Chapter 03Fit · System
Furniture delivery fit: measure the path before the truck comes
Walk the path from the curb to the room and measure the clear width and height of every door, hall, stair and elevator on it. The narrowest point decides the fit. Then check the piece three ways: Pottery Barn and La-Z-Boy Southeast say it can go through when its depth, its height or its diagonal depth is less than that width. For a fridge, compare the depth with the doors off, and leave taking them off to the crew, as LG advises.
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026; La-Z-Boy Southeast doorway guide, checked October 6, 2026; LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
- To spare when a sofa 38 in deep, with a 31 in diagonal depth, goes on its end through a 32 in opening1 in Counted from this page
- Spare width one retailer suggests at the narrowest opening2 to 3 in Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, October 10, 2026
- Depth of one LG French door fridge with its doors off, down from 37 1/8 in30 3/8 in LG Measure First refrigerator guide, October 11, 2026
Do it, skip it or get help
Measure it yourself
Measuring the path and checking a sofa, mattress or fridge against it takes a tape measure, a pencil and the piece's numbers from the product page. The fit check does the arithmetic. Carrying the piece in is the delivery crew's job.
Skip the full walk when it clearly fits
If the piece's depth or height is well under the narrowest door on the path, or it comes in boxes that are, write the door widths on the sheet and stop there.
Get help when a frame, a rail or the fridge doors must come off
If the only way in means taking off a door frame, a stair rail, a window or a fridge's own doors, stop at the measurements and call the store or the delivery company. LG says its delivery person may have to remove the home's door or hinges, or the refrigerator doors, and doesn't recommend taking the fridge doors off yourself. Renters ask the landlord before anything on the building comes off.
Source: LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
The steps, in order
Walk the path from the curb to the room
Write down every opening the piece goes through: the gate, the front door, the halls and each turn, the stairs and landings, an elevator, the room door. La-Z-Boy Southeast says the narrowest point on the path decides the fit.
Have ready: The fit sheet and a pencil
Source: La-Z-Boy Southeast doorway guide, checked October 6, 2026.
Measure the clear width and height of each door
Open the door all the way and measure from the face of the open door to the stop on the other side. That's the clear width, and it's less than the door's size. Mid in Mod says hinges and stops can take an inch or more.
Have ready: A tape measure, the door wide open
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
Measure the halls, the turns and the stairs
Write the hall width on both sides of each corner and the ceiling height at the corner. On stairs, take the narrowest width between the rail and the wall and the lowest headroom over the steps. Pottery Barn's guide lists staircases among the places to measure.
Have ready: The tape, a flashlight for the stairwell
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026.
Get the piece's four numbers
Copy the length, depth, height and diagonal depth from the product page or spec sheet. If the diagonal depth isn't listed, measure a floor model with a yardstick and a tape. For a fridge, LG's sheet also gives the depth without the handles and without the doors.
Have ready: The product page or the store's spec sheet
Source: LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Check the fit three ways
Put the numbers into the fit check. It tries the piece upright, on its back and on its end against the narrowest door, then checks the hall turn. Pottery Barn and La-Z-Boy Southeast say a piece can go through when its depth, height or diagonal depth is less than the door's width.
Have ready: The narrowest door and the turn numbers
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026; La-Z-Boy Southeast doorway guide, checked October 6, 2026.
Look at how much room is left
Mid in Mod suggests the narrowest opening be 2 to 3 in wider than the piece's width or diagonal depth, to leave room for turning it and for the crew's hands. If the check passes with less than that, plan on taking the legs off and mark the tight spot on the sheet.
Have ready: The fit check result
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
Give the crew one sheet
Write each opening with its width and height, the piece's numbers and the way it fits on one sheet. Tape it inside the front door on delivery day so the crew works from the same numbers you did.
Have ready: The filled-in sheet, some tape
Walk the path again on delivery day
A new rug, a hall table or a door mat can narrow the path after you measured it. Walk it again the morning the truck comes, then file the sheet in the house binder for the next big piece.
Have ready: The sheet and the tape
Print the working copy
One page, black and white, US Letter. Tick the boxes and write the dates in.
- Path walked from the curb to the room
- Each door opened fully, clear width measured
- Each door's clear height measured
- Hall widths on both sides of each turn
- Ceiling height at each turn
What goes wrong
The door was measured, not the opening
A door's size is wider than the gap it leaves when it's open. Mid in Mod says hinges and stops can take an inch or more, which is enough to turn a pass into a fail.
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
The front door worked but a turn didn't
Hall corners and stair landings often decide the fit. La-Z-Boy Southeast says to measure every doorway and hall on the way in, not just the entrance.
Source: La-Z-Boy Southeast doorway guide, checked October 6, 2026.
The fridge stopped at the side gate
LG's sheet asks for at least 38 in through any gate or arbor on the path, or 33 in for a top or bottom mount model. A side gate is easy to miss when you only measure the house.
