Furniture moving in Um Al Salam district, Jeddah
Most moves in Um Al Salam are decided by the staircase, not the distance. Multi-storey houses and blocks without lifts, narrow stairs, and large pieces that have to come apart before they come down. Wathab plans around exactly that, with a written price after a free survey.
Where Um Al Salam is and what makes it different
Um Al Salam lies in the south-eastern part of Jeddah along the Old Makkah Road. It is one of the districts with its own sub-municipality under the Jeddah municipality structure, which reflects how large and densely populated it is compared with smaller districts.
Its built form is unlike the newer northern districts: multi-storey houses and residential blocks, mostly without lifts, and extended families often occupying more than one flat in the same building. The typical job here is closer to moving a large family within a vertical building than moving a flat in a modern tower.
The second factor is the road. Proximity to the Old Makkah Road makes truck access easy but also means congestion at certain hours, so timing the load matters more than the distance it travels.
Multi-storey buildings without lifts
Why the staircase sets both the cost and the duration
On any job, time is the cost, and stairs consume more of it than anything else. Carrying one item down from a third floor can take several times as long as from the ground floor, and it doubles the crew needed to finish within the day.
Stair width and the half-landing
The turn halfway up is the real bottleneck, not the width of the tread. A piece that clears the straight run may not come round the corner.
Headroom above the stairs
This decides whether a tall item can be tilted on the way up, and it is the measurement most often forgotten in remote estimates.
The balustrade
Usually the first thing damaged. We wrap it fully before work starts, and occasionally remove a section with the owner’s permission.
Crew numbers
More hands in a multi-storey building is not a luxury. It is what keeps the day from stretching and lowers the risk of strain injuries.
Moving between floors of the same house
A recurring job in Um Al Salam that few people think to hire for: a family moving from one floor to another inside the same building, after a marriage, an extension or repairs. People attempt it themselves because the distance is short, and that is where most of the damage happens.
List what is actually moving
Not everything on the floor needs to move. We cover the large pieces and appliances and leave the rest for the owner to shift at leisure.
Dismantle in place
Beds and wardrobes come apart on the original floor, because trying to move them whole on an internal staircase causes most of the scratches.
Protect the route
The stairs and corridor are covered and the balustrade wrapped — this is an occupied home with children and normal traffic in it.
Reassemble and clear up
Everything goes back together on the new floor, and packing waste is removed before the crew leaves, which is what self-moving usually skips.
The advantage is that these jobs usually finish in half a day and cost less than a full move, since there is no truck and no travel time.
Moving prices in Um Al Salam
Published rates; the final figure is written after a free survey
| Load size | Indicative price |
|---|---|
| Pickup load (small van) | 80 – 250 |
| Studio / single room | 350 – 600 |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 500 – 900 |
| Three-bedroom apartment | 800 – 1,400 |
| Four to five bedrooms | 1,200 – 1,900 |
| Small villa | 1,500 – 2,500 |
| Large villa | 2,500 – 4,000 |
Rates cover basic dismantling and assembly, packing, loading, unloading and transport within Jeddah. Floor height and the absence of a lift are assessed during the survey and shown in the written price before work begins.
Dismantling before the stairs
In buildings without lifts, dismantling is the difference between an organised move and a struggling one. A dismantled piece goes down in minutes; a whole one can take half an hour and leave marks on the walls.
| Work | Price |
|---|---|
| Full bedroom set | 150 – 300 |
| Sliding or IKEA wardrobe | 100 – 250 |
| Aluminium kitchen | 200 – 400 |
| Whole-apartment package | 400 – 900 |
A specialist joiner numbers the parts and fixings and reassembles everything at the new address on the same day.
Timing around the Old Makkah Road
Being close to a main road helps with access and hurts with timing. This is what we do in practice to limit the effect of traffic:
- Start loading early, before traffic builds on the main road.
- Park in a nearby side street rather than on the through route, so neither the work nor the traffic is held up.
- Reduce the number of runs with careful loading rather than making two half-full trips, since each extra run doubles road time.
- Avoid school opening and closing times in the narrow internal streets.
- For intercity moves, set an early departure to miss the peak on the highway.
Temporary storage for residents
| Load size | Per month |
|---|---|
| One to two rooms | 150 – 300 |
| Full apartment | 250 – 450 |
| Villa-sized load | 400 – 800 |
Furniture is packed differently for storage than for transport, and items are listed and numbered on intake.
Storage is the practical answer when a floor is being refurbished, when the new home is not ready, or when part of a family moves out and furniture is left with nowhere to go for a while.
What to do before moving day
Simple preparation that saves hours
A customer can cut both the duration and the cost without lifting a single item. These steps matter most in multi-storey buildings:
- Empty wardrobes and drawers completely beforehand — a full unit cannot be carried on stairs or dismantled safely.
- Disconnect and dry the fridge and freezer well in advance, since leftover water runs out in the truck and onto other items.
- Box small items and clothing in closed cartons; open bags split on the stairs.
- Reserve a space for the truck in front of the building and let the neighbours know, especially on narrow streets.
- Designate one room at the new address for numbered boxes rather than scattering them.
- Keep documents, jewellery and cash with you personally — they never go in the load.
Protecting a shared building
In a building occupied by several families, damage to the stairs or the entrance affects everybody. The discipline here is part of the job, not a courtesy to the neighbours:
- Cover the stairs from the flat door all the way to the main entrance, not just outside the flat.
- Wrap balustrades and wall corners on every floor the crew passes, not only on the customer’s floor.
- Never leave an item blocking a landing, even for a few minutes.
- Remove all packing waste afterwards rather than leaving it outside the building.
- Work during the day and keep noise down during rest hours.
We record the condition of the entrance and stairwell before starting, so no existing damage is attributed to us and no customer is blamed for something that did not happen on their day.
Related pages on this site
- Apartment furniture moving — Flats of every size
- Furniture moving in south Jeddah — Coverage of the southern districts
- Bedroom dismantling and assembly — The key job in lift-free buildings
- Pickup furniture moving — Small and partial loads
- Apartment furniture storage — Temporary storage options
- Furniture moving prices — The full published price list
Frequently asked questions about moving in Um Al Salam
The base price follows load size — SAR 500 to 900 for two bedrooms, SAR 800 to 1,400 for three. Floor height and the absence of a lift are assessed during the free survey and appear in the written price before work starts.
Yes, and it is a regular job here. Large pieces are dismantled, carried and reassembled on the other floor the same day, with no truck needed.
Yes, SAR 80 to 250 for a partial load such as a washing machine, a fridge and a few boxes, or the contents of a single room.
Early morning. Traffic on the Old Makkah Road builds through the day, and an early start lets loading, unloading and reassembly finish inside one day.
Yes, after checking them. Older glued units sometimes will not survive being taken apart, and we tell you that before dismantling, not after, so you can decide.
A bedroom set is SAR 150 to 300, an aluminium kitchen SAR 200 to 400 and a sliding or IKEA wardrobe SAR 100 to 250.
Yes. Intercity moves run to Makkah, Taif, Madinah, Riyadh and elsewhere; destinations and pricing are on the moving prices page.
Yes. SAR 150 to 300 a month for one or two rooms, SAR 250 to 450 for an apartment load and SAR 400 to 800 for a villa load.
Not if we know in advance. We measure stair width and step height during the survey and decide what gets dismantled and what gets lifted externally before the day, not during it.
Yes. Surveys are free within Jeddah and you receive a final written price before any work begins.
Book your move in Um Al Salam
Send us the number of rooms, the floor and whether there is a lift, and you will get an estimate before the free survey.