New couch won't come through the front door!

conorhal

Help!

I stupidly bought an expensive suite presuming that it would fit through the front door of my first floor duplex apartment. Now I have a nightmare on my hands.
There is a balcony at the back and I contacted a moving company to get a couple of guys an a hoist to lift the suite to the first floor balcony but they are looking for over 500 euro to lift some furnature 4 metres, which I think is silly money, especially since I'll have to pay 100 to get the balcony door taken out to bring the suite in and 80 euro to get the old one taken away.

Has anybody had experience with this kind of problem or can reccomend a mover that does this kind of job in D8?
I'm at my wits end with this!

Ms Doubtfire1

sorry - it' VERY hard not to laugh at this...can it not be taken apart (the suite I mean)

JoeySully

its not that expensive when you account for lift rental and insurance.
4m is quite a lift by hand and you dont want to damage it using straps and ropes.

have a look around locally for someone with a teleporter. Most building sites will have one. it will lift it up in no time but I guess you will have to synchronize them with the delivery or you will be sitting on you sofa outside for a while.

conorhal

Ms Doubtfire1 wrote: »

sorry - it' VERY hard not to laugh at this...can it not be taken apart (the suite I mean)

What is it they say? One mans misery is another mans entertainment!

Sadly no, blasted imported furnature with a recliner so it wasn't manufactured here and can't be taken apart. The only way it's coming into the house it through the balcony door ...on the first floor. One firm reccomended to me will do it with a sort of cherrypicker hoist, but at an extortionate price, so I'm wondering if anybody has had to do something similar and got the job done for less then the cost of a new suite of furniture!

conorhal

JoeySully wrote: »

its not that expensive when you account for lift rental and insurance.
4m is quite a lift by hand and you dont want to damage it using straps and ropes.

have a look around locally for someone with a teleporter. Most building sites will have one. it will lift it up in no time but I guess you will have to synchronize them with the delivery or you will be sitting on you sofa outside for a while.

Oh I had a good scout around the area to see if anybody was doing some building work believe me!
THe synchronization of things is a total pox, you have delivery guys that can give you the option of 'morning or evening', a movers with the hoist that operate on the same basis, a window firm to take the doors off and the management company of the apartment block to organizse access with.
If I pull this off I'm starting my own logistics company!

Might be worth trying the Dublin favour exchange, ( if you are in Dublin, of course)

Someone may do it for you, for much less money.

http://www.dublinfavourexchange.ie/

SarahMollie

Have you checked with the sofa people if it can be delivered in parts and assembled once in your house? I also have a duplex and had a similar post purchase worry, but it turned out that it wasnt as big as I thought on arrival, as the feet of the soft werent put on until it was inside, and they were able to *shimmey* it around the door frames to get it through.

eurokev

conorhal wrote:

I stupidly bought an expensive suite presuming that it would fit through the front door of my first floor duplex apartment. Now I have a nightmare on my hands. There is a balcony at the back and I contacted a moving company to get a couple of guys an a hoist to lift the suite to the first floor balcony but they are looking for over 500 euro to lift some furnature 4 metres, which I think is silly money, especially since I'll have to pay 100 to get the balcony door taken out to bring the suite in and 80 euro to get the old one taken away.

500 for a couple of guys, and lift hire, is a very reasonable price. I can't imagine you'd find a much better price than that

Ms Doubtfire1

there's a page called tradesmen.ie - might be worth your while putting up a request there? I had a recliner couch once with a reclining seat on each end - heavy piece. It did fit through the front door with some twisting and pushing and shoving and scratched hands..but on the first floor?
It didn't by any chance say when you bought it that they would deliver and set up?

MarkR

Is the couch still with the furniture company? If it is, I would be seeing about getting a smaller suite that will fit from the same crowd. I doubt that would be an issue, and you get to save your 500.

Nermal

Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!

