Will it fit through the door?
Updated 10 October 2026
Measure the clear opening — frame to frame with the door open — not the door. An interior door sold as 30 in (76 cm) gives about 28 in (71 cm) clear; a 32 in door about 30 in (76 cm); a front door about 34 in (86 cm). Then take the item's two smallest dimensions. If the smaller of them is at least an inch under the clear opening, it goes through. Corners and stairs are where it fails, and there the question is whether it can stand on end.
How wide doors and hallways really are
| Opening | Nominal | Clear, door open |
|---|---|---|
| Interior door, US (older homes) | 28 in · 71 cm | 26 in · 66 cm |
| Interior door, US (common) | 30 in · 76 cm | 28 in · 71 cm |
| Interior door, US (bedrooms, newer homes) | 32 in · 81 cm | 30 in · 76 cm |
| Interior door, UK | 762 mm · 30 in | about 70 cm · 27.5 in |
| Interior door, Europe | 80–90 cm · 31–35 in | 74–84 cm · 29–33 in |
| Front door | 36 in · 91 cm | 34 in · 86 cm |
| Hallway | 36 in · 91 cm is typical; 42 in · 107 cm is generous | — |
| Staircase | 36 in · 91 cm between walls; handrails take 3–4 in · 8–10 cm | — |
The door itself, open against the wall, eats 1.5–2 in (4–5 cm) of the frame. If it is close, lift the door off its hinges: two pins, five minutes, and the full frame is yours.
The two measurements that decide it
- Every opening on the way: the front door, the hallway, each turn, the stairs at their narrowest landing, the room's door. Write the smallest one down.
- The item's two smallest dimensions. A sofa goes through on its side or its back, so its height and depth are what count, not its length. A fridge or wardrobe goes through upright, so its width and depth. A mattress bends; a box spring does not.
| Item | What has to fit the opening | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| Sofa | Height or depth, whichever is smaller | 30–36 in · 76–91 cm tall; 32–40 in · 81–102 cm deep |
| Fridge | Width or depth | 30–36 in · 76–91 cm wide; doors off, 2–4 in · 5–10 cm less |
| Washer or dryer | Width | 27 in · 69 cm (US); 60 cm · 23.5 in (EU) |
| Queen box spring | Width — it will not bend | 60 in · 152 cm; a split box spring is two of 30 in · 76 cm |
| Mattress | Bends; the thickness is all that matters | 10–14 in · 25–36 cm |
| Wardrobe | Depth | 20–24 in · 50–60 cm |
| Dining table | Width with the legs off | 36–42 in · 91–107 cm |
| Upright piano | Depth | 24–27 in · 60–69 cm |
Corners and stairs: the real test
A straight door is rarely the problem; a turn in a hallway is. Something long turning a corner between two hallways fits flat only if its length is roughly less than the two hallway widths added together, minus its own depth. A 90 in (229 cm) sofa, 36 in (91 cm) deep, turning between two 36 in hallways: 36 + 36 − 36 = 36 in of room, and the sofa is 90. It will not go flat.
Then it has to go on its end: stood up, pivoted round the corner, laid down again. For that the ceiling at the corner has to be taller than the item is long — 90 in (229 cm) here, under a typical 96 in (244 cm) ceiling, so it works. Under an 8 ft ceiling anything longer than about 92 in (234 cm) cannot stand up, and a landing with a low ceiling is the place to measure twice.
Stairs are a corner at every landing. Measure the narrowest landing and its ceiling, not the stairs themselves.
When it will not
- Take things off. Sofa legs unscrew (4–6 in · 10–15 cm back); fridge doors and handles come off; packaging adds 2–4 in · 5–10 cm each way, so unbox it at the door.
- Take the door off. Hinge pins out, and the clear opening grows by the thickness of the door and its stop.
- Buy it in pieces. Modular sofas and sectionals arrive as seats; split box springs, flat-pack wardrobes and knock-down tables exist for exactly this.
- Ask for the boxed dimensions before ordering, and whether the delivery crew will carry it in or leave it at the kerb. "Threshold delivery" means the kerb.
- Windows and balconies are how sofas reach upper floors in old buildings. It is a job for a company that does it, not a rope.
Then check the room itself. Open Won't Fit, draw your walls and the door where it is, and put the sofa in. It tells you whether the door still opens, what blocks it and where you cannot walk — before anything is on the truck. Free for two rooms, no account.
Open a living room