Lab & biotech relocation · Sorrento Valley to the coast

Fume hood & biosafety cabinet movers in San Diego.

Half-ton fume hoods, Class II biosafety cabinets, and ULT freezers: the equipment that doesn't fit a hand truck and can't survive a dropped corner. Below is exactly how we move it, from survey and lift plan to rigging it onto the floor it needs and setting it level and ready to certify. The photos are real San Diego biotech work.

Get my free quote 619.600.5000

600+ lbhoods & cabinets rigged

2nd floorlifts & mezzanine hoists

LicensedCAL T-192729 | USDOT 3801918

4.8 ★Google · 289 reviews

See it in action

A San Diego lab lift, start to set.

A fume hood or biosafety cabinet is heavy, expensive, and unforgiving of a bad lift. This is a real Gorilla Movers job: rigging equipment onto an upper floor, threading it through the building, and setting it level so it's ready for recertification.

600+ lb riggingSecond-floor liftUpright, air-rideSet & leveled

What we move

The equipment that needs specialists.

Full lab moving service

We handle full laboratory relocation and biotech lab moving across San Diego County, from a single fume hood or biosafety cabinet to an entire multi-tenant lab suite. Here is the specialized equipment we relocate, rig, and reinstall.

Fume hoods

Chemical, ductless, perchloric-acid, and radioisotope hoods, benchtop to walk-in, in stainless or epoxy resin. Often 500 to 700 lbs before the base cabinet.

Biosafety cabinets

Class II Type A2 and B2 BSCs and laminar-flow hoods from NuAire, Thermo, Baker, and Labconco, moved upright with the HEPA plenum protected.

Cold storage

ULT freezers down to -80°C, cryo units, and lab refrigerators moved upright with the compressor protected and a settle window before power-up.

Heavy instruments

Centrifuges, incubators, autoclaves, mass spec, and lab casework. Anything that needs a rated lift and a level pad instead of a hand truck.

The process

How a fume hood or cabinet actually gets moved.

Gorilla Movers lab crew assessing a San Diego biotech job before the move

Survey and the lift plan

We walk the site and turn the problem into a plan. Every piece gets weighed, every doorway and ceiling height measured, and the path proven to fit before the truck is ever scheduled.

NuAire Class II biosafety cabinet decommissioned by a certified technician

Decontamination and decommission

This happens first, and a certified technician does it: gaseous decontamination and the NSF/ANSI 49 decommission on cabinets, chemical clearance on hoods. We coordinate around your certifier, we do not perform it, and we do not haul hazardous chemicals.

Stainless steel fume hood padded and strapped to a lift table

Disconnect, secure, and protect

We coordinate the utility and OEM disconnect, then prep each piece. The sash is locked so it cannot rack the frame, the HEPA plenum is protected, corners are padded, and everything is strapped to a lift table. High-value instruments get custom crating.

Biosafety cabinet hoisted to a mezzanine level

Rig it to the floor it needs

The part most movers cannot do. When a half-ton cabinet is too heavy for the freight elevator, or there is no elevator, we rig it with powered lifts, a mezzanine hoist, or a gantry sized to the load. It travels upright on air-ride the whole way.

Crew threading heavy lab equipment through a tight doorway

Navigate the tight spots

Lab casework leaves inches, not feet. Because every choke point was measured in the survey, move day is a controlled navigation, not a wedged-in gamble. Floor protection down, corners guarded, a spotter on every turn.

Leveling a biosafety cabinet at its final location

Set, level, and hand off

Each piece is set in its final position and leveled, because a cabinet that is off will not hold certification geometry. We place everything so your certifier and OEM vendors can reconnect and run the NSF/ANSI 49 recertification quickly.

Where we work

Built for San Diego's biotech mesa.

Sorrento Valley movers

Most of San Diego's life-science labs sit in a tight band around Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Mesa, Torrey Pines, UTC, La Jolla, and the Mira Mesa research corridor, the campuses clustered near UCSD, Scripps Research, the Salk Institute, and Sanford Burnham Prebys. Moving equipment there means multi-tenant research buildings, shared freight elevators, after-hours access windows, and property managers who want a certificate of insurance before your truck touches the dock. That's the normal texture of a biotech move here, and it's the work our crews run week in and week out.

