A Grand Plan for a Grand Piano: A Two Small Men moving story from the frozen heart of Calgary

On a winter day in Calgary, when ice settles into stone pathways and gravity feels less like a constant and more like a variable, moving a grand piano is far from being a simple task. It becomes a collective exercise in judgment, trust, and experience. For Montell Beals, a driver with Two Small Men with Big Hearts, that moment came just a few days ago, when an 800-pound grand piano had to be moved down an icy slope with no room for mistakes.

But Montell’s story doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is a familiar tale experienced by the moving crew members who do this work day after day, such as Kalmin Contenti Ranger, a Calgary native who has been with Two Small Men for nearly three years and who works closely with Beals. Together, their experiences paint a clearer picture of what moving in Calgary really demands.

“I like it,” Kalmin says of the job. “Every day is different, so I like that.” That unpredictability is part of what defines professional moving, especially in a city where winter conditions can change the rules overnight. “It gets slower,” Kalmin admits, “but all around not too bad still. Still work—and nobody likes staying outside every day in the freezing weather anyway.”

For Montell, the freezing conditions were central to the piano move. The house sat on a hill, accessed by a stone pathway “covered with ice.” The piano had to come out the back door, down the slope, and into a truck bound eventually for Cranbrook. “It was very challenging,” admits Montell. 

It was the kind of challenge that Kalmin understands instinctively. Born and raised in Calgary, he’s never moved anywhere else. He knows the terrain, the winters, and the kinds of surprises that come with local moves. “Mostly I’m in and around Calgary,” he says, and that means dealing with tight staircases, awkward layouts, and heavy items that were never meant to move again once they were installed.

“Maybe just having certain items that are super big for certain areas,” Kalmin explains. “Say, for example, a piano upstairs. But then their stairs have a bend in it, so you have to think of maneuvers around that.”

Pianos, both Montell and Kalmin agree, are among the hardest items movers have to deal with. “Yeah,” Kalmin says, “it’s definitely one of the harder things the guys have to move.” He also mentions that gun safes can be tricky and very heavy in their own right, but pianos bring a unique mix of weight, balance, and fragility.

Montell described the piano as being close to 800 pounds in weight, noting that “it’s a four-man job to do it the way we did it.” But on this day, the crew only had three members: Montell, Calvin, and their other coworker, Eric. Experience had to make up the difference. 

That reliance on experience is something Kalmin emphasized repeatedly. When asked about strategy, his answer is refreshingly honest. “Usually we just have as much guys as we can,” he said. “Make sure we have all the equipment ready and stuff like that.” But moving doesn’t always follow a script. “At certain times, if it just doesn’t work—say your straps just don’t work with that angle—you just kind of… go as you see.”

That adaptability is critical. Montell’s solution on the icy hill was to back the truck up as far as possible to reduce the distance the piano had to travel on ice. “It got rid of a lot of the breaks that we would have had to take,” he said. It may not have been textbook, but it was practical.

Kalmin has seen similar moments of improvisation in other situations. He recalls moves where furniture simply wouldn’t fit the way customers expected. “There’s been times where we had to basically take apart a couch,” he said. “Take the bottom frame off of it. Take doors, railings, all that off.” One job stood out in particular. “They wanted their bed frame and it just wouldn’t fit… He recommended he just take it out and cut the bed frame in half.”

It worked but only because the crew stayed calm and creative. “Every day is different,” Kalmin said. “Whether the house is different or the pieces you’re moving. There’s always different things in every day.”

That same awareness applies to safety. Both movers are clear regarding where the line is. Kalmin described times when customers underestimated weight or access. “They didn’t tell us about, say, a gun safe that was too heavy… and they want it up a set of stairs that just isn’t realistic.” In those cases, the answer is no. “There’s been times where we have to turn down stuff due to safety.”

Montell echoed that philosophy during the piano move. “Access is a big thing,” he said. “If it was like a grassy hill, we’re definitely going to opt out.” Instead, they chipped ice, padded the piano, secured it carefully, and moved slowly. “Just being prepared, man,” says Montell. “That’s the biggest thing for us.”

Customers notice that preparation. Kalmin sees it regularly. “They’re usually there with us, trying to watch how we go about it,” he said. “We end up finishing it… they’re usually pretty happy and very appreciative.” The moments of satisfaction come in the form of handshakes, thank-yous, and the relief of customers. “Very rarely does someone just kind of ignore it.”

At the piano move, the customer initially hesitated. “When we arrived there, actually, they’re like, ‘There’s only three of you guys,’” Montell recalled. By the end, that doubt had vanished. “They just said, ‘Great job.’”

For Kalmin, the lessons learned on this job can be carried over to many others. “Quick thinking,” he says. “Being able to adapt to the situation as it comes to you.” Awareness also matters. “You always have to be focused… watching what’s around you so you’re not gonna trip over your feet.”

On an icy Calgary hillside, with a grand piano balanced precariously, those lessons aren’t lofty ideas. They’re real and immediate and they are shared between movers who trust each other, rely on experience, and understand that no two moves are ever the same.

In that sense, the piano wasn’t just another heavy item. It was a reminder of what professional moving really is at Two Small Men with Big Hearts: not brute force, but preparation, adaptability, and teamwork, one careful step at a time.