Moving in the city is a stressful puzzle. These Philly pros make it look easy.

On a humid Wednesday morning in Manayunk, movers in sweat-soaked T-shirts hauled three movie chairs, each at least 100 pounds, up two flights of a spiral staircase in a three-story home about to welcome its new owner.

Kevin Boras, a recent Temple University graduate working at Gentle Giant Moving Co. for the summer, has learned some tricks of the trade. As he tilted the widest chair on its side to squeeze through the entrance and over the railing, he explained, “Sometimes you gotta puzzle-piece it up the stairs.”

After the unwieldy seats were handled, the movers looked to the next item — a thin floor lamp.

Boras grabbed and huffed his way up the stairs, joking, “I don’t know if I’m gonna make it!”

For most homeowners and renters, moves are stressful — once ranked more stressful than getting a divorce — but for the city’s professional movers, it’s just another day at work. Between parking troubles on tight South Philly streets and narrow doorways in historical trinity homes, these crews encounter and overcome Philly-specific challenges daily.

But, as Sultans of Schlep owner Tom Brouillette said, most of the city’s biggest moving obstacles can be overcome.

“Not everything is possible, but most things are,” Brouillette said.

Half of Philadelphia’s housing units were built before 1950, and movers say older homes tend to have smaller doorways, hallways, and staircases.

So, larger, modern furniture is often a mismatch in these older homes, according to Jay Leone, a managing partner at EverSafe Moving Co. Sometimes, it’s unrealistic for a Samsung refrigerator to fit inside the entrance of a trinity.

“There’s only so much you can do in terms of disassembling something to buy yourself an extra inch of space,” Leone said.

An aged setting isn’t helped by the sizable items many Philadelphians own. James Dawkins, a regional manager at Two Men and a Truck, said his movers have faced retro pinball machines, pianos, and gun safes weighing more than 600 pounds. “People have a lot of fun toys in their house,” he said.

One time a customer had Two Men and a Truck movers transport a casket inside a residential home. Once they confirmed it was empty, no further questions were asked.

Often, the solution to small entrances can be hoisting larger items through a balcony or window. Sometimes, it’s more complicated.

Fred Meder of EverSafe recalls an especially tricky move into a four-story South Philly home. Since its tiny staircases couldn’t accommodate the customer’s bulky furniture, Meder hoisted it in pieces up to the third and fourth stories through literal holes in the floor — the home had been designed with 5-by-5-foot trap door-esque openings in the floorboards of each level.

“That was an interesting and tough scenario that I’m glad we don’t run into very often,” Meder said.

Devin Latimore, owner of No Stress Movers, said older, mid-rise apartment buildings present additional challenges. While these buildings have elevators, the elevator shafts were typically built first, Latimore said, and the building was constructed around it “with no mind for modern, bigger furniture.” The elevators also tend to be manually operated, slowing down the moving process.

“If the operator has to go to the bathroom, we’re stuck,” he said. “We have to wait for him to come back in order to do anything.”

Still, stairs are not always the preferred option. Latimore once carried a 350-pound office printer up 184 stairs and said it was one of the hardest jobs he’s ever accomplished.

“It feels like gravity gets stronger the higher you go,” he said. “We were trying not to drop it, and not die at the same time.”

Parking in Philadelphia can be difficult for any driver on a regular day. It’s a nightmare for professional movers.

South Philly’s narrow streets were not designed for big trucks — “You could lay across the street and touch both curbs,” Lattimore said — and one must be an experienced truck driver to navigate the area.

For a recent South Philly move, Dawkins’ team had to park at the end of the block because they couldn’t get their truck to the house. The farther the truck is parked from the house, the longer and more strenuous the move.

Manayunk is another challenging neighborhood for parking: “The worst of both worlds,” according to Latimore. Not only does it have tight streets, but traffic comes from both directions.

For the Gentle Giants recent move in Manayunk, the moving truck was parked across the street, but the home was at a busy three-way intersection. The movers rolled furniture on top of dollies on the crosswalks, avoiding oncoming traffic like a game of Crossy Road.

To reserve a parking zone, movers can obtain temporary permits from the city’s Department of Streets that bar other vehicles from parking in a specific area. But these permits aren’t foolproof.

“It’s almost a 50-50 shot in Philly as far as whether the locals will abide by those parking permits, or even notice them,” Leone said. “We’re hoping nobody takes our spot before we get there.”

For a seamless move, Latimore emphasized the importance of hiring movers early. He said a majority of customers reach out only two weeks before a move and are quickly surprised and stressed by pricing and availability.

“Start earlier than you think,” Latimore said. He recommended collecting estimates up to six months before a move, as costs increase closer to the moving date.

Nearby parades, road closures, and block parties also are a factor to consider when choosing a moving date, as they can make a movers’ job near impossible.

“You have so much happening in the city, and everyone is always celebrating something,” Dawkins said. “Sometimes it can throw a wrench in your plans.”

When creating an estimate, movers will want to discuss a home’s challenges so the company can allot the correct amount of time and muscle. It’s important to be straightforward about all potential roadblocks.

“Moving is one of the most challenging things; no one’s excited for it,” Dawkins said. “We try to make it as easy as possible.”