Georgian doorways and Linotype stairs: a sofa into an Altrincham home

The oldest houses in the centre were built around 1810 to 1840, for furniture far smaller than a modern corner sofa. A three-seater may need to go in on end, with the feet off, and a sofa bed is heavier than it looks. Some Linotype Estate terraces have three storeys, so an upstairs sitting room needs measuring before you buy. Send the sofa's height, depth and width with photos of the door and hall.

In Hale, Bowdon and Timperley the houses are mostly later and larger, and where there is a drive the van stands close and the carry is short. Flats are a matter of the lift: a sofa that stands on end in the car goes up in one trip, and one that will not goes up the stairs, which takes longer and is counted. If the piece will not go through at all, it comes back to the van rather than being forced.

Measure twice: getting a sofa into an Altrincham house

Measure the front door, the inner door and the tightest point of the stair against the sofa's depth
Check whether the feet or the back cushions come off, as that can save a few centimetres
Clear the hall of coats, shoes and side tables before the van arrives
In a flat, measure the lift car's height and depth, not just the door
Tell us if the old sofa is still in the room, as it has to be moved out of the way by you

Sofa drops across Altrincham, from Place Road to Hale Barns

Linotype Estate, Broadheathtall terraces with turning stairs, where upstairs rooms need measuring
Sandiway Road, Downs Place and Normans Placeearly 19th-century rows with doors straight off the pavement
Timperleyhouses from the 1930s onwards
Bowdon and Hale Barnslarge houses on the Bowdon side and the newer roads of Hale Barns
Flats near the Interchangelift sizes decide whether the sofa goes up in the car or on the stairs

Bringing a sofa into WA14 and WA15

Bridgewater Retail Park → Timperleya store collection by the A56 and A560, a few minutes' drive
Bradford → Altrincham49 miles by the M62 and M60, 65 to 80 minutes, before collection
Manchester → Altrinchama sofa from a city seller brought down the A56, about 9 miles

Size, doorways and floors: what an Altrincham sofa delivery costs

The size of the sofa, how many stairs or lifts it has to go through, and the miles from the shop or seller to your door set the price, fixed before the van leaves Bradford. See how we quote for the full breakdown.