Moving furniture around the house is relatively easy. Well, not until you get to the couch, that is.
Because it’s heavy and bulky, just thinking about carrying it over into the other room is already exhausting.
Luckily, you don’t need to stress yourself out! Today, we’ll be showing you how to get couch through door in the smoothest way possible.
Let’s go!
How Do You Get Your Couch Through the Door?
You might think that moving a couch through a door is simple. However, you’d be surprised that it actually requires a few steps to do it safely and efficiently.
So, without further ado, here’s a step-by-step guide to help you in getting your sofa through your door:
1 – Prep Your Tools
Yes, you’ll need tools for this. They won’t only make your work a breeze but also help you save time and energy.
You’ll need the following tools for this task:
- Tape measure
- Pen and pad
- Staple remover
- 6-point wrench
- Vise grip wrench
- Hex wrench
- Hammer
- Cordless drill with driver bits
- Two large towels
2 – Gear Up
The heavy lifting comes with many safety hazards. That’s why you need to gear up, especially when dealing with dangerous tools.
Before you begin the process of moving your couch, remember to armor up with work gloves and safety glasses. Safety should be the top priority.
3 – Remove Detachable Couch Parts
Moving a sofa through a door can get annoying when you’ve got stuff constantly falling off of it. It’s also a potential accident waiting to happen; yikes!
So, as much as possible, take out all removable parts you can from your couch. These may include pillows and cushions.
Additionally, removing couch arms and legs can make it easier to maneuver your sofa through a doorway. Here’s how you can detach these parts:
Couch Arms
For the arms, lay your sofa on the floor on its back to have its underside exposed. Then, use a staple remover to unfasten the upholstery covering the bottom of your couch.
Once you’ve uncovered the base, locate the nuts and bolts that secure the arms to your sofa. Then, use a 6-point wrench to loosen and remove the nuts.
By then, you should be able to pull the arms off the couch.
Couch Legs
As for the detachable legs, they’re usually attached to the underside with screws. Simply use a cordless drill with driver bits to unscrew them.
4 – Measure Your Couch and Your Doorway
Now that that step is out of the way, it’s time to measure the two main objects involved in this task—the sofa and the doorway. Knowing both their dimensions will help you figure out how to go about the process efficiently.
Couch
To get the exact height of your couch, start measuring from the floor up to the highest point of its back part. For the width, hold your measuring tape against the farthest points of both the left and right sides.
As for its depth, measure your sofa from front to back.
Doorway
Before you measure your entryway, we highly recommend you also take out the removable parts of your doorway. This will give you the maximum access you can get from your door opening.
The pieces you can detach are your door, and its stop molding.
Door
To remove the door, you can unscrew the hinges from the door jamb using your drill. Another way is to simply pull out the hinge pins.
You may do so by sticking up a hex wrench into the knuckles until it touches the pin. Then, hold it still while you hammer the wrench in to push out the hinge pin.
If you’ve got hinges with bottom caps, you can easily pull them out with a vise grip wrench.
Latch the wrench onto the cap tightly and with your hammer, pound down on the part of the wrench that’s sticking out. That should pull out the bottom cap and give you access to the hinge pin.
Stop Molding
The stop molding is installed on the face of the doorway’s interior. This is to prevent the door from swinging through the opening.
Removing these pieces from both sides will give you an extra inch of horizontal space. On the other hand, taking out the top piece will add half an inch of vertical space.
5 – Compare the Dimensions
After you’ve jotted down the necessary measurements, compare your sofa and doorway sizes. This will allow you to plan out how you’re going to move your couch without ruining your furniture or your walls.
The standard dimensions of most house entryways are 36 inches wide and 80 inches high. Keeping that in mind, if your sofa is less than 80 inches wide, then you can move it through vertically.
If it’s less than 36 inches deep, then you may slide it through the door horizontally.
6 – Move the Couch Through the Door
Now that you’ve decided which maneuvering technique to go with, it’s time to move your couch.
Lifting a 300-pound sofa is definitely not a one-man job! So, call up your partner or your friend to help you out.
To begin, lay out your large towels on the floor through the doorway. This is going to protect your couch’s material and make it easier to slide it through.
If you want to move your couch vertically, raise the furniture and place one end on the towels. Then, the person on the receiving end should pull on the towels while the other pushes the sofa out.
If you prefer to do it horizontally, simply lift your couch and maneuver it safely through the door. Keep the towels on the floor in case you need to take pauses.
Final Thoughts
You see, a task like moving your couch through a door can be intimidating. However, taking it step-by-step can make such a job less taxing.
You can simplify your work by organizing all the tools you’ll use beforehand. Besides that, you can ensure your safety during the process by wearing the necessary protective gear.
You also need to remove any parts from your couch that could possibly cause accidents.
Then, once you’ve gone through the preparation, you can start getting your sofa and your entryway’s dimensions. By doing so, you’ll be able to determine which moving technique you can use to get your furniture through the door.
After all that, you can then begin moving your sofa safely into the room.
Sure, it’s a long process. But nevertheless, following these steps will get you to your end goal with you, your couch, and your home safe and intact.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.