Lakeway Luxury Hill Country Move

The wife had researched extensively. She'd interviewed three movers — two California-based with Texas partner carriers, and Muscleman Elite (Texas direct).

What sold her on us: - Same crew at pickup and delivery (we don't interline with random Texas partners — our own long-distance crew runs the entire route) - Custom crating capability (the family had 11 pieces of fine art including 3 paintings worth $50K+ each, plus a sculpture) - Specialty piano handling for the concert grand (full-length skids, padded dollies, hoist rigging when a staircase won't clear) - White-glove unpacking with art placement (she'd selected the art arrangement in advance; wanted the crew to hang the art per her specifications) - Lake Travis ISD area familiarity (we'd just done a similar move for a family in Vandegrift HS attendance zone)

Binding estimate: $48,500. Including: - Long-distance transit from Atherton to Lakeway (1,500 miles) - 5-day full pack with specialized crating for the art collection - Specialty-trained crew for the concert grand piano - 4-person specialty crew for crating - 4-person delivery crew + 1-day unpacking - White-glove placement: artwork hung per her plan, grand piano set in place, furniture placed - Storage in transit (gap from October 4 to October 11 while they waited for utilities at the new home)

She accepted. Move scheduled: pickup September 28 - October 2 in Atherton; delivery October 11-13 in Lakeway.

11 pieces of art needed custom crating. Standard mover insurance covers art at $0.60/lb — wildly insufficient for high-value pieces. We declared full value on every piece via High-Value Inventory (HVI) declaration on the Bill of Lading. Total declared value: $312,000.

The pieces: - 3 paintings ($50K+ each) — varying sizes from 36"x48" to 60"x84" - 2 limited-edition photographs (28"x40" framed) - 1 sculpture (24" tall bronze figurine on a marble base, ~85 lbs total) - 2 framed photographs (smaller, 16"x24") - 3 framed prints (medium, 24"x32" each)

We built custom wooden crates around each piece. Standard process: - Measure piece (with frame, with any glass/acrylic) - Build a wood frame box 4-6" larger than the piece in each direction - Custom-cut foam to cradle the piece with no shifting - Wrap piece in acid-free tissue paper (won't transfer to canvas), then bubble wrap (for shock), then place in the foam-lined crate - Seal the crate with screws (not nails — easier to open at destination without damaging the wood) - Label each crate with Description + Value + Fragile + Top Load + No Stack

Day 1 of crating (September 28): we sent two of our specialty packers to Atherton to begin. Two days total to crate all 11 pieces.

Securing the crates: each crate was strapped to the truck's wall (not floor) with quick-release straps to absorb road vibration, and foam-cushioned and blocked so nothing shifted across the 3-day transit.

Along with the art, the family moved a concert grand piano — the most physically demanding single item in the household.

Piano moves are about the right rigging, not muscle. A grand laid on its side without a proper skid can crack the soundboard from case torsion alone.

Handling: - Photographed from every angle before wrapping — case, lid, pedals, action, music desk - Legs and pedal lyre removed and packed separately - Rotated onto its case-side on a full-length padded piano skid — never on hardwood without runners - Wrapped in felt covers and moving blankets, then strapped to a padded piano dolly with steel-plated swivels - Loaded by a specialty-trained subset of our crew and blocked and secured against the truck wall

The piano rode padded and secured for the transit, and we scheduled the long haul direct to limit time on the road.

At destination: the crew eased the piano into place, reset the legs and pedal lyre, and unwrapped it on a padded floor. We coordinated a local tuner to visit the following week, since any piano needs settling and tuning after a long move.

October 2, 6 AM Atherton. The truck departed loaded. 1,500-mile drive to Austin.

Route: I-5 south to I-10 east. 3 days transit (we don't push our crew on overnight long-hauls — drivers need rest for safety). Overnight stops at safe truck yards (our partner network in Bakersfield and El Paso).

Securing the load: every crate and the piano were blocked and strapped to the truck wall, checked at each overnight stop.

October 5 morning: truck arrived in Austin, and the household went into climate-controlled storage for the gap.

The storage gap (October 5-10): family's utilities at the Lakeway home weren't fully active until October 10. The Texas grid handoff was waiting for an inspection. We held the entire household in climate-controlled storage for 5 days.

Family's stay: they flew from Bay Area to Austin on October 4 and stayed at the Lakeway Resort & Spa for 6 nights. Total cost: ~$3,200. We coordinated delivery timing with them by daily phone updates.

October 10: utilities active at the new home. Wife confirmed by photo. Delivery scheduled for October 11 (Saturday) — when family + wife could supervise full unpacking.

October 11, 8 AM. 4-person delivery crew + 1 specialty packer arrived at the Lakeway home. Truck pre-staged. Family arrived at 9 AM with coffee for the crew.

Delivery sequence: - Family's bedrooms first (master + each daughter) — beds + dressers + closets organized - Kitchen (full unpack — pots/pans, dishes, glasses, pantry items all placed) - Dining + living areas (furniture placed, art crates opened next to their planned wall locations) - Grand piano (positioned, legs and pedal lyre reset, unwrapped) - Office (computers + monitors + filing cabinets) - Garage (sports equipment, holiday decor, lawn equipment)

The art placement took the entire afternoon of Day 1: - Wife had pre-marked walls with painter's tape indicating each painting's planned position - Our specialty packer uncrated each painting carefully on the floor (not against a wall — wood-to-art impact risk) - 2-person handling for any painting over 20 lbs - Picture-hanging hardware pre-installed where needed (we used adjustable-height hooks for fine-tuning) - Each painting positioned by 2 crew (one supporting the bottom, one positioning at the top) - Wife's final approval on each placement before the hook screws were tightened

Day 1 wrap-up at 7 PM: all major contents in place, all art hung, grand piano positioned.

October 12 (Sunday) full second-day unpacking: - Bathrooms unpacked + organized - Linen closets - Garage finished - Final touch-ups + cleaning

Total time on white-glove unpacking: 14 hours by 4 crew + 1 specialty packer over 2 days.

The family was fully moved in October 12. Both daughters started Vandegrift HS that week (the older transferring as a senior, the younger as a sophomore). Lake Travis ISD processed enrollment in 2 weeks; we'd coordinated the timing to keep them on schedule.

The wife sent us a thank-you note with a photo of the family in their new home two weeks after delivery. Everything had survived intact. The art was hung exactly where she'd planned. The dogs had adjusted to the new house.

Damage report: zero. Every piece of art arrived in condition, the piano intact, every furniture piece undamaged. The full insurance protection wasn't needed — but the cost ($380 on the FVP upgrade for the household, $850 for declared art) was insurance-as-peace-of-mind.

The customer wrote a 5-star Google review three weeks later specifically calling out the same-crew origin-to-destination (which she'd researched extensively and chosen us specifically for) and the art-placement service.