LIOO Moving · Heavy & Specialty
How to Move a Pool Table (Why It Has to Come Apart)
Every pool-table disaster starts the same way: “it’s just a big table, four of us can get it.” The legs rack, the slate flexes over its unsupported middle, and the table never plays true again. Here’s what actually happens in a proper table move.
Key Takeaways
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A slate pool table averages 700 pounds at 7 feet, 1,000 pounds at 8 feet and 1,300 pounds at 9 feet, by Blatt Billiards’ figures.
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Number each slate piece and mark its place on the frame before anyone lifts it, because every piece has to return to the same spot.
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LIOO moves pool tables with the slate disassembled, adds the $100 specialty-item fee, and lifts nothing over 400 pounds.
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Budget for a table technician at the destination. The tournament specification allows slate joints only 0.005 inch (0.127 mm) out of plane.
Pool table teardown order Top down
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Pockets first, then the rail bolts from underneath — rails come off as units, hardware bagged and labeled per rail.
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Felt: stapled felt pulls up slowly from the edges for reuse; glued felt generally doesn’t survive — plan on new cloth at setup.
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Slate: unscrewed from the frame, then numbered in pencil with its position marked on the wood below (Allied’s step, so each piece goes back the same way). Premium pieces run about 200 lbs each, so two or three people lift each one flat and carry it on edge like glass, padded — never flexed, never dropped a corner.
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Frame and legs break down last; photograph the underside before the first bolt comes out.
Transport Slate rules
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Slate rides on edge, padded, strapped to the truck wall — the same physics as mirrors, at ten times the weight.
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Rails and felt-side pieces travel padded, nothing stacked on them.
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Stairs multiply everything: a 200-lb slate piece on a staircase is a three-person carry with straps — this is where heavy item crews earn the fee.
The honest budget Moving + setup
A slate table move is two skills: the heavy careful carry (a mover’s job) and the re-level and re-felt at the destination (a table technician’s job — slate seams shimmed level and waxed, cloth stretched drum-tight). The World Pool-Billiard Association specification calls for slate at least 1 inch thick, with joints in the same plane within 0.005 inch after leveling and shimming. Some moves bundle both; many pair a moving crew with a local billiards tech for setup. What matters is that both are planned before move day — a table that gets moved but not properly leveled plays wrong forever. Non-slate (MDF) tables are lighter and can often move in fewer pieces, but the rails-off rule still applies. Either way, tell the crew the table exists when booking — like a safe or a piano, it changes the equipment on the truck.
How much does a pool table weigh?
A slate pool table weighs about three times as much as an MDF table of the same size. These are the average weights Blatt Billiards publishes:
| Table size | Slate bed (lbs) | MDF bed (lbs) |
|---|---|---|
| 7-foot | 700 | 275 |
| 8-foot | 1,000 | 320 |
| 9-foot | 1,300 | 450 |
Every size in the table except the 7-foot MDF is over LIOO’s 300-pound line for the $100 fee. A 9-foot MDF table is also over the 400-pound lifting limit in one piece.
Can a slate pool table be moved in one piece?
A three-piece home table cannot. A one-piece bar table sometimes is, but it is a risky shortcut. On AzBilliards, owners report moving coin-op Valley tables with the legs off, tipped on the side and rolled on dollies. Others in that thread warn of a dropped table, broken slate and torn cloth, and strongly recommend taking the slate out first. Lowe’s says most slate tables should be disassembled and that one-piece slate may need professional equipment. At about 700 pounds, even a 7-foot slate table is far over what LIOO’s crews will lift whole.
Common questions
Can you move a pool table without taking it apart?
Not a full-size, three-piece slate table. The frame cannot carry the slate’s weight at an angle, it will not fit through doorways, and flexing the slate cracks it. Disassembly is the only safe method.
How heavy is pool table slate?
A standard 3-piece slate set runs roughly 150–250 pounds per piece, 450–750 pounds total — each piece is a two-to-three-person carry.
Does the felt survive a move?
Stapled felt, carefully removed, is often reusable. Glued felt usually is not — budget for new cloth and professional leveling at setup.
Tell us slate or MDF, the size, and the stairs at both ends — the quote covers teardown, the carry, and coordination for setup. Pianos, gun safes and anything over 300 pounds carry a $100 specialty-item fee, quoted before you book.