There’s no doubt that a furniture dolly makes a valuable tool when moving your home, this simple device lessens the amount of work you have to do making it easier for fewer people to shift several large pieces of furniture in a short period of time.
If you are planning on moving houses in the near future, but have never heard of a furniture dolly before, then they are basically a square or rectangular bit of hard wood board covered in a soft material to prevent scratching. Attached to the bottom of the board there are 4 caster swivel wheels each positioned in different corners to give an equal balance of weight.
Buying a furniture dolly is as easy as going down to your local home depot store; there you will find many brands of various shapes and sizes. The average price range varies depending on the material it has been made from and any extra special features included, though the standard types will be made from wood and cost under $100 each.
If you’re planning on moving home yourself then you may need more than one furniture dolly to speed up the process. Instead of spending a couple of hundred dollars on 2 – 3 dollies that you will probably never end up using again, why not make your own? If you have a quick look around your garage you probably have all the materials you need to make a furniture dolly or two. The basic materials for a single furniture dolly are, an 18″ by 32″ flat board of plywood, a length of 2 x 4 planks, unused bits of carpeting, 4 swivel coaster wheels, several screws and some strong glue.
If you wanted to purchase all of the items needed to make a furniture dolly it would cost you well under $100 from any home depot. Now that you have all the necessary materials you can get started on making your own dolly; if the flat plywood board is not already 18″ by 32″ then you’ll need to cut it using either a hand saw or electrical wheel saw.
The next step is to take the 2 x 4 plank and saw it into 4 separate pieces, 2 of these will be 32″ in length and the other 2 will be 10″ long. These 4 bits of plank will need to be screwed to one side of the plywood board along each side in a rectangular frame shape, attach the two 32″ lengths first then the 10″ pieces to each end.
Now that you have the main frame and platform finished, glue a length of carpet material along the flat side of the board, so that it covers the entire surface. Once it has dried you can take your 4 swivel coaster wheels and screw them to each corner bringing them in at least 2.5″ from the edge, so that the dolly can be tilted to fit under the item of furniture that needs moving. If you want to add extra maneuverability and making pulling your furniture dolly a possibility, drill two 1/2 inch holes on either side of what will be the front of your dolly and thread a length of rope through tying it in the middle; this will act as a handle.