Sizes and weights
Typical ranges for what we actually meet in Central London rather than one manufacturer's specification. Measure yours before you rely on them.
| Type | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Two seat sofa | 150 to 180cm long, 85 to 95cm deep, 80 to 90cm tall30 to 45kg | 30 to 45kg |
| Three seat sofa | 180 to 230cm long, 85 to 100cm deep, 80 to 95cm tall40 to 70kg | 40 to 70kg |
| Corner sofa | 250 to 330cm along each side, usually in two or three sections70 to 120kg in total | 70 to 120kg in total |
| Sofa bed | as a three seater, with a steel frame inside60 to 100kg | 60 to 100kg |
For reference, a standard UK internal door is 762mm. Older Central London stock is often narrower. Full door and van measurements.
Will it fit?
What actually has to clear the door?
Not the length. A sofa goes through a doorway on its end, so the two dimensions in play are the depth and the height, and the smaller of those has to clear the door width. A standard UK internal door is 762mm, so a sofa up to about 75cm deep goes through comfortably on its end. Deeper than that and you are relying on the angle.
How much does taking the door off buy?
Around 45mm, which takes a 762mm opening to roughly 807mm. That sounds trivial and it is the difference on a great many jobs. We take doors off and put them back as part of the work rather than as an extra, and it is the first thing we try before anything more drastic.
What about the hallway?
This is what really decides it. Getting a 210cm sofa through a door is easy; rotating it through ninety degrees into a room off a 90cm hallway is not. The rule of thumb is that you need hallway width plus doorway depth to exceed the sofa length, and where it does not, the sofa goes in on its end at an angle or it does not go in.
Can the feet come off?
On most modern sofas, yes, and it buys 8 to 15cm of height. It is the cheapest way to make a tight job possible and we do it as a matter of course rather than as a last resort. Older and fully upholstered frames often have fixed feet, in which case that option is gone.
How we move a sofa
- We ask for the door width and the hallway width at the destination before quoting, not after
- The sofa is covered and corner protected in the room before it moves
- Feet come off first, then the door if it is needed, then it goes through on its end
- Two crew for anything above a two seater, because a three seater on a staircase is not a one person carry
- In the van it is strapped upright rather than laid flat, which is what stops the frame twisting
- At the other end it goes to the room you want it in, and we put the feet and the door back on
Marketplace pickups, which are most of this work
Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay collections are the bulk of the sofa jobs we do, and they fail in the same way every time: nobody asked the seller which floor they are on. A fourth floor collection and a fourth floor delivery are two separate climbs on one booking, and it changes the price more than the distance between them does.
Ask the seller two questions before you buy. Which floor, and is there a lift. Then tell us both. It is the difference between a £130 job and a £210 one, and knowing which it is in advance is better than finding out.
What we do when it genuinely will not fit
First the feet, then the door off its hinges, then the angle. Those three between them solve the large majority of tight sofa jobs and all of them are inside the price.
What we will not do is force it. A sofa wedged through a door that was too small arrives with a torn arm and a bent frame, and the damage is not covered by anyone. Where the measurements say no, we say so before we start, which is why we ask for them at the quote stage.
Before we arrive
- Measure the sofa depth and height, and the narrowest door on the route
- Measure the hallway width at the point where the sofa has to turn
- Take the cushions off and keep them separate, which changes the shape more than you would expect
- For a marketplace pickup, ask the seller their floor number and whether there is a lift
- Clear the route at both ends, including the bit by the front door
What tends to go wrong
Measuring the length and nothing else
Length is the one dimension that almost never matters, because the sofa goes through on its end. Depth and height are what have to clear the door, and hallway width is what decides whether it can turn once inside. People measure the sofa and not the flat.
A corner sofa nobody checked was sectional
Most corner sofas come apart into two or three sections with clips underneath. Some, particularly older and cheaper ones, do not. A one piece corner unit going into a first floor conversion is a genuinely difficult job and worth establishing before it is on the pavement.
Buying before measuring
The sofa that will not go in is almost always one that was bought online without anyone measuring the hallway. Retailers publish the dimensions; the flat does not. Thirty seconds with a tape measure before you order saves a return and a restocking fee.
Sofa removal and delivery: common questions
How much does it cost to move a sofa in London?
Between £90 and £260 including VAT, with most landing near £140. Ground floor or a lift at both ends is £90 to £125. Stairs at one end is £125 to £185. A corner sofa, or stairs at both ends, is £185 to £260. Two crew either way, because a three seater on a staircase is not a one person carry.
Will my sofa fit through the door?
A standard UK internal door is 762mm. A sofa goes through on its end, so what has to clear that is the smaller of its depth and its height, usually 80 to 100cm. Taking the feet off buys 8 to 15cm and taking the door off buys about 45mm. If the depth is under 75cm it will go through without either.
Do you take the door off if you need to?
Yes, and put it back afterwards. It is included rather than an extra, and it is the first thing we try when a doorway is tight. It gains about 45mm, which is more often than not exactly what was missing.
Can you collect a sofa I bought on Facebook Marketplace?
Regularly, and it is most of this work. Tell us the seller's floor number and whether their building has a lift, along with your own. That is the pair of facts that sets the price, and it is the pair people most often leave out.
Will you take my old sofa away?
Yes, as a clearance rather than a delivery. Upholstered furniture has to go to a licensed transfer station and we provide the waste transfer note. It is quoted alongside the new sofa going in, which is cheaper than two separate visits.
Do you dismantle corner sofas?
Most corner sofas separate into sections with clips underneath and we do that as part of the job. Some older one piece units do not come apart at all, which makes them a considerably harder job into an upstairs flat. Worth checking before you buy.
Other single items
Moving more than one thing?
This page is about a sofa on its own. The single item and furniture delivery page covers the service generally, and what a move costs prices a whole flat or house.
Across Central London
We move a sofa anywhere in the 37 areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the staircase, which is what decides where in the band you land.