How do you move a 650lbs Rack on Hardwood...

Not sure what the clearance on your casters or the MA roller casters is, but I had a guy build me a platform on which all my racks sit. That probably doesn't help you, but what it rolls on are the wheels you can get at Home Depot to put under your refrigerator. Might those casters be usable under your rack?

RCPrince -
Thanks for the thought. The door opening to the media closet is about 84". The rack with the steel ball castors is about 83", leaving me just an inch clearance. There is a small threshold between the main floor and the media closet. Media closet has fake hardwood (which is great for rolling on) but the actual floor (should the rack need any changes/modifications would need to be rolled out to) is actual wood. So I am trying to figure out if there is something VERY thin and yet strong enough to roll the rack ONTO and be able to move it around without denting wood.

Now, if I get rid of the MA base and have one made, that would work, but also would require me to get the rack out of the media closet, which still leave me stuck with what to do in removing it.

Thanks!

HOw about a 1/2" sheet of corian or other hard synthetic, or even a sheet of 1/2" plywood?

swampwalker - the corian might be the ticket. I would be concerned with plywood and the steel castors either getting stuck or being tough to roll. The Corian would not have such a problem - question is, can 1/2 Corian be difficult to locate? I will give that a try if no other options are available.

Thanks!!

Dan

If I understand you correctly, you'll use the sheet material to protect the floor while positioning the rack, then you'll remove the protective sheet. If that's the case, how about 1/8" Masonite? It's dense as can be, you shouldn't have any problems rolling over that.

pro flooring installers use a pneumatic lift for moving heavy furniture, its essentially an air bladder that is filled using a compressor and the load slides across the floor on a cushion of air with nary a scuff. I bet you could rent one for an afternoon.

Most large hardware or home improvement stores have disks intended for sliding heavy furniture. They come in different sizes from an inch or so up to six or seven inches diameter. They made from a very hard, slick white plastic that looks almost like teflon. They're flat on the top and slightly curved on the bottom. You tilt up one side of the furniture and put two disks under the legs, then repeat on the other side.

Here's something similar on Amazon.

Hi

When we install Master Reference Speakers 520lbs each on casters we bring along 2-3 sheets of 1/8" masonite board to roll them in on - works just great.

Good Luck

Peter

I think the guys who suggested the Masonite is the way to go. Don't forget the total weight is divided by the number of casters. Assuming you have 4 casters, you'll only have about 165 pounds on each. No problem for 1/8 masonite.

I would use 2ea Hand Carts with phneumatic tires. Place lip of each cart at each end of rack. Place thin piece of something on bottom of rack to prevent the cart's lifting lip from scratching anything. Use the lever action of the carts to lift high enough and roll it on over to where you way it. Have a 3rd person steady the rack.

Get those plastic tracks that refrigerators are moved on. You lay them on the floor and the fridge rolls/slides on them. Like the furniture gliders, only on about 2.5' tracks that are about 4" wide. They interlock too if you need to go further distance. They'd likely be at any home improvement store. If the rack ends up in the closet ontop of them, so what? Ready for removal at some later time.

If the floor is smooth and level, just a steel plate on the bottom of the rack with a single 3/8" hole in the middle attached to compressed air source. Assuming the footprint of the rack is 21" x 24" = 504 sq.in. Divide 650 lbs by 504 sq.in. = 1.3 lbs/sq.in. not that big a deal really.

After reading the various options, I vote for the masonite as the cheapest and safest solution. K.I.S.S.

Others have mentioned it before me.Masonite 1/8 is what you want to use.I've seen it used many times in similar applications or as a floor protector during renovations,remodeling.Just tape it down with red tack tape and roll your rack out on it.
George

Thans to all - I know what I have to do.

Dan

Don't put the masonite directly on the floor! Use heavy rosin type paper of a light moving pad.

My rack doesn't weight quite as much as yours, but it is still a couple hundred pounds, loaded. I do not use casters but points. I have the discs that the points go into and felt adhered to the bottom of the discs. These allow my whole rack to slide nicely on my wood floor, especially if you are sliding with the orientation of the wood (not grain, but how it is laid).

The plastic disks Sfar mentioned, also come with a heavy felt like material on their bottoms for movement over hard flooring. While masonite may be the ticket, plastic movers have proved invaluable to my wife and I.

It took three men and a boy to move a new very large door chest into our bedroom. They were lifting and lowering and angling it to go around a corner and beneath a door way. Later, my wife and I put it on the plastic disks, and slid it out of the room over carpet and ceramic tile with ease.

I suggested the disks to a buddy to move a machine lathe in the 600-800 lb. range. They worked quite nicely.

These may not be for your use, but we use them several times a year. In fact I just moved a piece of furniture with a 50” plasma on it – couldn’t have easily done it without those little guys.

A really simple and cheap solution: Put a couple of folded towels under the unit. It will slide easily over the floor and there will be no dents, scratches etc. I have 350 pound subwoofers that I have moved this way. I have no strength in my arms or upper body whatsoever, but this way I can move them myself.