Source: LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
The diagonal was used on an armless piece
Pottery Barn says not to use diagonal depth for a piece without arms. Compare the back height with the door width instead.
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026.
When the steps change
Apartment or condo
Add the building entrance, the elevator door and the elevator's inside depth to the sheet. Pottery Barn lists elevators along with doorways, stairs and halls as places to measure.
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026.
Refrigerator
Use the depth without doors from the maker's spec sheet as the smallest number. On LG's French door example that's 30 3/8 in, against 37 1/8 in with the doors on. LG says the delivery person may have to take the doors off and doesn't recommend doing it yourself.
Source: LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Mattress and box spring
A mattress bends a little and a box spring doesn't, so check the box spring against the narrowest door and the hall turn in the bed fit tool, and the room size with walkways while you're there.
Sectionals and pieces that come apart
Mid in Mod says to measure a sectional piece by piece, so check each piece against the narrowest opening.
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
Tips and tricks
- Tip 01
Shop with the narrowest number
Keep the narrowest clear width in your phone's notes when you go to the store. It rules out pieces that can't get in before you fall for one.
- Tip 02
Walk a cardboard template through
Cut cardboard to the piece's depth and height and carry it along the path. It finds the tight spots before the truck does.
- Tip 03
Look up on the stairs
A piece tilts on the stairs, so the ceiling over the steps can stop it even when the width is fine.
- Tip 04
Bag the legs and bolts
If the legs come off, tape a bag with the legs and screws to the underside so nothing goes missing between rooms.
- Tip 05
Ask the store for the diagonal depth
It's often missing from product pages. Customer service can usually get it from the maker.
What we would do
Measure the path first, then shop
Walk the path and write down the narrowest clear width before you pick the piece. Run the fit check on anything on your shortlist, and if the margin is thin, look for removable legs or a model that ships in boxes. On delivery day, tape the sheet inside the front door and leave any door, rail or fridge door that has to come off to the crew.
The tools and guides in this system
Chapter 03Sofa through the doorway fit checkCheck a sofa against your narrowest door and a hallway turn: upright, on its back or tilted on its end, with a printable measuring sheet.Open the tool
Chapter 03Bed size and room fit checkCheck all six mattress sizes against your room with walkways around the bed, then test the box spring against the door and hall turn.Open the tool
Problem-solving guideSofa won't fit through the door: what to tryMeasure the clear opening, try the sofa upright, on its back and on its end, then take off the legs and the door before you give up.Read the guide
Know-howHow to measure a sofa's diagonal depthLay a yardstick from the top of the back to the front of the arm, then tape from the bottom back corner to it. Compare that number with your door.Read the guide- Chapter 03All fit toolsMeasuring tools for furniture: a doorway and hallway fit check, a bed size check for the room, and a printable sheet for every door and turn.Open the chapter
Questions
How do I know if furniture will fit through my door?
Measure the door's clear width with the door wide open. The piece can go through if its depth, its height or its diagonal depth is less than that width: upright, on its back or tilted on its end. Check the other openings on the path too, because the narrowest one decides.
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026; La-Z-Boy Southeast doorway guide, checked October 6, 2026.
Will a refrigerator fit through a 32 inch door?
Compare the fridge's depth without its doors with your clear width, not with the door size. LG's French door example is 37 1/8 in deep with the doors on and 30 3/8 in with them off. If it only fits with the doors off, LG says the delivery person may remove them and doesn't recommend doing it yourself.
Source: LG Measure First refrigerator guide, checked October 11, 2026.
What is a door's clear width?
It's the gap left when the door is fully open, measured from the face of the open door to the stop on the other side. It's less than the door's size. Mid in Mod says hinges and stops can take an inch or more.
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
How much extra room should I leave?
Mid in Mod suggests the narrowest opening be 2 to 3 in wider than the piece's width or diagonal depth. That leaves room to turn it and for the crew's hands.
Source: Mid in Mod sofa delivery guide, checked October 10, 2026.
Do I need to measure the stairs?
Yes. Pottery Barn lists staircases with doorways, halls and elevators. Take the narrowest width between the rail and the wall and the lowest headroom over the steps.
Source: Pottery Barn measuring guide, checked October 6, 2026.
The primary source
How to Measure for Furniture Delivery, Pottery Barn. Checked October 6, 2026.
The steps on this page follow this source. Other figures cite their own source where they appear.
Other sources on this page
- How to Measure Your Doorway for Furniture Deliveries, La-Z-Boy Southeast. Checked October 6, 2026.
- Measure First: LG Refrigeration Installation Guide, LG Electronics USA. Checked October 11, 2026.
- How to Measure a Sofa for Delivery: The Complete Fit Guide, Mid in Mod. Checked October 10, 2026.
See every source on the site on the sources page. Spotted an error? Tell us.