Fit tools
Will It Fit Through the Door?
Enter the piece and every opening on the way in: doorway, hallway turn, stairs and elevator. We check each one the way delivery teams do.
Loading the Will It Fit Through? calculator…
Short answer
Narrower than the door A sofa goes through a doorway if its depth or back height is less than the door’s clear width. If neither is, stand it on end: it fits when its diagonal depth is less than the width. Leave 1–1½″ for the movers’ hands, and check every hallway turn, stair and elevator on the way.
32″
minimum clear width of an entry door (IRC)
1–1½″
for the movers’ hands
36″
minimum hallway and stair width (IRC)
The front door is only the first check. A turn from a hallway into a bedroom, a stair landing or a small elevator can be tighter, so the calculator above checks each opening separately and tells you which one is the tight spot.
How to measure diagonal depth
- Lay a straightedge (a broom handle works) from the top of the sofa’s back to the front of the arm.
- Measure from the bottom back corner of the sofa straight up to the straightedge.
- That distance is the diagonal depth. Most retailers list it on the product page as “DD”.
Diagonal depth is the slimmest profile a sofa has when it’s stood on end and tilted. That’s how delivery teams get a sofa through a door that’s narrower than its depth.
What each opening needs
| Opening | The piece fits when… | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Doorway | Its depth or back height is less than the clear width | West Elm, Joybird |
| Doorway, on end | Its diagonal depth is less than the width, and its length less than the door’s height | CB2, Pottery Barn, RH |
| Hallway turn | It’s short enough to swing around the corner (below), or it can be stood on end | Geometry; Crate & Barrel |
| Stairs | Its depth or height, plus a few inches, is less than the stair width; check headroom | Joybird, Room & Board |
| Elevator | It fits lying down, standing up, or on the diagonal from the door’s floor to the cab’s top back corner | Room & Board, Article, Joybird |
Hallway corners: the longest piece that turns flat
Carried flat, a piece turns a right-angle corner only if it’s short enough for its thickness. The limit is a classic geometry problem (the moving-ladder problem with a wide ladder), and the calculator solves it for your hallway.
| Thickness carried flat | 36″ hall into a 32″ door | 36″ hall into a 36″ hall |
|---|---|---|
| 6″ | 84″ | 89″ |
| 12″ | 72″ | 77″ |
| 18″ | 60″ | 65″ |
| 24″ | 47″ | 53″ |
| 30″ | 35″ | 41″ |
That’s why sofas almost never turn a 36″ hallway corner flat: a 30″-deep sofa would have to be 41″ long or less. Stood on end, only the ceiling limits its length, which is how movers get them around.
Building-code minimums
| Opening | Minimum | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Entry door, clear width | 32″ | IRC R311.2 |
| Entry door height | 78″ | IRC R311.2 |
| Hallway width | 36″ | IRC R311.6 |
| Stair width | 36″ | IRC R311.7.1 |
| Stair headroom | 6′ 8″ | IRC R311.7.2 |
The numbers we used
These are the numbers behind the calculator. Where they come from is listed under Sources at the end.
32″
Entry door clear width
36″
Hallway and stair width
6′ 8″
Stair headroom
80″
Standard door height
1–1½″
For the movers’ hands
30″
Most common interior door
Measure this first
- Each door’s clear opening with the door open, at the narrowest point: hinges, stops and knobs.
- Hallway width, and the width of the opening you turn into.
- Stair width between the railings, headroom, and any turn at a landing.
- Elevator door width and height, cab depth and height.
- The piece: width, depth, height, and diagonal depth for sofas.
Questions people ask
How do I know if a couch will fit through my door?
Measure the door’s clear width. If the sofa’s depth or back height is smaller, it goes through carried upright or on its back. If not, compare the diagonal depth: smaller than the width means it can go through on end.
What is a sofa’s diagonal depth?
The distance from the bottom back corner of the sofa up to a straightedge laid from the top of the back to the front of the arm. It’s the sofa’s slimmest profile when tilted on end.
Can you take a door off to fit a couch?
Often, yes. Room & Board says its delivery team can usually remove and reattach interior doors, and Article suggests taking doors off the frame if you can; that frees the space the open door takes up. RH says its crews aren’t allowed to remove doors.
Will a queen mattress fit up the stairs?
On its side, a mattress is only as wide as it’s thick, so the stair width is rarely the problem. The turn at a landing is: at a 36″ landing, a 12″-thick mattress longer than 77″ has to be stood on end, and a queen is 80″ long.
Planning where it goes?
The Bedroom Solver places your bed, desk and dresser and checks every clearance once it’s inside.
Related: Sectional in a small living room · Two beds in a small room
Sources
- How to Measure (CB2)
- Furniture Guide: Sleeper Sofas (Pottery Barn)
- Measuring Furniture for Delivery (RH)
- How to Measure (West Elm)
- Measuring Guide (Darvin Furniture)
- Fit Guide (Joybird)
- Measuring for Delivery (Room & Board)
- Measure for Delivery (Article)
- Egress and Emergency Escape in Residential Dwellings (2015 IRC) (Code Inspections, Inc.)
- 2018 IRC Stair Code (Routt County, via InspectAPedia)
- Standard Door Sizes (Doors.com)
- Moving Ladder Problem (Wolfram MathWorld)