Gather everything before the first bolt comes out. Hunting for a socket while two people hold a rail in the air is how finishes get gouged.

Tools

Socket set or a drill/driver with sockets and an extension, flat and Phillips screwdrivers, a staple puller, a putty knife, a level, painter’s tape and a marker, zip-top bags for hardware, moving blankets, a furniture dolly, work gloves.

Crew

Three to four adults for slate. Each piece of a typical three-piece set weighs roughly 150–200 lb (68–91 kg), and two people per piece is the minimum.

Time

About 2–4 hours to take apart for an experienced crew. First-timers should plan for most of a day.

The slate

Usually 1 in (25 mm) thick on a quality table, in one piece or three.

Check the route too. Measure every door, hallway and stair turn the slate will pass through standing on edge, not lying flat. If your new room is still being planned, our guide to room clearances and cue space is worth reading before the table arrives.

1. Photograph and label everything. Number each rail and its matching spot on the frame with tape. Do the same for the slate pieces and note which end faced the head of the table. Every handful of hardware goes into its own labeled bag. Rails and slates that go back in the wrong place rarely line up.
2. Remove the pockets. Drop pockets are usually stapled or screwed to the underside of the rails, or held by shields or pocket irons on top. Pull the staples or back out the screws and set them aside as a set. Ball-return tables have a gully system under the bed; disconnect it before you go further.
3. Unbolt the rails. On most tables the rail bolts come up from underneath, through the slate, into the rail. Lie on a blanket under the table and remove them all before lifting anything. Have a helper hold each rail section as the last bolt comes out, then lift it straight up so the bolt holes don’t chip.
4. Take off the bed cloth. Cloth is stapled to the wood backing under the slate edges, or on some tables glued to the top. Work the staples out with the puller and peel glued cloth back slowly. You can keep the cloth, but re-stretching used cloth often fails: it has already been stretched once and tends to wrinkle or go short on one side. Budget for new cloth.
5. Remove the slate screws. Each slate is screwed down to the frame, typically with long wood screws around the perimeter and along the seams. Count them as they come out.
6. Open the seams. The joints between slates are filled with beeswax or a plaster-type filler. Run a putty knife along each seam; a little heat from a hair dryer softens wax. Don’t pry the slates apart by their edges.
7. Lift the slate. Start with an end piece. With two or three people, raise one long side, rotate the piece onto its edge and walk it out vertically. Set each piece on edge on a blanket, leaning against a wall.
8. Take down the frame and legs. Remove the cross members and center beam, then unbolt the legs, keeping a person on the frame until it is fully supported. Bag and label this hardware too.

Slate is strong along its edge and weak across its face. Carried flat, a long piece can flex in the middle, and a flat drop onto a step or truck lip can crack it. Keep it on edge from the floor to the truck and back again.

Wrap each slate in a moving blanket and tape it. On a dolly, strap the slate on edge. In the truck, stand the pieces on edge against the wall, padded on both faces, and ratchet-strap them so they can’t shift. Rails go in blankets with their cushions facing up or out, never under other weight. Legs and frame parts can travel on the floor of the truck.

Watch for

Stairs. A slate piece on a stairway is heavy, top-heavy and hard to stop. Use enough people to keep one below and one above at all times, or let a crew with a stair dolly take it.

We cover the reasoning in more depth in moving a slate pool table and why the procedure matters.

Reassembly is the same list in reverse, but it’s where the skill lives.

Set the legs and frame in the exact final position, because moving a fully assembled slate table afterward will undo your work. Level the frame first with a long level. Then lay the slates, starting with the center piece on a three-piece set, and screw them down loosely.

Now the slow part. Each slate gets shimmed until the whole bed is level and the seams sit flush, checked with a machinist’s level that reads to a few thousandths of an inch (hundredths of a millimeter). Once the bed is right, the screws are tightened, the seams are filled with beeswax and scraped flush, and the bed is checked again.

New cloth goes on next, stretched evenly and stapled or glued depending on the table. Then the rails, bolted in their numbered positions so the cushion noses line up at every pocket, and finally the pockets.

Most DIY moves go wrong at the leveling and the cloth, not the lifting.

— From the install crew

If you want to see how the pros approach the bed, read leveling slate pool tables: professional techniques and tools. Once it’s back together, run through our installation sign-off checklist for level, roll, cushions and pockets.

A sensible middle path: do the heavy lifting yourself and pay an installer for the leveling and cloth at the new house. Ask first, though, since some installers won’t level a table they didn’t take apart. Check your warranty as well; some makers expect qualified service. If you’re unsure who to call, see who services a custom pool table after installation.

Everything above assumes a conventional wood frame with slate bolted through to the rails. Many modern designs don’t work that way. Glass-sided tables, Lucite bases and steel frames use different fasteners, and the slate may sit on hidden supports instead of a classic frame. Treat them as their own case and follow the maker’s instructions. If you own one of ours, contact us before you touch a bolt.

1. Skipping the labelsUnmarked rails and slates turn reassembly into a puzzle with bad seams.
2. Lifting rails before every bolt is outOne forgotten bolt can split a rail or chip the slate around the hole.
3. Carrying slate flatKeep it on edge. Flat is how it flexes and cracks.
4. Counting on the old clothUsed cloth rarely stretches tight a second time.
5. Leveling with a carpenter’s level onlyIt gets you close. It won’t show a seam that is a few thousandths high.
6. Too few peopleTwo people and a three-piece set is a recipe for a dropped slate.