I don't know, either, and will be watching here for suggestions.

Awful! Wasn't it an option to raise it outside the building and than pull it in througt a window? Or is that just a Dutch thing to do in these cases?

Hope you buy a great and fitting sofo now. I would definitely measure things around the house, AND your old sofa: where was is too big? How many centimeters? You migt get an idea of the required measurements for your new sofa that way...

I also have no idea what to measure and would love to hear the exact specifications.

Not only should you measure the elevator, but also the entry doors and any halls that may be narrow and even have 90 degree bends. Furniture seems to be getting bigger while these common spaces are trending smaller.

Measure all door frames and spaces that the sofa must pass through to get to your apartment... height and width (and depth of the elevator)...and right them all down for when you go sofa shopping. then, look for a sofa that will fit through those spaces with an inch or two to spare. Always check the return policy of the furniture store to be safe...if you measure wrong, it is always good to have option to return or exchange it if needed.

I'm so sorry that this happened to you!

I agree with Stinkycat... measure the internal dimensions of the internal lift carriage (the clear heights) as well as the dimensionsof your intended sofa. You might be able to have the sofa rest on one of the sides of the lift at an angle... but I would definitely look into getting your furniture company to arrange for a high-up (having it lifted from the street to your window)... you can't let the size of your lift determine your apartment's sofa!

How about some kind of sofa that can be brought up dismantled and then assembled in your home?

@Miami's Elaine - I was thinking IKEA, their sofas come in pieces that would fit in any but the smallest elevator.
Or maybe some nice chairs? A Daybed?

I feel your pain. I just moved into a new place and when my couch was delivered they couldn't get it through the front door because the stairwell is too narrow. It had to be sent back. Now I'm going on 6 weeks with nowhere to sit it in the living room except a folding chair. I'm too scared to attempt another furniture delivery!

I've heard of people lifting large pieces of furniture, such as sofas and grand pianos on top of the elevator. This would require your contacting the building's elevator maintenance firm and arranging for the service. Assuming you have a balcony with large access doors, or windows which may be removed or disassembled, you could hire a firm with a scissors lift, crane, or block and tackle to hoist your sofa into your home.

Most reputable furniture stores will take pieces of furniture back both during and after delivery, provided the piece was not a special order. If your sofa is special order, some retailers will for a fee, arrange for a test delivery of a similar sofa to assure that it will fit through doorways and elevators. The fee is normally the store's furniture delivery charge.

There are manufacturers of sofas specifically designed to be disassembled for delivery and reassembled in the home. Carlyle is one manufacturer in New York. There are also firms which will partially disassemble and reassemble conventional furniture for moving.

I am unaware of any specific formula for determining whether a sofa will fit through doorways and elevators. You simply have to measure both the sofa and the door frame dimensions. In delivering a sofa, the piece will either be brought through doorways upright, on its back, or vertically. The basic rule is that the height of the back of the sofa (floor to top) or the depth of its bottom (front to back), cannot exceed the minimum width of any doorframe. If the sofa has feet that are removable, their height may be deducted from the minimum dimension.

Good Luck!

Measuring is the best answer. It needs to fit the FRAME of the elevator as well as INSIDE the elevator. You also need to measure CLEARANCE for when you tilt/turn the sofa around any corners. (You should always ask your landlord if there is a larger service elevator and/or more clearance on the stairs).

Your backup option is to call a sofa dis-assember. (Yes, these exist. We have LOTS in NYC). He will come to your building (even in the middle of the night, like a locksmith) take apart your sofa out front (usually just the legs and/or back will do it) and then re-assemble it inside your apartment. It will cost you a few hundred $ but will save you purchasing a new sofa.

Buy some kind of sectional, even if it looks like a sofa when it's put together. Ikea isn't the only place for these.

