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What to do when your furniture won't fit through the door

Make sure your furniture will fit with these simple steps
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What to do when your furniture won't fit through the door

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Moving requires a lot of logistical challenges. There’s the game of Tetris you play to get your belongings into the moving truck and the eventual shifting of furniture to get the perfect layout. Failing to get these things right isn’t the biggest of deals. You can always make an extra trip or sell some furniture to fit your things more comfortably. But what happens if you can’t get your furniture through the door? It’s a problem many people don’t consider until they’re faced with it.

Here’s how you can prevent this from happening ahead of time.

Take measurements of everything

The best way to avoid this situation is to measure your doorway and your furniture ahead of time. It’s a simple task that won’t take long but is well worth the small amount of effort.

Before you move into your new house or apartment, make sure you take a walkthrough of the rooms and routes your furniture will travel on moving day. For a house, this can be relatively straightforward. You’ll want to ensure your furniture can fit through the front or back door. If it doesn’t a secondary entrance like a deck or sliding door is one way you can get your furniture into your new home.

Apartments can be more tricky. To start with, parking access to an apartment isn’t always guaranteed. If you can, try moving your biggest pieces of furniture into your new apartment early in the morning or later at night. This way, you can hopefully avoid traffic on the street and nab that singular loading bay early.

Before you get to this step, ensure you’ve walked through your complex and mapped out a route for getting the furniture from the truck and into your apartment. It’s likely you’ll have elevators, stairways, lobbies or courtyards to cross, and it’s important that your stuff fits through each of these.

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Dismantle as much of your furniture as possible

Making your furniture as small as possible might seem more annoying than helpful, but it’s an extra step that will definitely help. Not only are dismantled pieces of furniture lighter to move. They’re smaller too.

If your couch has detachable legs, take them off. If your desk can be separated into several pieces, do this before moving day. Any items that were put together with an Allan key or came flat packed can be dismantled.

Note that you don’t have to take every screw or join apart. Even removing the legs or supporting bars can help. If your couch can be dismantled into sections, store each one separately in your moving truck.

Buy with moving in mind

If you are moving to a hilly city or suburb, access to your home or apartment is more complicated. Wellington has many windy streets and narrow staircases that provide access to homes in hillier suburbs. If you can, it’s a good idea to buy furniture that you can transport up and down narrow staircases.

Consider buying a slat bed rather than a mattress with a large base. You can also save yourself some trouble and get things delivered directly to your home, skipping the move-in process altogether. Of course, this is a step that’s easiest to take if you are moving for the very first time and don’t own a lot of belongings.

Try every angle

So, you’ve taken measurements and are sure your furniture will fit but still have a stuck couch or desk. Sometimes it’s all about the angle. If you have a tight stairwell or several doorways to get through, try flipping your piece of furniture on its narrowest angle. This could mean standing your desk upright or maneuvering your mattress on its shortest side to get it through the door.

Remove the door

If you really can’t fit your furniture through the door, you can try taking the door off its hinges. This will provide you with another five centre metres of space, and sometimes that is all you need. This is only recommended if you have someone who can help you put the door back on.

Hoist your furniture into your space

If all else fails, try hoisting your furniture into your space. If you have a deck or a large window, there’s always the possibility you can hoist items through an upstairs space. It’s best to leave this type of move to a professional, as they can use proper equipment that will protect your furniture and your house. If you are hiring a mover, make sure you disclose that fitting the furniture into your home could be an issue. They’ll need to know what type of equipment to bring on moving day.

Hire a professional for your move

One of the best ways to make moving day a breeze is to hire a professional. At Wise Move, we make it easy to hire a mover no matter where you are in the country. Book your next move now.

Movers services at low-cost

Budget-friendly moving service trusted by thousands of customers across Auckland and the rest of New Zealand
What are you moving?
Newshub Stuff SCOOP Yahoo!

What do our customers say?

Read reviews of Wise Move to learn stories from our customers.
$100
Sewing table
Whangarei, Onerahi
Whangārei, Te Kamo
10
Ee
Reviewed 7 hours ago
Amazing service at an affordable price, great communication from the get-go and they took great care of furniture and very thoughtful and accommodating team. Thank you again.
$126
Auckland, Howick
Auckland, Lynfield
10
Tracey
Reviewed 11 hours ago
Highly recommend Trusty Carriers, they went out of their way to make sure our goods were picked up and delivered on time. Friendly and trustworthy. Would use them again for sure.
$940
Couch
Christchurch, Canterbury
Pauanui, Waikato
9.5
Maree
Reviewed 16 hours ago
Very patient and understanding!
$245
Tirau, Waikato
Hamilton, Rototuna
10
Alvina
Reviewed 17 hours ago
Great move thanks heaps
$175
Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
Carterton, Wellington
10
Marieke
Reviewed 23 hours ago
Brilliant service, quick to respond, picked up and delivered my item exactly as planned. I'd definitely use them again. Thanks Phil
$550
Wardrobe
Christchurch, Riccarton
Auckland, Epsom
10
Kirsten
Reviewed 1 day ago
The guys from Load Carriers who delivered our wardrobe were honestly amazing. So helpful and took a lot of care. The whole process was very easy to organise and very quick. Highly recommend.
$125
Washing machine
Lower Hutt, Kelson
Wellington, Lyall Bay
10
Katelyn
Reviewed 1 day ago
Great communication and delivered with care. Would recommend to anyone looking to take the hassle out of moving 🙂
$128
Wellington, Island Bay
Wellington, Karori
9.5
GARRY
Reviewed 1 day ago
First time user of Wise Move and it will not be my last time. I was unfamiliar with the process and could not open all the quotes received but once I received an email from Emma (Wise Moves) with an offer of assistance she made it very easy i.e. I advised which quote I wanted to accept and she made it all happen. On time at at the quoted amount. The lads from Fast track logistics were very efficient and took great care of my items transported. I highly recommend them and Wise Move. Garry (Karori)

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