As shotgun house movers in New Orleans, our crews work in singles, doubles and camelbacks, where the bedroom furniture has to come out through the kitchen, the living room and the front parlor before it reaches the porch. Our lead walks the house, measures the tight doors, decides what comes apart and what goes out the back, and only then starts carrying. If another company told you a piece "won't fit," call us before you sell it.
The shotgun is the house type New Orleans is known for. It grew out of the city's long, narrow lots (roughly 30 by 120 feet), so the rooms line up one behind the other with no interior hallway. That layout is the whole story of a shotgun house move: nothing leaves the back bedroom without passing through every room in front of it, so one badly planned carry blocks the whole house.
The doors between rooms in an older shotgun are often narrower than the front door, and they don't always line up. A sofa that came in fine through the front can stall at the second or third opening. We measure every door on the route, not just the first one.
Each room opens straight into the next, so the order we load matters. Front rooms get cleared first to open a path, the heaviest back-room pieces go out once the way is clear, and boxes stack in the order they will be carried so nobody is climbing over a dresser.
Many shotguns sit up off the ground with a run of steps to the porch, and a camelback adds a second floor over the back rooms with a stair that is usually steep and tight. Heavy pieces on those stairs get a crew member on each end, with the move called out at every turn.
King frames, sectionals, glass-front cabinets, dresser mirrors and table legs usually come apart before they reach a narrow door. Hardware goes in a labeled bag taped to the piece, so the same crew can put it back together in the right room at the new place.
Here is how our crew runs a shotgun house move in New Orleans, in the order it happens on the day:
“Wonderful experience. Movers were very helpful and even got a large treadmill downstairs without having to disassemble. Great group of workers!”
“Prompt, courteous, took good care in moving this heavy china cabinet.”
“Great moving experience: they were quick, handled my stuff with care and very attentive to my instructions on where to put things.”
Singles, doubles, camelbacks, side-hall shotguns with the old gallery closed in: our leads have carried furniture out of all of them and know where the pinch points usually are.
Disassembly tools, door-frame pads, moving blankets and dollies ride on our own truck, so a bed or armoire that has to come apart doesn't wait on a trip to the hardware store.
Local moves are billed by the hour. A shotgun can take longer than an apartment of the same size, and we tell you that before move day. The final price is confirmed ahead of time and nothing is added without your OK.
AD Movers holds LPSC license #8127 with the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and every full move is insured. The movers are background-checked AD Movers employees who answer to the owner, not day labor.
Enter both addresses, the home size and your date in the online tool and you get a ballpark in about 60 seconds. Mention that it is a shotgun or camelback so the time estimate accounts for the layout.
A photo of the armoire, the king bed, the sectional or the upright piano, plus the width of your narrowest interior door, lets the lead plan disassembly and crew size before the truck rolls. Pianos and safes carry a specialty charge.
The crew walks the house with you, pads the frames, takes apart what needs it and clears rooms in order. At the new place the beds go back together first, so you have somewhere to sleep that night.
Shotguns went up by the block across the city in the late 1800s, so they are thick in the Irish Channel, Uptown, Central City, Freret, Carrollton, Mid-City, Tremé, the 7th Ward, Esplanade Ridge, Marigny and Bywater. Our office is on Coliseum Street, so the Uptown and downriver runs are short ones for our shotgun house movers in New Orleans.
On these streets the house is only half the job. The truck usually parks on a narrow street lined with cars, so tell us about the block when you book and we can plan the parking. In a double, the neighbor shares the porch, so we keep the steps clear for them while we work.
Get My Shotgun House Quote →The slow part of a shotgun move is rarely the carrying. It is the dresser that gets halfway through the kitchen door, has to back out and come apart while everyone waits. A shotgun house moving company that spends ten minutes measuring at the start skips most of that, and on an hourly job that is time you are not paying for.
AD Movers has been moving New Orleans homes since 2013, with more than 1,000 moves behind it. Our crews learn on the job from leads who have carried pieces up camelback stairs and down porch steps, and the company is still run day to day by its owner, Adonay Pineda.
Licensed through the Louisiana Public Service Commission (license #8127). Fully insured. 4.8★ on Google from 115 reviews.
A shotgun is one room wide with the rooms in a line and no hallway, so a piece from the back bedroom passes through every room and doorway in front of it. The interior doors are often narrow and don't always line up. The work is less about strength and more about loading order, measuring and taking things apart before they get stuck.
Usually, once it is apart. The frame breaks down into headboard, footboard and rails, and those pass through a narrow door on edge. The mattress and box spring are the harder part: a standard box spring does not fold, so we measure the tightest door first. If it won't make the turn, we look at a back door or a split box spring.
The hourly rate is the same; the time can be longer. Carrying through a line of rooms, taking pieces apart and handling porch or camelback stairs adds time compared with an open apartment of the same size. Our tool at admoversla.com/moving-quote/ gives a ballpark in about 60 seconds, and the final price is confirmed before move day.
Most sectionals unclip into pieces that go through a narrow door one at a time, often with the feet off. A one-piece frame is the problem case. For those we measure the diagonal of the piece against each door and check the back and side doors before choosing a route, and we tell you plainly if a piece cannot go through.
Yes. A double is two shotgun units sharing a center wall, roof and usually the porch, so we keep the neighbor's side clear. A camelback adds a second story over the back rooms with a stair that is often steep and narrow, and dressers and beds going up there get two movers and a planned turn at the top.
Measure the narrowest interior door, the turn into the kitchen or bathroom, and the camelback stair if you have one. Then measure your biggest pieces: height, width and depth. If you are buying new furniture for a shotgun, measure before you order. Send us those numbers with photos and the lead can plan the route before the crew arrives.
Yes, when it gains the inches we need. Most interior doors lift off once the hinge pins are tapped out, and we put them back before we leave. On older houses we look at the hardware first, because original hinges and painted-over pins need gentle handling. If a door won't come off cleanly, we use another route instead.
Often, yes. Uprights and gun safes come out of shotguns with planning around the porch steps and the floor path, and they carry a specialty charge. Tell us the make, the size and the number of steps when you book so we send the right crew and equipment for it.
Doors that came off go back on. Pads come off the frames. Beds are put back together, furniture lands in the room you pointed to, and hardware bags are empty. Before the crew leaves, the lead walks the new place with you so anything that needs a second look gets it while we are still there.
Get My Shotgun House Quote →500+ shotgun houses moved. Disassembly tools on every truck. Every door frame gets padded first. Get your transparent ballpark price in 60 seconds — no calls required.
AD Movers is a licensed & insured New Orleans moving company providing local and long-distance moving across the areas we serve.
