The loft, the garage and the shed on the post-war estates

Large post-war and ex-council estates make up a big share of the housing, and they come with storage that has been quietly filling for decades. The loft always holds more than the hatch suggests, and the shed and garage are where the boxes multiply. We bring the materials and work through them with you, but this is a driver and a second pair of hands packing alongside your move, not a crew arriving a week early, so the outbuildings need to be on the list when we quote.

The old core is a different job. Kirkgate and the lanes around St Peter's climb steeply on the high ground and are parked tight on both sides, which is the worst pinch in the village for a long-wheelbase van, and the setted triangular market place loses its central kerb space to the Thursday market. Terraced streets are on-street only with no residents' bays to fall back on, so a finished house and an early start are what make those days work.

What Birstall packing service usually involves

Seven miles from Bradford on the A650 through Drighlington, the shortest run in this group, so a separate packing day is easy to arrange
Lofts, garages and sheds on the Nova, Fieldhead and Howden Clough estates are quoted alongside the house, because they routinely add half again to the box count
The Thursday market takes the central kerb space beside the Joseph Priestley statue, so town-centre loading is planned for another day
Kirkgate is steep and parked both sides, so boxes are sized for a hand carry down a slope rather than a trolley run
Howden Clough drops away towards Morley, so eastern approaches are steeper than the map suggests and the load is packed to stack square

Where in Birstall we work

Novapost-war estate housing where the loft and the shed decide how long the pack takes
Fieldheadex-council semis with outbuildings, usually a full-day pack rather than a half
Howden Cloughestate housing on the slope towards Morley, packed for a carry on a gradient
Kirkgatesteep, tightly parked stone cottages and mill terraces with a long hand carry
The market placesetted, and given over to stalls on Thursdays, so flats above the shops load on other days
Birstall Smithiesolder terraces on the fringe, kerbside carries and smaller room-by-room packs

If your street isn't listed it's almost certainly still covered, Birstall and the surrounding WF17 postcodes are all inside our normal working area.

Common Birstall runs

Birstall → Bradfordseven miles on the A650 through Drighlington, twenty to thirty minutes
Nova → Birkenshawthe local step across, usually a full pack plus a loft and a shed
Birstall → Leedsabout six miles east, close enough to pack the day before and load early

What it costs

A Birstall pack is priced on the number of rooms plus whatever is in the loft, garage and shed, which is the part people forget to mention. There's no travel surcharge for coming to Birstall from Bradford, and you get the price before we set off, not after. See how we quote for the full breakdown.

Frequently asked questions: packing service in Birstall

Does the loft count as a room?

In practice, yes. A loft on one of the Birstall estates usually holds more than the hatch suggests, and emptying and packing it properly takes real time. We would rather quote for it than discover it, so tell us what is up there, and whether there is a proper ladder, when you call.

Can you pack a flat above the shops on the market place?

Yes. Packing can happen on any day; it is the loading we plan around Thursday, when the stalls take the central kerb space. We pack the day before and load early on a non-market morning, so the van is off the setts and away before the centre fills up.

Will you take the things we are not keeping?

We can take an old sofa, bed or appliance away when we are delivering a replacement, and old appliances go to a household waste recycling centre. What we do not do is clear whole houses, garages or gardens, so the sorting needs doing before packing day.