How to Measure Your Doorways for a Sofa Delivery
It’s important to make sure your new sofa will fit through your doorway, but don’t be concerned! With just a tape measure and a little bit of know-how you can make sure your new sofa delivery goes off without a hitch.
Step One – Measure Your Doorways and Hallways
Before you start, take a minute to think over what route your sofa delivery will take through your home. The ideal route is one that uses the largest doorways and avoids narrow spaces wherever possible. You may find it helpful to draw a path while you write down the measurements.
Use your tape measure to measure the height and width of your doorway, from the inside of the doorframe. Remember you’re measuring the space that the sofa has to go through, not the width of the door itself. Take off any space needed for things that stick out into the doorway like door handles, or if the door doesn’t open all the way.
Step Two – Measure the Sofa
For easy deliveries, you will need the height (top to bottom) and depth (front to back) of the sofa. This is usually available to view on the website where you’re buying your sofa – on our website, you can find the measurements on the product page. For simple deliveries, you will need the height (top to bottom) and depth (front to back) of the sofa. This is usually available to view on the website where you’re buying your sofa – on our website, you can find the measurements on the product page, like this:
For wider sofas, the sofa may need to come in at an angle, in which case you will need the Diagonal Depth measurement shown below. If you’re not in a position to check the diagonal depth yourself, just get in touch and we’ll be happy to take any measurements you need.
Step Three – Will My New Sofa Fit?
If the sofas width, height OR diagonal depth are smaller than the width of your doorway, your sofa will fit comfortably through your door. Don’t forget to check the width of your hallways, and that there’s enough clearance for any sharp turns.
Tips for Getting A Sofa Upstairs
Getting a sofa upstairs can be difficult, but we’ll always help wherever we can! If you’re having your sofa delivered to an upper floor we would always recommend using a lift if there is one available. Check the height and width of the lift doors and the lift itself to make sure there is room for the sofa.
If your new sofa has to go up stairs you should measure the height from the ceiling to the stairs at the lowest point, and the width of any turns to make sure it will fit.
When considering a sofa for an upstairs room please keep in mind the weight of the sofa as well as the fit! When carrying a sofa upstairs, the person at the lowest end will be supporting almost the entire weight. For some sofas, like our slide-out seats range, the sheer weight of the sofa makes delivery upstairs unfeasible. We want our customers to be happy, but we also need to make sure our delivery people stay safe and sometimes that means saying “no” to situations where they’re likely to end up injured.
Getting a Sofa Through the Garden
Sometimes the route for a sofa delivery will include the back garden, especially if you have nice big patio doors! Don’t forget about alleys, garden gates, passageways and ginnels if you’re having a delivery through the back of the house. Check the measurements of any narrow outside spaces just as you would your doorways, and keep an eye out for additional hazards as well.
What You Can Do To Help Your Sofa Fit
If the measurements look a little tight, or if the route to your chosen room is difficult, there’s a few things that can be done to help.
- Ask us for the Diagonal Depth measurements if the sofa won’t go straight in
- Ask us to remove the feet or back cushions, or compress the back cushions with pallet wrap.
- Remove a door handle or even the entire door – if you need a little more space for a doorway and you don’t mind a little DIY, you could remove a door handle or even the door to give you some more room to work with.
- Have delivery through the window – In homes with double glazing fitted it may be possible for you to have a glazier come and remove a window for the delivery.
- Remove gates or fence panels – if you’re struggling to work out access through the garden, removing a gate or a panel may help.
- Choose a different sofa – if all else fails, you may need to pick something else that will fit better. Consider trying a different style of sofa with removable feet, removable back cushions, or a modular style that comes in single sections. Many reclining sofas come in individual seat sized pieces that are generally a lot easier to fit through a door.
