30611 and MC-109375 for interstate household goods, and Nevada Transportation Authority CPCN 1070 for moves within Nevada.

The payment and paperwork page walks through the documents you will see, including the estimate, the inventory and the bill of lading. If a word in any of them is unfamiliar, the moving glossary defines it in plain language.

Distance, destination and special situations

O'Brien's has been a Bekins Van Lines agent since 1955, so long-distance moves and Bekins explains who does what when a shipment leaves Nevada. Moves that cross the Nevada and California line are covered on moves inside Nevada and to California, and the mountain communities have moving at Lake Tahoe and Truckee.

Newcomers will find moving to Reno useful. Households heading overseas can read international moves. Families helping a parent downsize should start with senior moves.

• Storage: wooden vaults, 7 ft x 7 ft x 5 ft, from $40 per month, with about 2 to 3 weeks notice to ship stored goods
• Military moves: O'Brien's is DOD approved to move and store military household goods
• Commercial and FF&E: office, warehouse and lab moves, plus hotel and dormitory furniture receiving and installation

When a page does not settle it, call the office

Every move has details no general answer can cover, such as a narrow staircase, a gated community or a storage unit in another town. The free in-home estimate is where those details get settled, and it comes with 10 free heavy-duty boxes that are yours to keep. You can request an estimate online, or phone the office at 775-359-6683, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, for a ballpark over the phone.