Had exact same problem, 3 lads and it'll take about 15 minutes Max. Small bit of blue rope. 1 lad on d ground, 2 over on balcony, as the two up on balcony pull it up. Lad below just pulls it away Fri. The building. I'll get 2 buddies and do it for 250 if yer stuck. It's what's commonly referred to as a piece of piss

2nd option is to take pain of glass out out of a big window

Also make sure it will fit thru balcony door

Good luck

xabi

So you haven't tried getting in through the front door, how do you know it won't fit

Good point, some people give up at a glance. Don't just go by what a measuring tape says. It's amazing what happens with stuff when ye wriggle it

Good point, some people give up at a glance. Don't just go by what a measuring tape says. It's amazing what happens with stuff when ye wriggle it

gizmo81

We wiggled our sofa in, the wiggle out might not be so smooth

eireyiddo wrote: »

Good point, some people give up at a glance. Don't just go by what a measuring tape says. It's amazing what happens with stuff when ye wriggle it

Assetbacked

Maybe try to lubricate the couch and slide it in the door.

punisher5112

I had to get horrible couch out of our rental and into garage lump hammer was a life saver otherwise I have no idea how it got in as no matter what it would not budge.

Pivot as mentioned above pivot pivot PIVOT

The shoes it sits on should be removed for any extra wriggling room

.......

This post has been deleted.

donegal.

Assetbacked wrote: »

Maybe try to lubricate the couch and slide it in the door.

you should start with smaller sofas , gradually working up to "the big one".

Cordell

Assetbacked wrote: »

Maybe try to lubricate the couch and slide it in the door.

Make sure you talk about if first and the door agrees. Then make it nice and relaxed, put some music on... you dont want the door to twitch and have the sofa in there forever.

That being said, I haven't seen to many recliner sofas, but all that I've seen had similar mechanisms that can be easily taken apart.

Bandana boy

I would try the front door again ,I find it is always easier going in the front door than the backdoor

Ms Doubtfire1

Cordell wrote: »

That being said, I haven't seen to many recliner sofas, but all that I've seen had similar mechanisms that can be easily taken apart.

It's usually the putting back together that the problem....

dbagman

conorhal wrote: »

What is it they say? One mans misery is another mans entertainment!

Sadly no, blasted imported furnature with a recliner so it wasn't manufactured here and can't be taken apart. The only way it's coming into the house it through the balcony door ...on the first floor. One firm reccomended to me will do it with a sort of cherrypicker hoist, but at an extortionate price, so I'm wondering if anybody has had to do something similar and got the job done for less then the cost of a new suite of furniture!

a cherrypicker is not designed to lift heavy weights. I assume you mean a scissorlift. even at that though im not sure the smaller ones will lift a recliner couch. them things are heavy! Scissor lifts and cherrypickers are only designed to lift 2 people max and some light enough materials/tools. And you will have to pay for the whole day rental at least id imagine. They wont drop it off for 15minutes, hence the price. Not to mention the cost of running a truck to transport it to your house and back again. 500 quid for 2 men,a truck and a days rental on one of them machines is a steal.

_Brian

JoeySully wrote: »

its not that expensive when you account for lift rental and insurance.
4m is quite a lift by hand and you dont want to damage it using straps and ropes.

have a look around locally for someone with a teleporter. Most building sites will have one. it will lift it up in no time but I guess you will have to synchronize them with the delivery or you will be sitting on you sofa outside for a while.

I had a guy doing some work at my house recently with a lift on the back of a truck, he said hos insurance is ?10,000 a year to cover for public liability and road insurance, that would cover three named individuals in his employment.

tigerboon

Had a neighbour who thought he had this problem a couple of months ago. Try rotating it so that the top of the back of the couch and the front of the arm rests are to one side of the doorway and the bottom of the back of the couch is to the other. Watch the fingers when squeezing through . Doors are normally a standard width and I'd imagine furniture is designed to go through them

glaswegian

tigerboon wrote: »

Had a neighbour who thought he had this problem a couple of months ago. Try rotating it so that the top of the back of the couch and the front of the arm rests are to one side of the doorway and the bottom of the back of the couch is to the other. Watch the fingers when squeezing through . Doors are normally a standard width and I'd imagine furniture is designed to go through them

you could also take the door off to give another couple of inches swinging room.

