Moving planning
Coordinate renovation, furniture delivery and your move
A delivery can be booked while the route to the room is still closed. Plan renovation, new furniture and the move of your existing belongings together. Each step needs a date, a responsible person and a clear prerequisite so that the next contractor can start.
1. Separate fixed dates from requests awaiting confirmation
Start with key handover, the return of your old home and jobs that have already been confirmed. Add estimated delivery windows and preferred work dates alongside them. Mark each entry as requested, confirmed or dependent on an outstanding condition. A preferred date is not yet a contractor’s commitment.
Work backwards from the condition you need the new home to be in. Which rooms must be usable on moving day, and which jobs could take place later? Include the hallway and access routes in the same plan. An empty corner is not necessarily a suitable space for every package being delivered.
- Record the business, contact person, phone number and order reference for each job.
- Keep the start date, expected finish and deadline for a progress update in separate fields.
- Before booking, ask when changes can be made and what costs may apply.
- Keep outstanding permissions, material availability and key access visible in the plan.
2. Put prerequisites into the calendar
Jobs can overlap only if people, materials and carrying routes do not obstruct one another. Two available calendar slots do not establish that.
The following worksheet describes handovers between jobs. Fill it in using the actual commitments you receive. It does not prescribe a technical work sequence or a fixed number of renovation days. Each specialist determines the preparation and conditions needed for their work.
Give each time allowance a purpose, such as absorbing an uncertain material delivery or finding another assembly slot. Its length should reflect the particular uncertainty. Do not count the same spare time twice for delays that are already known.
| Step | What must be ready first | Update and next action |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection and measurements | Access, intended scope and responsible contractors are identified. | Resolve questions, dimensions and material requirements before ordering. |
| Renovation stage | Required preparation, materials and clear workspace are confirmed. | Contractor reports actual progress and remaining restrictions. |
| Prepare a room for furniture | The room and carrying route are suitable for the intended use. | Record permissions to use the area, protection measures and available space. |
| Deliver new furniture | Items, handover point, time window and receiving person are agreed. | Allocate packages to rooms and report missing items to the supplier. |
| Assemble furniture | Required packages, workspace and agreed conditions are available. | Assembler reports completion or outstanding work. |
| Move existing belongings | Destination rooms, carrying route and agreed scope are ready. | Check placement, remaining jobs and the return of your old home. |
3. Check separate quotes for work, delivery and transport
Have the scope, date and payment terms recorded in writing. The German consumer advice organisation Verbraucherzentrale recommends describing jobs precisely and documenting additional agreements. Compare quotes against the same task list.
Use the following breakdown as your own checklist. Even where one business covers several tasks, each should be identifiable in its quote. Check who your contracting party is for each service. A shared calendar connects appointments; it does not expand what you have booked.
| Order | Describe explicitly | Clarify the handover between services |
|---|---|---|
| Renovation | Rooms, surfaces, materials, preparation and cleaning. | Who clears the work area and confirms when it can be used? |
| New furniture delivery | Items, package count, address and booked delivery option. | Where does delivery end, and who carries packages any further? |
| Moving existing furniture | Inventory, both addresses, floors, carrying routes and intended placement. | Are dismantling, packing and reassembly included? |
| Assembly or coordination | Furniture or participating jobs and the exact tasks required. | Does the scope include wall fixing, connections or schedule changes? Who can approve extra costs? |
4. Give one person responsibility for keeping the plan current
Choose a reachable person to maintain the calendar and pass changes to every affected contractor. This could be you or a coordinator you appoint. Agree which decisions they may make; technical requirements still need confirmation from the relevant specialist.
For each entry, record the room, task, business, time window, prerequisite, confirming person and date of the latest update. Every unresolved item needs an owner and an agreed response time. The furniture assembler should not have to investigate whether renovation is actually finished.
- Circulate one current plan with a version date.
- Send appointment changes directly to the affected contracting parties as well.
- Resolve questions and additional costs with the authorised person before committing.
- Confirm keys and contact availability separately for each visit.
Advertisement · Related project: For several contractors, you can ask HandMen about support with scheduling and coordination (German). HandMen refers independent partners in Wiesbaden and Rhine-Main. Confirm scope, availability, quote and contract directly with the identified business.
5. Prepare the delivery point, receiving person and assembly space
Check the delivery option you booked. IKEA, for example, distinguishes between kerbside delivery and delivery to a room. Your order determines what is included; other retailers may use different conditions.
Assembly preparation is also provider-specific. For the Taskrabbit service described on its German website, IKEA asks customers to leave furniture packaged in the room where it will be assembled. Ask your provider what preparation your particular booking requires.
- Tell every relevant business about vehicle access, parking, floor level, lift and narrow sections.
- Agree who will receive the goods and who can stand in; check availability throughout the delivery window.
- Use a room plan to show where new packages, existing furniture and tools may be placed.
- Keep doors, escape routes and work areas clear when allocating space for packages and boxes.
- Agree floor and wall protection with the businesses involved.
- Record the condition and any visible damage before the next job, including the room and date.
6. Ask for a specific update before the next appointment
A photo helps coordination but does not, by itself, establish that a surface can support a load or has been cleared for use.
Do not just ask whether everything is finished. Name the next activity: can the listed furniture be carried along the planned route, placed in the room and assembled there? What restrictions remain? Ask for missing prerequisites to be identified in time.
An organisational example: furniture delivery is planned for Friday. By an agreed time on Wednesday, the responsible person confirms access, available space and conditions for carrying the furniture. If something remains unresolved, contact the retailer and mover immediately. The response deadline must fit their change conditions; these weekdays do not specify drying times or work duration.
- Which room and route are ready for which activity?
- Who confirmed the technical conditions, when, and with what restrictions?
- Who receives the delivery and opens the property for assembly afterwards?
- Have all affected businesses received the current information?
7. Reschedule the jobs that actually depend on a delay
First mark the blocked step and identify the affected bookings. A late wardrobe delivery need not prevent existing furniture from moving if space and access remain usable independently. If the only carrying route is closed, however, every delivery relying on it needs another arrangement.
Discuss later delivery, a separate assembly date or suitable temporary storage with the respective providers. List transport, storage, another call-out and any accommodation costs separately. Confirm availability, terms and additional costs before commissioning an alternative.
Send the revised plan to everyone affected and collect new confirmations. Keep both the earlier and updated commitments with their dates. If you move into only part of the home, check whether the sleeping area, bathroom, access and remaining work areas can be kept practically separate.
Questions about flooring work and moving in
Should new furniture delivery and the move happen on the same day?
Only if the time windows, receiving arrangements, space and carrying routes work together. Uncertain delivery times or a shared lift often make separate appointments easier to organise. Discuss the arrangement with both businesses.
How much time should I allow for delays?
There is no universal number of days. Ask about unfinished preparation, materials, conditions for using rooms and rebooking options. Give each specific uncertainty a realistic fallback.
Does a coordinator automatically take on all the work?
Their agreed brief defines their tasks. Record who manages appointments, who checks technical prerequisites and who performs each service. Quotes, contracting parties and decision-making authority should remain clear.
What if some new furniture has not arrived?
Identify which steps actually depend on it. Existing furniture may be moved separately, while assembly of the missing delivery needs a new confirmed date. Keep enough space for the later arrival.
Sources and scope
Checked on 3 October 2026. Verbraucherzentrale covers defining a contractor’s brief; IKEA provides specific examples of delivery and assembly services. The calendar and tables are editorial planning aids. The terms of your own orders govern your arrangements.