Whether you're a startup consolidating into your first real lab, an established company expanding a floor, or a facilities manager relocating a whole suite, the equipment is the same challenge: heavy, expensive, and unforgiving of a bad lift. We plan the weights, the path, and the rigging before move day, and put every charge and every certificate in writing first. See our full lab & medical equipment moving service for the complete picture.

Lab move questions

Answered straight, before you book.

Can you move a fume hood or biosafety cabinet to a second floor?

Yes, and it is the part of the job most movers cannot do. When a piece is too heavy for the freight elevator, or the building does not have one, we rig it up with powered lifts, a mezzanine hoist, or a gantry sized to the load. We have put half-ton fume hoods and Class II biosafety cabinets onto upper floors and mezzanines that stairs and standard elevators could not handle. The lift, the weight, and the path are all planned in the survey before move day.

Do you decontaminate and decommission the equipment, or do we?

That step happens before we move it, and a certified technician does it. Biosafety cabinets get a gaseous decontamination and an NSF/ANSI 49 decommission, and fume hoods are cleared of chemicals and cleaned. We are a moving company, not a certification firm, so we coordinate around your certifier and EH&S team rather than performing it ourselves. We also do not transport hazardous chemicals, which follow their own certified path.

Will the biosafety cabinet still pass certification after the move?

We move it to give you the best shot at that. BSCs travel upright with the HEPA plenum protected, then get set level at the destination so the geometry a certifier checks is intact. Recertification after any relocation is standard and handled by your certifier under NSF/ANSI 49. Careful upright handling and level placement are what keep that appointment short.

How much does a fume hood weigh, and does that change the move?

A benchtop hood might be a few hundred pounds, and a full walk-in with a base cabinet can pass 700 lbs. Weight drives everything: the lift equipment, crew size, floor protection, and whether we rig or roll. We confirm it up front and bring gear rated for the load, so the plan matches the piece instead of hoping four movers and a hand truck are enough.

Do you move lab equipment for Sorrento Valley and Torrey Pines biotech companies?

Regularly. Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, UTC, and the Mira Mesa research corridor are where most of San Diego's life-science labs sit, and it is a lane our crews run often. Multi-tenant research buildings, shared freight elevators, after-hours windows, and property managers who want a certificate of insurance before your truck touches the dock are the normal conditions there, not the exceptions.

Do you move -80°C freezers and cold storage with samples inside?

Yes. ULT freezers, cryogenic units, and lab refrigerators move upright with the compressor protected. When there are samples inside we plan the cold-chain window with you, keep transit short and direct, stage dry ice when the timeline calls for it, and coordinate a settle period before power-up at the destination so both the compressor and the contents are protected.

Do you serve UCSD, Scripps, Torrey Pines, and Sorrento Valley research labs?

Yes. The Torrey Pines, Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Mesa, UTC, and La Jolla corridor around UCSD, Scripps Research, the Salk Institute, and Sanford Burnham Prebys is our core lab-moving territory. We know the multi-tenant research buildings, the loading-dock and freight-elevator rules, and the certificate-of-insurance requirements those campuses run on.

Can you do a phased move around an operating lab?

Yes. Labs rarely shut down cleanly, so we phase the work. Cold storage and sample-critical equipment go first, analytical instruments move around your calibration vendor availability, then benches and casework follow, which keeps critical work running until the last responsible moment. Evenings and weekends are normal for us.

Are you licensed and insured for this kind of work?

Fully. CAL T-192729 and USDOT 3801918, with cargo and liability coverage on every job and certificates of insurance, including additional-insured naming for building management, available on request. High-value lab equipment is exactly the work that coverage is for.

Got a hood, a cabinet, or a whole lab to move?

Free survey · written & itemized · COIs on request · same-week availability

Get my free quote