How to measure doorways, stairs and lifts before your sofa arrives
Updated
The most common sofa-buying mistake is not the colour or the size of the room – it is the front door. A sofa that fits the lounge perfectly is no use if it cannot get past the hallway arch, the stair landing or the lift. Ten minutes with a tape measure before you order saves a lot of stress on delivery day. Here is exactly what to measure and how.
What you need
- A metal tape measure (fabric tapes stretch).
- Your phone, to note numbers and take photos of tight spots.
- A second person for long measurements and stairwells.
- Masking tape, if you want to mark the sofa footprint on the floor afterwards.
Measure in centimetres and round down, not up – a door that is “about 80” is often 78 once you measure between the stops. Write every number down as you go rather than trying to remember them, and take a photo of each tight spot with the tape measure in the shot. It makes comparing sizes later much easier.
Step 1: Walk the route
Start where the delivery will arrive – the kerb or the building entrance – and walk to the room where the sofa will live. Note every point where something could get stuck:
- Gates, side paths and front steps
- The front door and any security screen door
- Hallways, especially where they turn
- Arches, low beams and pendant lights
- Stairs and landings
- Lift doors and the inside of the lift
- Internal doors into the room
Measure each one as you go. Delivery is to your ground-floor front door, so from there to the room you are the removalist – it pays to know the route.
Step 2: Measure doorways properly
- Width: measure between the door stops (the strips the door closes against), not the outside of the frame. If the door can be lifted off its hinges, measure the opening with it removed too.
- Height: from the floor to the underside of the top of the frame.
- Diagonal: from the top corner on one side to the bottom corner on the other. Long items can often be tilted through a door on the diagonal.
- Screen doors: measure with and without them – a security door can steal several centimetres.
Step 3: Hallways and turns
A straight hallway is rarely the problem; the turn into a room is. For each turn:
- Measure the hallway width at the turn.
- Measure the doorway you are turning into.
- Measure the distance from the doorway to the opposite wall – that is the space you have to swing a long box.
- Take a photo from both directions so you can picture the move later.
Older homes – Victorian terraces, Queenslanders, Federation bungalows – often have narrow halls and tight turns, so measure these carefully.
Step 4: Stairs
- Width between handrails or walls at the narrowest point.
- Headroom – the lowest point above the stairs, often where a ceiling or upper floor cuts across.
- Landings and turns – measure the landing width and depth. A box has to pivot here.
- Outdoor stairs – check the surface; wet timber or tiles are slippery when you are carrying something heavy.
Step 5: Lifts
- Door opening – width and height.
- Inside the car – width, depth, height and the diagonal from a bottom front corner to a top back corner. Long items often travel standing up and tilted.
- Booking rules – many apartment buildings require a lift booking and protection blankets for moving furniture. Check with the building manager.
Step 6: Compare with the sofa
Write down the smallest width, height and diagonal along the whole route. Then compare with the finished size of the sofa you are considering:
Nova Sofa Bed
Height 76 cm. Lay the back cushions flat to make the bed. Seen from above; not to scale between models.
Nova L Corner Sofa – Open
Height 76 cm. Each module is 200 × 100 cm (or 150 × 100 cm). The 2 × 2m layout makes a bed of about 200 × 200 cm. Seen from above; not to scale between models.
All Nova pieces are 76 cm high. The good news with foam sofas: they arrive compressed, so the packages are smaller than the finished sofa, they have no rigid frame or mechanism, and a 2m Nova Sofa Bed weighs about 40 kg in total. A corner sofa is two separate modules, which are easier to move around a room than one large piece. If your narrowest point is close to the sofa’s finished size, email support@ozsofa.com with your measurements before you order.
Step 7: Measure the room itself
Once you know it will get in, make sure it fits where it is going:
- Mark the sofa footprint on the floor with masking tape.
- Leave about 80 cm for the main walkway and 45–60 cm between the sofa and a coffee table.
- If it is a sofa bed, mark the bed footprint too – a 2 × 2m L corner makes a bed of about 200 × 200 cm.
- Check doors and drawers can still open fully.
- Live with the tape for a day.
Our layout guide shows common arrangements, and the size guide lists every model’s dimensions.
Extra checks for corner and L-shaped sofas
Corner sofas need a little more planning because the shape matters as much as the size:
- Measure both walls from the corner outwards. A 2 × 2m Nova L corner needs 300 cm along one wall and 200 cm along the other; the 2 × 1.5m version needs 250 cm and 150 cm.
- Decide which side the open end goes. Stand at the room entrance – the open end should usually point away from the walkway. On the 2 × 2m open corner it can go on either side; the 2 × 1.5m version is ordered as Left or Right.
- Check windows and heaters along both walls, not just one.
- Allow for the bed. If you will sleep on it, check the 200 × 200 cm bed footprint fits with room to walk around one side.
What if it will not fit?
If your measurements show a problem, you still have options before giving up on a sofa you like:
- Remove a door from its hinges – most internal doors lift off in minutes and add several centimetres.
- Take off a security screen door for delivery day.
- Choose a smaller size – the 1.5m sofa bed is 50 cm shorter than the 2m, and the 2 × 1.5m corner is 50 cm shorter on both walls than the 2 × 2m.
- Choose two pieces instead of one – a sofa plus a chair gives similar seating and each piece is smaller to carry.
- Ask us first. Send your measurements and photos and we will help you check before you order.
Measuring checklist
| Point | Width | Height | Diagonal / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate / path | |||
| Front door (inside stops) | |||
| Hallway at narrowest point | Turn space: | ||
| Stairs and landing | Headroom: | Landing depth: | |
| Lift door / inside | Inside diagonal: | ||
| Room door |
Copy this table into your phone notes, fill it in, and keep it handy when you shop.
Frequently asked questions
How do I measure a doorway for a sofa?
Measure the width between the door stops, the height from the floor to the top of the frame, and the diagonal from one top corner to the opposite bottom corner. Remove screen doors if you can, and measure again without them.
What is the most common place a sofa gets stuck?
Turns – a hallway turning into a room, or a stair landing. Measure the space you have to swing a long item, not just the width of each opening.
Is a compressed sofa easier to get inside?
Yes. A compressed foam sofa arrives in smaller packages with no rigid frame or mechanism, and is much lighter than a framed sofa. Still measure the route before ordering.
What if my measurements are very close?
Email support@ozsofa.com with your measurements and photos of the tight spots before you order, and we will help you check.
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