Best way to be 99% sure . . . make a quick 3D model of the elevator and known furniture (and any other critical space). Glue/tape graph paper to cardstock or light cardboard (makes measuring/cutting easier). Grid can also be drawn on material manually. Assume 1 square = 1" or scale appropriate to project. Measure the interior space/doorframe of the elevator and cut cardstock to size (don't forget to cut out door opening). "Build" elevator and tape edges so that it can stand upright or fold flat. Repeat for known sofa/furniture measurements (create box based on max measurements). Set elevator on flat surface and manuever sofa model in elevator space. Does it fit in door, break plane of "roof", etc. Using this model you can adjust sofa measurements to find max dimensions (don't forget to allow for protective materials/wrappings. This can be used for tight hallways, corners and trucks as well. It takes about 15 min to make the models and you may feel a bit silly but it's well worth the effort. Good luck!

Yep, I was going to suggest the kind of diagram with cut-outs on graph paper that some people use before rearranging furniture inside their home. Because even if the dimensions of the sofa show that it would fit in the elevator, it might not "make the turn" to get inside. This has been our problem. The furniture store's delivery guys did some serious damage to the hallway and elevator. Getting them to pay for damages was a hassle.

Not all Ikea sofas come in pieces - as I learned the hard way when I bought one and yes, it fit through the elevetor, it just didn't fit through the corner between corridor and my apartment door.

Getting sofas in through the windows seems to be a European thing (in Spain at least it's normal), and in the US they just won't bother.

This is the main reason why I'm sticking with my old sofa till it falls apart - I dread finding a really great sofa, possibly having it custom made and then not fit. And if a corner or big sofa doesn't fit (which I don't think it will) then I'd rather not change what I currently have, because the alternative of 2 small sofas will just be disappointing.

Isn't that what our old friend Pythagorus taught us? a2 + b2 = c2? Am i remembering wrong?

Hmm... This is a good question. As a mathematician, here is my approach. Its a bit basic, but it'll give you a pretty close approximation. First, measure the inside of the elevator from floor to ceiling, and from the back of the elevator to just inside the doors. Then measure the width of the door opening.
When looking at a sofa, measure the length of the sofa diagonally from the bottom corner of one side to the top corner of the opposite side. This diagonal measurement must be smaller than the measurement of the height of the elevator. This way you can lead one end of the sofa into the elevator and slowly rotate it so it stands straight up on its arm. Measure the height of the sofa and it's depth. Compare these two numbers to the width of the door opening and depth of elevator. Match the larger of the two sofa measurements with the larger of the two elevator measurements; then compare the remaining measurements. The sofa measurements must be smaller than its corresponding elevator measurement.
It's a bit strange, but it's guaranteed to work!

Of course, the above measurement is for worst-case scenarios. Depending on wether or not you rotate left-to-right once inside the elevator you may be able to get a couple more inches (on the sofa). But then the measurements get really complex. As long as you follow above, you'll be able to rotate the sofa in such a way as to be able to get it in. Hope I helped!

I dont know about a formula, but how about asking your neighbours? If they were able to get a couch in, their couch must be small enough. They could probably give you tips as well.

Dont forget that a lot of couches have removable feet too!

I had a similar problem (sofa wouldn't fit in the front door around a tight corner). I was too paranoid about having the same problem again, so I bought a new sofa from Macy's and had it delivered--I wouldn't have to pay ANYTHING (i.e. no delivery fee, and they would refund the entire cost of the sofa) if they couldn't get it into my house. Luckily it fit!

CLEVERNESTER nailed it. Unless it will fit through the elevator door standing on its end, you will need to have enough clearance to stand it up in the elevator, which involves the diagonal measurement.

There is a funny Douglas Adams novel which includes a sofa getting stuck in a stairwell during time travel. But that won't help you.....

Not sure if you like the look, but we have LoveSac Sactionals and they have been amazing for our cross country moves. You just have to buy the bases and sides to configure whatever furniture you want...sofa, chair, sectional...and you can change your mind. Definitely fits in all elevators too.

