Measuring up for sofa access - confused.

[UglyChristmasJumperJockey]

I'm confused... Our door to the living room is 190cm tall and 73cm wide. According to this guide:
www.johnlewis.com/Magazine/Feature.aspx?Id=55
that basically limits us to tiny sofas. Is there any other way to get them through the door? The other difficulty is that the doorway opens into the hall and directly oppsite the side of the staircase wall, so it's quite a narrow hallway without much space for manouevre.

In our old house there was access via a french door to the garden so we never had to worry about this!

The sofa we want is 89cm high and 99cm deep - is that never going to fit? :(

no, that's never going to get through your door

although, how big is your current sofa??? that got in there, so there must be a way (if it's bigger than the door)

window??

We don't currently have a sofa in there - we've just moved house, and the one that's in there is a sofa bed that comes apart into slatted frame and cushions.

I've just spoken to them and the frame is actually only 72cm high once you take off the cushions. Would that be really pushing it...? The windows are just a big sheet glass in the centre of the bay, and two tiny narrow opening sides.

Check whether they can also take the feet off. This will reduce the 72cm even further.

The lady I spoke to said not :(

Gah! It's a sofa I've been sitting on about once a week for the whole year (go in to JL to change baby's nappy, give the sofa a quick test ) and now they have it in the clearance as a special buy. At full price we could never justify it but at 1/3 off, just about.

Would it be a very bad idea to order and if it doesn't fit, send it back?!

Oh and have just got DH to measure, door is actually 73.5 cm wide!

Usually if you buy a sofa you can't return it if it doesn't fit.

Judging from your description, your problem might not be the doorway but the turn from the hallway through the door - how wide is the hallway between the doorway and the side of the stairs? At the point at which you have to turn it through the doorway, the space you need is the diagonal measurement from bottom front to top back. Whether it has tall arms or not will also make a difference at that point.

Oh yikes Cyd. That sounds confusing. Do you mean, if sofa is an L shape, between the two points of the L? Which measurement of the house does that need to correspond to?

"fortunately" DH is off sick today so can be out with the tape measure...

When we lived in a small cottage the delivery men had to unscrew the double glazed window (the top part of the middle of the bay) to get the sofa in. Is that an option for you? Or some sofas you can unbolt the arms so that it can fit through doorways.

Yes, exactly. If the hallway is wider than the widest measurement of the sofa then you won't have a problem - you can bring it down the hallway and slide it straight through the door. But if that part of the passageway is narrower than 99cm then you will have to turn the sofa through the doorway, and that is where you need the diagonal measurement. Does that make sense?

Cyd - I think so!
mable - arms definitely don't come off. Will take a look at the windows as a last resort, just because they don't look enormously well fitted!

would it help if you took the door off?

delivery men are ace at getting things through spaces where you never thought they could go. A sofa wouldn't be pushed through square on, it would be angled through & rotated iyswim, so the individual dimensions aren't the only consideration

How long is it though?

Door will definitely be coming off! Sofa is 212 cm long, door is actually 197 high according to DH, hallway is 230 high.

I'm aiming too high with this massive sofa aren't I?!

Righto, DH says that hallway outside front room door is 92 cm wide. That sounds ominous :(

I've looked again at the JL diagrams and the bit about diagonals makes no sense whatsoever.

You will have to tilt it to get it through the door to the living room because it is taller than the doorframe when stood on end AND rotate it diagonally to turn it in the hallway through the doorway, as ponders describes. You can't bring it down the hallway with the 79cm side facing the doorway already because the sofa is 99cm wide and hall is only 92cm wide. You could bring it down the hallway diagonally to angle it through the door if the diagonal measurement is less than 92cm but you will still have to tilt it to get it through the door, so you need some 'spare' space in the width of the hall to allow you to do that.

You might just manage it if the arms are shallow, but not if they are tall.

OK - it's this one

www.johnlewis.com/231441713/Product.aspx

The measurement of the full back height is 89, the 'back' behind the cushions is 72. Not sure if these arms count as tall or not... The diagonal measurement if it's the hypotenuse would seem to be 122cm which is massive?? I am about to head into town on my lunch break (John Lewis at lunchtime, I must be mad!) so will ask the people there to give me their final opinion. There's only three left, hence my asking all these questions!

Thanks so much for all your help, Team Sofa!

Right - I went to the shop, they said Order it and they'll add all sorts of notes to the delivery section of the order. Chaps will come in, look round, see what they think, and if it won't go in they'll take it away and we get a refund.

We're not planning on moving house for a loooong time so once it's in it's in, if at all!

Thanks again everyone! Very helpful indeed.

Oh good luck! It's a lovely sofa. The arms are quite low, I think. Hope the staff can offer good advice.

I did have another thought (although it might work out too expensive). Sofa Workshop certainly used to make sofas in some styles that were split in two halves with bolts to secure together, enabling you to get a very big sofa into a tiny house. Might be worth seeing if they have a similar design and can do that. Think Multiyork used to offer that as well.

Oh, we posted at the same time. That's great service - hurrah!

you could also consult a local glazier (not a double-glazing co) to see how much he would charge to take out the glass or window.

I might be a couple of hours work.

It depends how it is packed tbh. Some have low backs and the height is mainly cushions, which are flat packed with it - others are very sturdy and don't come apart at all. Others have removeable arm sections, Tetrad sofas come literally in two halves (we have one of those!)

The dimensions you've stated don't seem that big. just an ordinary three seater. (I have had about a hundred sofas, currently have four, erm...not sure why)

I will go and look at your link but there is usually a way.

72 will be EASY. These guys will handle sofas in different houses every single day, I'm sure it'll be pipsqueak for them to get it in.

The only thing that worries me tbh is the idea of a cream fabric sofa in a house with children!!! You're a brave woman.

Etjereviens - this sofa is for the grown up sitting room, there's brownleather in the family room - so shoot me...

PigletJohn - we've decided that if it doesn't fit, we'll just get them to take it away and look for a smaller one. The whole removal of windows thing would just be too much of a risk given the iffy workmanship we've found elsewhere in the house