Will my couch fit through the door?

Most sofas get through most doors, so do not panic, but it is worth checking before delivery day, because sending a too big sofa back is genuinely painful. The whole rule fits in one line: a sofa goes through when its smallest dimension clears the opening. A standard interior door is 32 inches (81 cm) wide and 80 inches (203 cm) tall, and the number that decides it is usually the depth or the diagonal of the sofa, not its length.

How wide is a standard door?

In most homes it is 32 inches (81 cm) wide and 80 inches (203 cm) tall. Front and exterior doors are usually wider, around 36 inches (91 cm). Older houses and apartment buildings are where it gets tight, sometimes just 28 to 30 inches (71 to 76 cm), so measure the actual doors on the route instead of trusting the standard.

How do I measure a sofa to see if it fits?

Grab a tape measure and write down four numbers, always at the widest, deepest and tallest points, arms and cushions included:

• Width: arm to arm.
• Depth: front to back at its widest.
• Height: floor to the top of the back.
• Diagonal: bottom front corner to top back corner. This is the one that usually decides it.

Then measure every door, hallway and tight corner between the street and the room, plus any stairs. Nine times out of ten the sofa clears the door fine and gets stuck on the turn into a narrow hall.

What is the diagonal trick?

You almost never carry a sofa in flat. You stand it on one end and angle it through. Tilted like that, the dimension fighting the door width is the depth, and the diagonal is what has to clear the opening. So if the depth, or the diagonal when tilted, is under that 32 inch (81 cm) door width, you are in. If the diagonal is bigger than the opening, no amount of wiggling will save you, and that is your cue to try the tricks below.

What if my couch does not fit?

• Pop the legs off. Most unscrew, which drops 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) instantly, and it is often all you need.
• Take the door off its hinges. Buys an inch or two and gets the handle out of the way.
• Tilt and pivot. Stand it upright, lead with one corner, and rotate it through the frame.
• Try another way in. A patio door, a balcony, or a ground floor window is sometimes wider than the front door.
• Go modular next time. If access is genuinely tight, a sofa that arrives in sections skips the whole problem.

How do I avoid this problem before I buy?

Check the access before you order, not after the van shows up. Find your narrowest door and tightest corner, then compare them to the depth and diagonal in the product listing. It also pays to see the thing in your room first, so you know it fits the space and not just the doorway. Drop a photo of your room into MeltFlex and you will see the real sofa at true scale, so you catch one that is too big on screen, for free, instead of stuck on the landing.

Summary

A standard interior door is 32 inches (81 cm) wide and 80 inches (203 cm) tall, and your sofa fits if its depth, or its diagonal tilted on end, is under that. Measure the width, depth, height and diagonal of the sofa, then every door and corner on the route. If it is tight, lose the legs for 4 to 6 inches and lift the door off its hinges. If the diagonal still will not clear, buy modular.