I totally feel your pain. I had a tight turn into my apartment that was such a pain to get any sofa I liked through.I didnt want to call the SofaDoctor so this is why I bought a sofa from this company http://www.divon.com/ . It was either that or one from Ikea. My sofa is still going strong 6 years later.

i have moved a desk into an office building by tying it to below the elevator . we had to get the super involved and extra insurance( it was a commercial situation)but it worked like a dream.easy as pie !

FYI--.Macy's does have a generous return policy, but ONLY if it's NOT custom order. Then you lose $$ if you have to return it...

If you still have the sofa on your loading dock try calling DR. Sofa - I have had several clients use them for this exact thing and they are great, and as Lcraig said it's only a few hundred dollars. I've even heard about them removing a sofa arm and re sewing the fabric so it's impossible to tell it was ever removed. Far cheaper and less hassle than buying a new sofa. Best of luck!

Just buy a sectional sofa.

I know this is an old post, but I figured I would chime in.

I used to work at a small, but successful, custom furniture company in San Francisco. San Francisco is one of the worst cities in the US for moving large pieces of furniture in and out of buildings.

the vast majority of the buildings are 2+ stories, but the vast majority of the buildings are also very old, designed and built during a time when modern conveniences and sizes were nonexistant.

Its significantly worse than NY or cities with large numbers of tall buildings because those areas typically abound with elevators of some kind, or at least stair wells that were designed to allow large objects through them.

one of the most important things about moving furniture is understanding technique.

1) when can you remove doors? removing a door is typically extremely simple. You just pop the hinge pins out (takes about 30 seconds) and move the door, or at most unscrew the hinges if you need that extra half inch

2) the vast majority of a Sofa's mass is in the cushions. The cushions are filled with high density foam and cotton, and that materials is wayyy heavier than the predominantly empty frame of the sofa (which is made out of a wood frame with fabric stretched over it and metal zig-zag shaped springs supporting the seat cusions).

remove the cushions before moving the sofa and you will have much more maneuverability as you will not have to work as hard.

3) people RARELY hoist sofas into windows. Even in SF that is an extreme specialty operation and none of the furniture stores here will do it .

you absolutely must hire a professional and they charge about as much as a new sofa (~$1,000 for a brand name 1 piece under 80 inch length)

its typically reserved for expensive antiques, pianos, etc. that are worth so much that the cost of moving is negligible in comparison.

4) remove the feet. they are typically screwed on. Even if they appear to be solidly attached, chances are the person who setup the sofa in the first place screwed them on tightly.

trust me, I did this for a living, and the feet are just screwed into a metal collar that has been specially attached to the frame..

Most sofas are designed to allow for the use of "movign feet" which are little plastic feet that won't scratch wood floors.

5) the key is: can you "rotate" the sofa around a constriction.

Doorframes are OK as long as you have space to tilt the sofa. Corners are OK as long as you have space to lift the sofa onto its end and "walk" it around the corner.

high bannisters with narrow staircases are OK, so long as you have space to lift the sofa over the bannister.

Most sofas can fit through most doorways by holding them with their backs pointed towards the floor (lengthwise).
Obviously OP tried this and failed, and I have been in situations where it has happened as well.

The point is that furniture moving may seem like a waste of money, but there is a great deal of technique involved.

sometimes its better to pay someone who already HAS screwed up a bunch of sofas and tried/failed to move things many many times before learning the correct way to do it.

I'm planning on buying a sofa in Ikea, but even that isn't sure to fit in.

Here's a picture where i tried to solve the problem, but I'm not there yet.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151074395803742&set=a.51514593741.63297.504928741&type=1&theater

Mangler, are you still in SF? Would love to speak to you about a new sofa I'm thinking of buying. Since you have previous experience, are you available for consultation, to come and measure spaces, staircases, doorways, etc, to see if the new sofa will fit? Please let me know. You might be saving me a lot of time and money. Thanks!