Updated Tariff, Updated Parking Fees

We've updated our tariff with the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (MDTE). You can see it here on our website. One of the things we updated is our fees for obtaining parking permits.

We now charge $100 for Somerville and Brookline parking permits. Cambridge is now a $50 fee. Boston remains at $150. If we are able to combine parking permits for you at Somerville, Brookline or Boston we charge half price for any additional permits. For instance, if you asked us to get two Boston parking permits for you the total would be $225.

As always, if you have any questions about this give us a call at 617.864.0620 or e-mail us at help@intelligentlabor.com

photo courtesy of http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2010/01/10/somerville_cracks_down_on_parking_permit_rules/

What if my Furniture Doesn't Fit: Part 2

photo courtesy of http://www.best604homes.com/category/home-improvement/

A situation we run into at least a few times a year is a couch or sofa not fitting at a new location. And, since this is usually a big ticket item, customers want to find a way to make it work. One of the ways this can be done is a knockdown.

A knockdown is the process of taking apart the couch (or arm chair or love seat), getting it through the door/up the stairs in pieces and reassembling inside the new house or apartment. There are a couple of places in the Boston area who offer this service. One, is Melo and Sons Upholstering. We know a couple of people who have used them with good results. The other is Dr. Sofa. We don't know anyone who has used them, but they are an option.

So, if your upholstered furniture doesn't fit and you'd love to keep it a knockdown maybe the way to go.

*********UPDATE*********

9.19.11

We just heard back from a customer of ours who used Melo and Sons and she said she had a great experience with them. They took apart the couch and put it back together close to estimate and she says it looks great after the fact.

Back to Blogging

Whew! That was a rush!

We love to be busy, and that we were. So busy in August, in fact, that there were no blog posts. The great Boston moving rush of 2011 has come to a close now, though, and we can all take a collective breath.

We had a delightfully straightforward September 1st and we're very grateful for it. There don't seem to have been any major disasters for anyone else either - no moving trucks stuck under a bridge on Storrow Drive or driven into a ditch in Allston (both have been seen on previous September 1sts). We're glad everyone seems to have come out of the busiest moving day of the year relatively unscathed.

Or did you? Any moving horror stories out there? Did your friends sleep in and not show up on time to help you get that couch out? Did the truck rental place give your reservation to someone else? Did the old tenant not move out of your new place in time? We'd love to hear about it. Consider it cathartic.

photo courtesy of http://radcollector.com/columns/reneerenee/category/hoarder/

Rent in the Boston Area

photo courtesy of http://www.389listing.com/Listing_Real_Estate_Homes_for_Rent_Lake_Norman.html

First, sorry for the delay in posting. We had some issues with the Google upgrade and had to figure them out.

On to more important business....rent. Its never been cheap in the Boston area, but a recent article really highlighted the issue. The Boston Globe wrote a short piece on rents hitting record highs on July 25th, 2011. The median (number in the middle, not to be confused with average) rental price is currently $1665/month. This data is from the Boston-area, which, for the purposes of the article, was defined as the region surrounded by 495. The article doesn't mention apartment size/number of bedrooms, so it most likely took into account everything from stuidos on up.

The article also mentions that the vacancy rate in the area dropped down to 4.4%, which is the lowest vacancy rate since 2002. All this means its going to be darn hard to find an apartment and then you'll have to pay a lot of money for it.

The article states that it means good things for the economy, but its definitely hard on renters out there right now.

Tire Retreads

graphic courtesy of http://www.tiresandcasings.com/used_tires.htm

Some of our trucks already have tire retreads on the and we're looking into buying more. There are many reasons to go this route.

First, what are retreads? They are previously used tires that have their old treads buffed away and new treads applied to the casing. Tires are checked for safety beforehand to make sure they're up to the task.

We like going this route because its cheaper and its more environmentally friendly than buying new tires. Retreads can be done on casings up to 10 times in some cases and the old treads can be recycled for rubber mulch. Rubber mulch is then used for things like gardening and landscaping. Also, new truck tires take an average of 22 gallons of oil to create, while retreading takes only 7 gallons of oil. That's quite a savings.

You can find out more information on retreads at the Tire Retread and Repair Information Bureau (TRIB). Retreads aren't just for truck tires. You can get them for personal vehicles as well. Check out the TRIB site for how to find retailers that sell retreaded tires.

The Furniture Trust

Have you heard of The Furniture Trust?

I hadn't until just the other day. They are a Boston based non-profit that takes unwanted office furniture and distributes it to other non-profits.

It's a great concept that has the potential to help a lot of people. As a moving company we have hauled away and disposed quite a bit of office furniture for clients. If we'd known about the Furniture Trust we could have saved a lot of this from landfills.

They accept office supplies and office and reception furniture such as desks, cubicles, rugs, conference tables, white boards, etc. And, if what you want to donate is considered unsuitable for reuse the group will recycle the component parts.

So, if you have unwanted or unused office furniture that you'd like to donate give them a call. They will walk you through every step of the process.

photo courtesy of http://www.thefurnituretrust.org/what-we-take.html

Fourth of July

Photo courtesy of http://rtfitch.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/equine-fireworks/

We love being busy, and busy we have been. So. we're taking a much needed break on the Fourth of July. The whole company will have the day off, movers and office staff. We will not be answering phones, returning voicemails or answering e-mails. Business will resume as usual on July 5th.

Enjoy your long weekend!

photo courtesy of http://www.life123.com/holidays/july-fourth/4th-july-crafts-decorations/fourth-of-july-crafts.shtml