How do you move a large couch through a doorway?

Moving heavy household items can be dangerous, particularly heavy couches. To learn the best way to move heavy couches, read on.

Before Moving a Heavy Couch

When moving a heavy couch, it is important to remember a few things:

• Get your supplies
  • Here is what you'll need when moving your couch:
    • Dolly
    • Hand truck
    • Furniture sliders
    • Moving blankets
    • Packing tape
• Measure your couch and measure your doorway
  • This is to ensure that you can fit your couch through your doorway and that you aren’t trying to fit a couch that is too large through a doorway that is too small.
  • If your doorway is too small, you may need to find another exit point. This can be a large window, another doorway, or you may need to take your couch apart.
• Disassemble your couch to make it easier to handle
  • Unscrew the legs from the base of the couch
  • Take the cushions off as well
  • If your couch has a bed, you can remove that as well
    • Once the cushions are removed you can find the screws or bolts that hold the bed in
    • Unscrew the screws from the base of the sofa and pull the sleeper out and set it aside
    • If you don’t want to completely remove the housing for the sleeper, you can just remove the sofa which will also cut down on the weight
• Protect your couch
  • One important thing to do to protect your couch is to wrap it with moving blankets.
  • After you have removed your pillows and cushions from your couch, you can begin wrapping your couch with the moving blanket.
    • Place your moving blanket on the couch
    • You can keep it in place by wrapping stretch wrap around the blanket
    • Start at the base of the couch and wrap it around the couch to hold the blanket in place
    • You can hold the stretch wrap in place by using packing tape

Moving the Couch

Now that you have prepared your move, it is time to actually move your couch. Remember to move with a buddy and to lift with your knees to avoid any back injuries.

• Be sure to communicate with your partner and designate one of the two of you to be the leader to call where to go.
• If possible, place your couch on a dolly to help moving it easier
  • To do this, you and your helper will tip the couch on one end vertically
  • Slide it carefully onto the dolly, strapping your couch down with tie-downs, and then cautiously tip the dolly back to wheel it to your moving truck
• If you are moving your couch through a narrow doorway, make sure you have removed the legs and have measured the doorway to ensure your couch will fit through
  • You can remove a door by removing the hinge pins (knock them out using a hammer and a screwdriver)
  • If necessary, you might have to push your couch through a window. To do this, put two people outside while you have someone inside and lift the couch through the window while the two people outside lift and pull the couch.

Once your couch is outside, you need to load it into the moving truck. Most moving trucks have loading ramps to make it considerably easier to load your items in. Either push your couch in with your dolly, or carry it in with your friends, and place it into the loading truck. You will want to strap it down with tie-down straps to keep it from moving around.

Tips

Here are some tips when moving your couch:

• Before moving your couch, determine whether or not it will be worth having professionals move it.
• Having an empty house without pets or kids inside is best because the fewer obstacles you have you move around, the better.
• If donating an old couch, set up a pickup time with the local charity (or drop off time). Alternatively, if your couch is in better shape, you can sell it. Places to sell include Facebook, Nextdoor, and Craigslist.
• Remember to always lift with your legs! If you bend at the waist to lift you can hurt your lower back and cause serious injury.