RustyNut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLDS2-Pa65A

4ensic15

A friend of mine drove a high roof van with the couch on top under the balcony. The couch was yanked in with a clothes line bought for the purpose. Easy.

Allah snackbar

eurokev wrote: »

500 for a couple of guys, and lift hire, is a very reasonable price. I can't imagine you'd find a much better price than that

Here we go again , boom time , I'm sorry but that's bullin money for 2 men and a hoist , it's people that are willing to pay this price that put the price up for everyone else , 500 for a couple of hours work , give me a break , have a look around op and put the word out you'll get someone to do it in an hour who has the gear to lift it for cash

RustyNut

Allah snackbar wrote: »

Here we go again , boom time , I'm sorry but that's bullin money for 2 men and a hoist , it's people that are willing to pay this price that put the price up for everyone else , 500 for a couple of hours work , give me a break

A couple of hours work, a machine capable of lifting the couch and a truck and driver to deliver and collect the machine. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

How much do you think would be reasonable?

Allah snackbar

RustyNut wrote: »

A couple of hours work, a machine capable of lifting the couch and a truck and driver to deliver and collect the machine. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

How much do you think would be reasonable?

What machine do you need ? , it's a couch that needs to be lifted 4 metres , 2 lads with a brain between them would have it up in half an hour

dbagman

Allah snackbar wrote:

Here we go again , boom time , I'm sorry but that's bullin money for 2 men and a hoist , it's people that are willing to pay this price that put the price up for everyone else , 500 for a couple of hours work , give me a break

Boom Time?? You for real? You will have to hire the hoist for at least the day. A truck will be needed to get into the site and out again. 2 men in said truck. By the time You take getting it there, off the truck, job done and loaded again that's a half day minimum. But you'll never get a company to charge for a half day. 2 men would be an easy 200 quid before tax in wages. Forget diesel running the truck and whatever. Then there's the actual rental fee for the hoist. Them machines cost a small fortune to buy. Pop insurance on top of that. You'd be surprised. Suffice to say take your head out your ass.

KERSPLAT!

RustyNut wrote: »

A couple of hours work, a machine capable of lifting the couch and a truck and driver to deliver and collect the machine. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

How much do you think would be reasonable?

The machine would be dropped to site anyway. I'd agree ~€500 would be about right for two men and the machine

Allah snackbar

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

The machine would be dropped to site anyway. I'd agree ~€500 would be about right for two men and the machine

Again , what machine ? You can rent a manual hoist to go 5 metres that will lift half a ton , but then again I wouldn't , I'd do it with a mobile tower and a bit of muscle , the safety of city living has stripped a lot of people of the capabilities of thinking outside the box (apartment)

Allah snackbar

dbagman wrote: »

Boom Time?? You for real? You will have to hire the hoist for at least the day. A truck will be needed to get into the site and out again. 2 men in said truck. By the time You take getting it there, off the truck, job done and loaded again that's a half day minimum. But you'll never get a company to charge for a half day. 2 men would be an easy 200 quid before tax in wages. Forget diesel running the truck and whatever. Then there's the actual rental fee for the hoist. Them machines cost a small fortune to buy. Pop insurance on top of that. You'd be surprised. Suffice to say take your head out your ass.

Jesus , I hope you're not in a job that requires any level of problem solving , you'd need to get council approval for what your planning

KERSPLAT!

Allah snackbar wrote: »

Again , what machine ? You can rent a manual hoist to go 5 metres that will lift half a ton , but then again I wouldn't , I'd do it with a mobile tower and a bit of muscle , the safety of city living has stripped a lot of people of the capabilities of thinking outside the box (apartment)

The machine in the post I was replying to.

Phonicks

Ask a nearby farmer if he has pallet forks on a loader, turn up around 10am, he will be in for the tay after milking.

ForestFire

Is there a balcony above yours some sort of fixing point?

Could you hire/borrow some pullies to hoist the couch up?

jlm29

Phonicks wrote: »

Ask a nearby farmer if he has pallet forks on a loader, turn up around 10am, he will be in for the tay after milking.

