Planning a House Move Within Ibadan

The truck makes it down the main road fine. Then it turns into your street, the tarred road ends, last night's rain has left the earth soft, and the driver stops 300 metres from your gate. Now everything goes on heads.

Ibadan is big and spread out. One move across town can take you along busy main roads, quiet residential streets, hills and stretches with no tar at all. A family house, a flat or a single room, the planning is the same: pick the day well, check access at both ends, prepare for rain and tell the driver exactly what they are driving into.

Pick the day

If your route passes close to a major market, avoid its market day. The roads around big markets are often jammed. Weekdays are usually easier than weekends, when moves compete with weddings, owambes and services, and traffic around churches, mosques and event halls slows to a crawl.

Start early. You get cooler weather, more daylight for loading and offloading, and time to sort out whatever goes wrong.

Before you fix the date, make sure the new place is ready. Keys collected, power and water working, house cleaned. And do not plan the move for the same day you hand back keys at the old place. Give yourself at least some slack.

Check access at both ends

This is where Ibadan moves get complicated. If you can, visit both addresses before moving day and look at the roads the way a driver would.

Narrow and untarred roads

Some residential areas have narrow streets or untarred roads that are fine when dry and much harder after rain. At both addresses, check:

• whether the road near the house is tarred, gravel or earth
• whether a truck can turn into the street at all, or will have to park on the main road
• steep slopes, gullies, low cables and overhanging branches
• the nearest safe place to park if a big vehicle cannot reach the gate

If the street is narrow, request a driver a pickup van over a truck, even if it means two trips. Two trips that reach the door beat one trip that stops at the junction. Whatever you find, put it in your request.

Estates and compounds

Ask how the estate gate works. Some estates want a pass or prior notice before a truck comes in, and some only allow moves at certain times. Tell security ahead of time and share the driver's details if they ask.

Look properly at the compound gate so you know whether the vehicle can enter or must offload outside. Then talk to your landlord or caretaker about where the vehicle can park and whether the neighbours should be warned. A truck blocking someone's car for two hours is how a quiet move becomes a shouting match.

Prepare for rain

Rain turns a simple move into a slow one, especially on untarred roads. Check the forecast a few days ahead and again that morning. Keep tarpaulins or large plastic sheets ready to cover the load.

Anything that must stay dry goes in plastic boxes, or wrap the cartons in nylon. Mattresses and upholstered chairs need plastic covers too.

If heavy rain is expected and your route includes an untarred stretch, move the date. Our rainy season moving guide was written for Lagos, but most of it applies in Ibadan as well.

Ready to move?

Book a truck or van on Sphere

Choose your vehicle, propose your price, and verified drivers in Ibadan accept or send a counter-offer.

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Describe the route properly

Drivers decide quickly, and a vague request gets cautious offers. The more they know about your route, the more accurately they can price it.

Give them:

• Area names and landmarks for both addresses. Street names alone often mean nothing in Ibadan, while "behind the filling station near the junction" does.
• Road conditions close to both ends: tarred, untarred, narrow, steep.
• Floors and stairs at each end.
• Parking distance from the vehicle to the door.
• Estate or gate requirements.
• Anything awkward, such as a big wardrobe, fridge, generator or solar batteries.

A good description reads like this: "Three-bedroom flat, ground floor, one fridge, one freezer, two wardrobes, about 30 cartons. Last 300m to the house is an untarred road, passable for a van in dry weather. Estate gate needs notice."

Packing and moving day

Pack room by room and label each box with the room it is going to. Your documents and valuables stay with you, not on the truck. Pack an essentials bag with phone chargers, toiletries, medicine, a change of clothes and some food.

On the day:

1. Put someone at the new address to direct the driver and open the gate.
2. Load the heavy items first, against the front of the vehicle, and strap them.
3. Before the vehicle leaves, walk through every room of the old house. Check the wardrobes, the store and behind the doors.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Open the Sphere app and choose a truck or pickup van. If you are unsure which, our truck size guide will help.
2. Add your pickup and drop-off in Ibadan, with landmarks.
3. Describe the load and the route: road surfaces, access, floors and estate rules.
4. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.
5. Propose your price. Verified drivers accept it or send a counter-offer, and you choose.

Our Ibadan page has more on moving with Sphere in the city.