If you have never moved into a shotgun house before, the front door can fool you.
The furniture fits through the door.
Great.
Now we have to get it through the rest of the house.
That is where the real planning starts.
The shotgun house is one of New Orleans’ best-known residential building types. Traditionally, it is long and relatively narrow, with rooms leading one into the next. The Preservation Resource Center describes shotguns as a building type rather than one single architectural style, and notes how deeply they are connected to the city’s built environment.
From a mover’s perspective, the layout changes the job.
Measure More Than the Front Door
The front entrance is only the first measurement.
If a dresser is going into a room near the back of the house, we need to know whether it can travel through everything between the front door and that room.
Look at interior openings.
Look at the turns.
Look at fireplaces.
Look at built-ins.
Look at where another piece of furniture might block the route.
And do not only measure the width of the furniture.
Depth and height matter too.
A sofa may fit through an opening one way but not have enough room to rotate once it gets inside.
That is usually where things get interesting.
Think About the Order Furniture Goes Into the House
This is one of the biggest differences with a shotgun layout.
If the bedroom furniture belongs in the back, it may need to go in before the front room is fully set up.
Otherwise, we may find ourselves moving the same sofa out of the way twice just to get another piece through.
That is wasted work.
Before unloading, decide where the large pieces belong.
Then think about the route each piece needs to take.
Sometimes the best moving plan is simply putting the house together from the back toward the front.
Not Every Shotgun Still Has the Original Layout
New Orleans shotguns have been changed in just about every way imaginable.
Walls have been opened.
Hallways have been added.
Doubles have been converted.
Rear additions have been built.
Camelback second stories have been added.
The Preservation Resource Center has documented how renovated shotguns are frequently modified from their traditional room-to-room layouts to fit modern living.
So we do not make assumptions based on the word “shotgun.”
We look at the actual house.
That is the house we have to move into.
Older Houses Need More Care Around the Finishes
Some of the details that make an older New Orleans house beautiful are also the things we want to protect during a move.
Old wood floors.
Trim.
Plaster.
Historic doors.
Railings.
Fireplace mantels.
Original hardware.
We do not want a dresser deciding whether that 100-year-old doorway survives moving day.
When something is close, forcing it is usually the wrong answer.
Protect the surface.
Change the angle.
Take the furniture apart.
Remove a detachable leg.
Use another entrance if one is available.
There is usually a better solution than pushing harder.
Furniture Disassembly Can Save the Day
Some pieces were assembled inside a room and were never really designed to leave it in one piece.
Beds are an obvious example.
Sectionals, tables, desks and some shelving units may also be easier and safer to move when partially disassembled.
Move Precision includes furniture disassembly and reassembly among its services.
That does not mean we take everything apart.
It means we use the approach that makes sense for the piece and the building.
Look Outside the House Too
The challenge may start before we reach the front door.
Many New Orleans homes are raised.
There may be several steps from the sidewalk to the porch.
There may be a narrow gate.
The railing may reduce the usable width.
Tree branches can affect truck access.
Parked cars can affect unloading.
The truck may not be able to stop directly in front.
Take a picture of the outside of the property.
A good exterior photo can answer a lot of questions before moving day.
Keep a Path Through the House
A shotgun can become crowded quickly.
If boxes are dropped wherever there is open floor space, the moving path disappears.
That is a problem when movers still need to bring large pieces into rooms farther back.
Keep the main route open.
Put boxes to the side when possible.
Move rear-room items first.
Avoid stacking things in doorways.
This sounds simple, but it makes a major difference once several people are moving through a narrow house at the same time.
Large Sofas Are Usually the Piece Everyone Watches
There is always one piece.
A lot of the time it is the sofa.
Before moving day, check whether the legs come off.
If it is a sectional, find out how it separates.
Look at whether the front door can be temporarily removed if needed.
Check the rear entrance too.
Sometimes the route everybody assumes we will use is not the best one.
And sometimes the correct answer is that the furniture simply does not fit without being disassembled.
It is better to know that early.
Parking Still Matters
The house can be perfect and the move can still slow down outside.
If the truck is farther away, every piece travels farther.
That becomes even more noticeable with heavy furniture or a large number of boxes.
Look at the parking before moving morning.
If curb access is limited or metered, determine what options are available ahead of time. The City of New Orleans maintains procedures for reserving metered spaces when appropriate.
The Best Thing You Can Do Is Show Us the Problem Before We Arrive
If you are worried about the staircase, send a picture.
If the sofa looks too big for the door, send a picture.
If the street is extremely tight, send a picture.
If there is a large antique that needs special attention, send a picture.
Experienced movers can solve a lot of problems.
But we can solve them better when we know they exist.
Moving into a shotgun house is not necessarily harder.
It is just a different kind of move.
And in New Orleans, knowing the building is part of knowing how to move.
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