Every move has one piece that makes everyone stop at the door: the king bed base, the three-door wardrobe, the corner lounge, the dining table with legs that do not come off. Most of the time it fits, with some turning. Sometimes it does not, and that is better known a week before moving day than on the front step. Ten minutes with a tape measure tells you which is which.
What you need
A metal tape measure, a notebook or your phone, and a floor plan of the new home if you have one from the sale or rental listing. Measuring is easier with two people: one to hold the tape, one to write.
Measuring the furniture
- Height, width and depth at the widest points, including handles, knobs, mouldings, feet and cornices.
- The diagonal depth of tall pieces: measure from the top back corner to the bottom front corner. This is the height the piece needs when it is tipped to pass under a door frame or a low ceiling.
- What comes off easily: doors on a wardrobe, legs that unscrew, a mirror on a dressing table, cushions on a lounge. Measure the piece both ways.
- Weight, roughly: note anything very heavy, such as solid timber, marble tops or a piano, because weight decides how many people a piece needs on stairs.
Measuring the path
Next, walk the route each big piece will take, from its room to the street, and measure every narrow point along the way.
- Doorways: the clear width with the door fully open (a hinged door takes some of the opening), and the clear height.
- Hallways: the width, and especially the space at any corner or turn into a room. Long pieces need room to swing.
- Stairs: the width, the lowest point of the ceiling above the stairs, any handrail that narrows them, and the space on a landing where they turn.
- Lifts: the door opening, the inside width, depth and height of the car, and its diagonal.
- Outside: the front gate, side paths, steps and the distance from where a truck can park.
Comparing the numbers
A piece does not have to pass through a door the way it stands in the room. A chest of drawers can go through on its side; a lounge can be stood on its end and turned; a table can be tipped. The rule of thumb is simple: if the smallest dimension of the piece is smaller than the smallest gap on its route, there is a way through, though it may need turning. If the smallest dimension is bigger than the smallest gap, the piece needs to come apart, or go a different way.
Corners are where the numbers lie. A long piece that is narrower than a hallway may still not make a tight turn into a bedroom door. If a turn looks close, measure the hallway width and the door width at the corner and allow for the length of the piece.
Adelaide homes to watch
Old villas and cottages, common in suburbs such as Norwood, Unley and Prospect, have long central hallways and doors hung for furniture of another age. Two-storey townhouses often have stairs that turn on a landing. City and beachside apartments add a lift. Hills homes add steps and slopes outside. If either of your homes is one of these, measure before you book.
What to do with the numbers
Write them on your furniture list and share them when you ask for a quote. Moveall’s customer care team asks about the access at both homes and about heavy or bulky items, and measurements answer both questions. The page on furniture dismantling and reassembly covers the pieces that may need to come apart and how to get them ready. For how the move runs on the day, see furniture removalists in Adelaide, and for heavy pieces, antique and heavy furniture.
Measure the new home too if you can get in before the move, and decide where each big piece goes. A piece that fits through the door but not against the wall you planned for it is a problem better solved on paper.
Talk to us about your furniture