My thoughts exactly... except there probably aren't too many local farmers!

Ropes are all ye need and 3 men No machines. Your complicating d job. And that's only if you'd t go the scenic route To be honest I reckon I'd get it thru front door wit 1 lad. €250 and I'll have ye watching Netflix on it tomro evenin

Cork Lass

We have a pretty large couch and got it in through our standard size door by putting it upright (on one arm) and walking it around the door. I hope this makes sense as I've had a few gins tonight.

thesandeman

eireyiddo wrote: »

Had exact same problem, 3 lads and it'll take about 15 minutes Max. Small bit of blue rope. 1 lad on d ground, 2 over on balcony, as the two up on balcony pull it up. Lad below just pulls it away Fri. The building. I'll get 2 buddies and do it for 250 if yer stuck. It's what's commonly referred to as a piece of piss

Which one is you?

The_Conductor

eireyiddo wrote: »

The shoes it sits on should be removed for any extra wriggling room

Shoes are the first stage- even the couple of inches they give may help enormously. If you still have an issue- is it a massive issue- or a little one.
The guy who suggested lubrication- is onto something- however, it depends entirely on what the couch is made of (aka- obviously don't lubricate a fabric couch- but a leather one is an entirely different story).

Pivot- yup- don't look at the actual dimensions of the couch and throw your hands up in failure- get an arm in the door- this'll give you a few inches more to wiggle with- as you'll be able to get part of the body in- keep wiggling in and out- this may even do it..........

If this still is insufficient- most solid couches are bolted together- even if it means tearing the fabric that is inevitably hiding the underbody of the couch- there is a strong probability that you can unbolt one or both of the arms- for reassembly once you get it in the door..........

Note- your front door is step one- its entirely possible/probable that you have a door into your living room which may be even smaller. Getting in the front door is just the start- don't start reassembly until you've the couch in the room in which it is supposed to finish up...........

The 'pivot, pivot, pivot' idea- is spot on.

You'd be surprised at just how many of us have been in the exact same position that you're in.

If you do go with the hoisting it up the exterior wall and taking it in the balcony door idea- make sure you're not transferring your problem from your front door to your balcony instead- aka- make sure your balcony door is at least as tall and wide as your front door.............

dbagman

Allah snackbar wrote:

Jesus , I hope you're not in a job that requires any level of problem solving , you'd need to get council approval for what your planning

I'm not planning anything. If you bothered reading the OP you'd realise that was their plan. I was merely pointing out what was involved and why it was going to cost in the region of 500 quid. Also if you're ever planning on lifting a recliner couch (Not a standard one so a good bit heavier) through a first floor window with your bare hands please PM me the address. I'll be up with a few beers to watch the hilarity ensue.

Allah snackbar

dbagman wrote: »

I'm not planning anything. If you bothered reading the OP you'd realise that was their plan. I was merely pointing out what was involved and why it was going to cost in the region of 500 quid. Also if you're ever planning on lifting a recliner couch (Not a standard one so a good bit heavier) through a first floor window with your bare hands please PM me the address. I'll be up with a few beers to watch the hilarity ensue.

I'd use my brain before I'd use my hands

LionelNashe

OP, you could get a couple of ladders and slant them up to the balcony at a 30 degree angle, and then you have a kind of ramp that you can pull the couch up with some ropes. Much less risk of damage or dropping it than a vertical lift plus you can pause it halfway if you need to.

Actually, maybe not a 30 degree angle, I suppose, if it's really 4 meters. But if the bottom of the balcony is 2.5 or 3 meters, then that's where the tops of the ladders would rest, so maybe a pair of 4 meter ladders at a 40 degree angle.

bmwguy

Myself and my brother did this for our sister.

If it's only 4 metres ropes are the way to go. Just make sure the men you choose to do it are physically strong and know how to tie and secure the couch so they can lift with confidence and no accident happens. Or the women just for equality sake. Rope and good gloves. 4 people will do this no problem if it is heavier than the one we did.

SomethingElse

How big is the balcony? Could you leave it there?

OU812

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcnogXICTeA