Triple-Decker (Boston Housing Stock)
A triple-decker is a three-story wood-frame apartment building with one unit per floor — a housing type extremely common across Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, and Dorchester that creates specific moving challenges due to narrow interior staircases.
Triple-deckers were built in large numbers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to house Boston's immigrant working-class population. They remain a defining feature of the city's housing stock — Dorchester, Allston, Brighton, Somerville, and parts of Cambridge are full of them. Their interior staircases are typically narrow (sometimes under 32 inches wide) and steep, which makes moving large furniture (especially sofas, mattresses, and bed frames) physically harder and more time-consuming than in a modern building.
Boston Best Rate Movers' crews have moved thousands of triple-decker apartments and stock the right equipment (smaller dollies, vertical hoist straps, mattress slings) to handle them efficiently. Because we don't charge stair fees, third-floor walk-up customers in triple-deckers save $100-$200 over national-brand movers.
Related service
Apartment Movers BostonRelated Terms
Stair Carry
Stair carry is the fee most moving companies add for each flight of stairs the crew must navigate when loading or unloading — typically $50 to $75 per flight.
September 1st (Boston Moving Day)
September 1st is Boston's single busiest moving day of the year — roughly 70% of Boston rental leases turn over on that date, creating citywide traffic, parking, and crew-availability strain.
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