Relocating a Salon or Barbershop: Chairs, Dryers and Mirrors

The last customer left at eight, the new shop two streets away has power from tomorrow, and the wall mirror is still screwed to the plaster. Somebody suggests taking it down with a hammer and "just being careful". That is how most salon moves lose their most expensive piece of glass before the van even arrives.

A salon or barbershop looks small, but it is full of awkward things: heavy hydraulic chairs, hood dryers on wobbly stands, wash basins, clippers, sterilisers, hair products that leak and big mirrors that crack if you look at them wrongly. Here is how to move all of it without losing more than one working day.

Pick your closing window first

Most salons in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan do their best business at the weekend, so the usual choice is to close on the slowest weekday evening and open again the next afternoon. Tell your regular customers a week ahead and put a notice on the door with the new address and a landmark.

Before you request a driver anything, visit the new shop and check three things:

1. Where the van can park and how far the carry is from there to the door.
2. Whether the plumbing for the wash basins is ready. Moving the basins is pointless if nobody can connect them that day.
3. Whether the sockets are where your chairs and dryers will go. Extension boards across the floor are how customers trip.

Mirrors: the item that breaks

Large salon mirrors are usually fixed with screws, brackets or adhesive. Take them down a day early, while you still have light and patience.

• Get two people. One holds, one unscrews.
• Put masking tape in a big X across the face. It will not stop a crack, but it holds the pieces together if one happens.
• Wrap each mirror in a blanket or thick cardboard, with extra card on the corners.
• Carry it on its edge, never flat, and stand it on its edge in the van, against a side wall, tied in place.

If a mirror is glued to the wall, decide honestly whether it will come off in one piece. Sometimes leaving it for the landlord and buying a new one at the other end is the cheaper answer. For more on wrapping glass, our guide to packing fragile items covers the method in detail.

Styling and barber chairs

Hydraulic chairs are heavy at the base and top-heavy when lifted. Lower the seat to its lowest position before moving it. If the base unbolts from the floor plate or the seat lifts off the pump, separate them: two lighter pieces are safer than one awkward one.

Wrap the upholstery in stretch wrap or old bedsheets. Vinyl and leather scuff and tear easily against metal edges in the van. Keep the bolts in a labelled bag taped to the chair itself, so nobody spends the next morning looking for them.

Hood dryers, steamers and electricals

Hood dryers are mostly plastic and light, which tempts people to throw them on top of everything. Take the hood off the stand where the design allows it, wrap it, and pack it upright in a carton or between soft items.

For clippers, trimmers, flat irons and blow dryers:

• Clean and dry them before packing.
• Coil cords loosely and keep each tool in its case or a small box.
• Pack them in one carton marked "TOOLS, OPEN FIRST" so you can start working before everything is unpacked.

Sterilisers, steamers and anything that holds water should be emptied and dried the night before. A steamer with water inside will leak across the van floor and into your towels.

Ready to move?

Request a truck or van on Sphere

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

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Products and chemicals

Relaxers, dyes, peroxide developers and treatments are the messiest part of the load. Check every lid, then bag bottles in groups and stand them upright in sturdy cartons. Keep chemical products away from food, from towels and from anything electrical. Count your retail stock before you pack it and again when it arrives. It takes ten minutes and saves arguments later. The same habit is at the centre of our pharmacy relocation checklist, and it works just as well for a salon.

Wash basins and stations

Get a plumber to disconnect basins and cap the pipes properly. Drain the traps into a bucket, because there is always more water in them than people expect. Ceramic basins chip at the rim, so wrap them like mirrors and keep them away from metal stands. Empty cabinets and workstations completely before they are lifted.

Van or truck?

A small barbershop with two chairs, a mirror and a few cartons usually fits in a pickup van. A full salon with several chairs, wash basins, dryers, cabinets and stock often needs a truck, or two van trips. Make the choice by listing everything first. If you are unsure, our page on business moves in Lagos explains how bigger business loads are usually handled.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Open the Sphere app and choose a pickup van or a truck. Our van hire in Lagos page shows what suits smaller loads.
2. Add the old and new shop addresses, with landmarks.
3. Describe the load properly: number of chairs, mirror sizes, dryers, basins, cartons of stock, and any stairs.
4. Propose a price. Nearby verified drivers accept it or send a counter-offer, and you choose which offer to take.
5. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer, especially for mirrors and chairs.

Sphere runs in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan, and the steps are the same in each city.