Pivotal problems
When it comes to couch manoeuvres, twisting and turning takes some planning
Life isn't always easy. Bills pile up, and kids melt down. Frankly, some days we're all just Ross Geller trying to get an oversized couch up a stairwell. Fans of the TV show Friends get that reference. In the Season 5 episode The One with the Cop, Ross buys a new couch and, instead of paying the delivery fee, he decides to haul it up a flight of stairs to his apartment with Chandler and Rachel's help. But no matter how many times he screams “pivot!” the couch just won't pivot, and eventually they have to saw it in half to dislodge it.
Did that couch really need to die such a brutal death? Where did Ross's plan go awry? And how can we best Ross the next time we need to move a couch up some stairs? Apartment Therapy talked to specialists to find out.
1. Asking friends for help is OK.
“Do not, I repeat, do not try to move a couch up a stairwell by yourself,” says Scott Goldblatt, director of marketing for Fernish, a furniture and home accessories rental service. “That's one thing Ross got right … ask some friends and get help. You'll need at least two people, possibly more.”
Michael Pepla, co-owner of Boston-based M&M Moving Company and Storage, agrees.
“They can get heavy. A regular couch, like the one in that episode, is probably about 150 or 200 pounds. And then you have the sleeper couches that can go up to 300.” 2. Try to measure beforehand.
Eyeballing the space just isn't good enough.
“It's very hard to measure if a couch is going to fit (up a stairwell) because there are so many different angles,” Pepla says.
Though his workers will try it if a customer asks, most times they end up hoisting it and bringing it in through a balcony or window. 3. Pivot the right way.
Pepla says you should start by placing the couch on its side with its back facing up.
“It depends what kind of staircase you have, and what couch you have. When you take the turn, you want the opening of the couch to roll around the rail. It's all about the angles with the couches.”
Then, when you get to a landing, stand the couch upright. “Twist it, pivot, and then you drop it down and carry it up.”
4. Or just use a moving service.
You might decide that the sweat isn't worth it and choose to leave it to the experts. It's OK. That's what they're there for, Pepla says.
“It's kind of like driving a car. Anybody can really do it, but then you have professional car drivers.”