How hourly pricing works
Arlington movers bill by the hour for a crew of a stated size, with a minimum number of hours you will be charged whatever happens. The clock runs from arrival at the first address to the last item placed at the second, including the drive between them.
What makes Arlington quotes vary is rarely the rate. It is the building. The same one-bedroom costs meaningfully different amounts depending on whether it sits in a Rosslyn high-rise with a booked freight elevator, a Ballston mid-rise with a shared garage, or a two-storey garden apartment off Columbia Pike with surface parking twenty feet from the door.
Why high-rise access changes the price
In the Rosslyn–Ballston corridor and along Crystal Drive, most buildings require you to reserve a freight elevator and provide a certificate of insurance before the crew is allowed up. Three things then drive your cost.
The length of the window. A two-hour reservation on a job that needs three is the most expensive thing that can happen to a move, because the crew either waits for the next opening or returns another day. Ask the management office for the longest window they will give you, and ask whether it can be extended on the day.
The distance from the elevator to your door. On a long floor plate this is a real carry, repeated for every item.
Garage clearance. Many Arlington garages are posted well under the height of a standard box truck. This is why we work from cargo vans — a van that fits in the garage puts the tailgate near the elevator, and that is worth more than a bigger truck parked on the street.
Garden apartments and walk-ups
The older garden-apartment communities off Columbia Pike, along Four Mile Run and around Glebe Road are a different job entirely: two and three storeys, no elevator, surface parking usually close to the building, and interior stairs with a turn at the landing.
These moves are simple and the price is mostly a function of the floor. Ground floor is quick. Third floor is roughly an hour longer than ground for a one-bedroom, and stairs beyond the first flight are $20 per flight. There is no elevator to reserve, no certificate of insurance in most cases, and no garage clearance to worry about, which removes the three things most likely to go wrong.
If your building has a bulkhead or exterior basement entrance, mention it. Low ceilings and a tight turn at the bottom change how long a sofa takes.
Our Arlington rates and minimums
The rates are the same in Arlington as everywhere else we serve. A van and a two-person crew is $159 per hour with a three-hour minimum — $477 to start. Labor-only is $119 per hour with a two-hour minimum, from $238. Each additional crew member is $55 per hour. Furniture delivery starts at $149, packing is $119 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and assembly starts at $89.
No weekend rate, no evening rate, no holiday rate. We work seven days a week from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM and bill every hour in that window the same. The pricing page has the full list of possible additional charges and is the version to trust if these numbers have moved since publication.
Comparing quotes
Ask each company the same four questions and the differences become obvious.
What is the minimum, and what is the rate after it? Compare the total for your realistic number of hours, not the headline rate.
How do you bill travel? Some start the clock at their yard. Over the distances involved in Arlington that can be an hour before anyone touches a box.
What happens if the elevator window closes before we finish? You want an answer to this before you need one.
What is not included? Get the list. Stairs, long carry, heavy items, materials, mileage, fuel. A complete list is a sign of a company that intends to bill you what it quoted.