If you are moving heavy furniture by yourself, you may experience numerous issues due to how challenging the task is. Lifting heavy boxes and furniture can cause joint and back pain. You might even injure yourself. Also, your furniture will have a high risk of getting damaged if you try to move it yourself unless you know the right techniques or have the right set of equipment.
But a DIY move is one of the most efficient ways to save money while moving your belongings to your new destination. Hence, when you are struggling with heavy pieces in your home or office, you may not want it to be more laborious than necessary.
In this guide, we will explore a few simple ways to move a couch so that it doesn't come crashing down the staircase or cause damage to anything that comes in its path.
Things to Remember: Moving the couch by yourself
You must begin by doing a basic evaluation of your sofa before moving day. With this assessment, you need to decide whether it’s feasible to move your couch to the new house or not. Also, you need to evaluate whether the time, energy, and cost to pack and move your sofa to the new destination is worth it.
Examine whether it would be good for you to move heavy furniture without hiring professional movers.
- Present condition- If your sofa is extremely old, shabby, or almost broken, we suggest buying a new sofa for your new house. The cost you will incur in moving your old sofa to the new destination will either be higher or equal to the cost of a brand-new sofa so you may as well get a new one.
- Financial value- Take into consideration how costly your sofa is when you want to move to your new home. Also, see whether it's considered a standard couch or an antique piece and whether it would be worth moving for you.
How to prepare your couch for packing?
Before you move a heavy furniture piece out of your house, you should execute steps to keep it secure during the moving process.
Disassemble your couch
- Make sure you detach any components that can be removed from the sofa to make the moving process easier and safer.
- Detach all the legs from your couch and other removable parts like cushions, armrests, and other such parts. Don’t stop this step until you are sure that your couch is compact enough to get through hallways and doorways while moving out of the house.
- Seek the help of a friend if you aren’t sure how to disassemble your heavy couch for moving to your new destination.
Safeguard your couch
It’s vital to learn the right way to secure a sofa while moving it to a new place. This should include how efficiently you pack it and how securely you ship it and load it into the moving truck.
- Make use of moving blankets and packing paper to wrap all of the components you might have detached from the sofa.
- Use bubble wrap to safeguard any remaining or dangling components on the sofa.
- Apply packing tapes to appropriately fix cardboard pieces to the edges of your couch.
- Cover the entire length of the couch with the use of furniture blankets and use packing tape to hold them in place.
- Apply shrink wrap to add a final layer of protection to your sofa (mostly for waterproofing).
Moving equipment for moving a couch by yourself
A DIY move doesn't require you to lift and move heavy furniture all by yourself. Don’t attempt to be a superhero trying to lift extremely heavy loads while displaying your muscles.
Moving heavy furniture on your own implies that you will complete all the pre-moving tasks without the help of professional movers, only seeking the help of loyal helpers like friends, family, and neighbors.
Here’s a list of moving equipment that you will need for moving your heavy couch:
Furniture dolly
By renting a moving dolly, you can make the task of moving a large couch and other furniture pieces easier and safer.
- A furniture dolly will consist of a 4-square wheel platform that is positioned low on the floor.
- You can rent a furniture dolly from a local mover.
- A furniture dolly isn't the same as a hand truck. A hand truck has two L-shaped wheels with the basic purpose of moving shipping boxes and extremely heavy household items like refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, and other heavy appliances.
Furniture sliders
- If you want to glide your heavy sofa across a room or through a door up to the front gate, it's advised you to rent or buy a furniture slider.
- A furniture glider is a piece of solid plastic with one side made of solid rubber to reduce the friction between the floor and the furniture.
- You need to place the glider below each leg of the couch, and if you have detached the legs, you can place the glider under the corner of the sofa. Push the couch until you reach the door and don’t pull it further.
- You can buy furniture gliders from a home goods store or a local moving company.
Moving straps
You can use a furniture strap for transferring the load of a heavy furniture piece from your back to a more powerful muscle group. This will enable you to lift heavy furniture and move your big couch easily.
Tip: If you haven’t used a moving strap before, we suggest you use furniture sliders instead to move a heavy couch across your house and into the moving truck.
Best moving tips for a heavy couch
- Choosing the best method to move a heavy couch will depend on the situation.
- Seek the assistance of at least one friend if your couch is either too heavy or large to move.
- If you can’t get the help of a friend, you will be left with no option other than to seek professional assistance. A moving day isn’t only about moving a piece of furniture, so having extra help while you handle other important things is necessary.
Safety tips for moving a bulky sofa
- Examine all the sofa moving conditions adequately. Painful personal injuries or expensive property damage are often the immediate outcome of underestimating how difficult a task is.
- Before you start moving a heavy couch or a heavy furniture piece, you must communicate and coordinate among yourself and protect against any kind of danger.
- You can allocate a person to walk ahead of you and warn you against any kind of danger that may cause you injury or damage your furniture.
- Consider walking along the pathway from your home to the moving truck to ensure that the path is free from any barriers.
- Don’t forget to keep your pets or kids away from the moving pathway of your heavy furniture.
- Wear flexible and comfortable outfits along with anti-slip shoes that offer the highest level of safety and traction to your feet.
- Based on the size and weight of your sofa, you will most likely need 3 helpers if you want to move quickly and safely.
Tips to move a sofa across a small doorway
Normally, you won’t face any big issues while attempting to get to your sofa by yourself. With good planning and assistance, you can move your couch smoothly to your new destination. But if you aren't proactive or careful, an unpredictable issue can slow down or completely halt the entire moving process. For instance, if you find out at the last moment that your sofa won’t get through the door or a steep corridor, you may need to delay your entire relocation.
Measure your couch before moving day (note the, including its height, length, and width ). Also, measure the opening of your doorways, staircases, corridors, and elevator doors to get a good idea of whether your furniture will be able to get to its destination.
Hire the best furniture movers
If you are still not sure about moving a heavy couch by yourself, you can hire a furniture mover (provided you have the budget to do so). Not knowing the right techniques or not having the right moving equipment can put both you and your heavy furniture at risk. Hopefully this guide will help keep you safe during the moving process, but always remember that your safety comes first and that it’s better to get or buy help rather than risk hurting yourself.