Narrow front doors and small lifts: getting a sofa into a Manchester home

Terraced houses in Levenshulme, Longsight and Rusholme open straight from the pavement into the front room, so a sofa goes in through one door, which helps, but that door may be narrow and the hall tight. Feet and cushions come off first. Measure the door at its narrowest, including the frame, and the depth of the sofa without its cushions; if it is close, it can be stood on end and turned in.

Flats are harder. A sofa that will not stand upright in a small lift car has to go up the stairs, and in a converted mill in Ancoats or a warehouse block in the Northern Quarter that can mean several floors. Corner sofas in sections are easier than one-piece models. Send the floor, a photo of the lift with the door open and the sofa's measurements, and you will know before booking how it goes in.

Doors, lifts and cushions: a Manchester sofa checklist

Measure the sofa's height, depth and width, and the narrowest door, hall or lift on the way in
Take the feet off and bag them if they unscrew, before the van comes
For a flat, book the lift with the managing agent if the building asks
Clear the lounge so the sofa can be turned and set straight down
Your old sofa stays with you: the council collects bulky items, first up to three free once a year

Where Manchester sofas come from and go to

Ancoats mill apartmentslifts and long corridors, where a sofa may go up the stairs
Northern Quarter flatswarehouse blocks loaded from the nearest open street
Levenshulme and Longsightterraced front doors straight off the pavement
Chorlton and Didsburysellers' semis and flats where the van stops close
Manchester FortAsda Living and other stores on Cheetham Hill Road

Sofa runs within Manchester and over from Yorkshire

Chorlton → Ancoatsa seller's sofa across the city by the A5103 and the Mancunian Way
Bradford → Manchester39 miles on the M62, 60 to 80 minutes
Didsbury → Rusholmea short run up Wilmslow Road into a terrace

Size, floors and the way in: a Manchester sofa price

The size of the sofa, how many floors and doors stand between the van and the lounge, and the miles between the two addresses set the fixed price, agreed before the van leaves. See how we quote for the full breakdown.