Moving a couch to another home can prove to be a much more challenging task than you anticipate.
Of course, the very first step is to decide whether the couch is worth the trouble at all. After all, moving heavy furniture to a new home is directly linked to (much) higher transportation costs and time to take apart the piece for moving (if needed) and then pack the dismantled furniture elements for safe transportation.
As a result, your decision to take your big and heavy couch with you automatically means that you’ll have to disassemble the furniture piece for safety reasons. The thing is that hauling bulky furniture items as they are (without disassembling them first) increases greatly the risk of costly property damage and bad personal injuries.
Read on to get familiar with the major reasons why you should seriously consider taking apart your couch before attempting to move it. Also, you’ll learn the detailed steps to disassembling a sofa for moving in a way that minimizes greatly any chances of accidents on the day of the move.
Why should you disassemble your couch?
Take into account the overall value of your couch (including any sentimental value it may have for you) and its current condition (excellent, good, acceptable, bad) in order to make the right decision about whether to move it at all. The last thing you’d want is to invest a considerable amount of time and money into moving the couch only to realize you won’t really need it in the new place.
Once you’ve made up your mind to take that favorite furniture piece with you, the next step is to understand why you have to take the time and make the effort to disassemble it properly for the upcoming move. Can’t you just grab the couch as it is with a couple of friends, take it out of the home, and load it onto the awaiting vehicle?
Yes, you might be able to do just that… but it’ll all depend on how big and how heavy the sofa really is.
Here are the 3 main reasons why dismantling your couch prior to moving it is often the right thing to do:
- When dismantled partially, the couch will become lighter to carry out of the house and load onto the truck. And this means you’ll be protecting yourself and your helpers against bad injuries that usually occur due to heavy lifting – back injuries such as herniated disks, pinched nerves, or strains, as well as muscle injuries, or inguinal hernias.
- When disassembled partially, your sofa, which will be more compact as a result, can be taken out of the house without any risk of damaging the floor or any walls on your way out. The main reason for the increased level of safety is that there won’t be any protruding parts left that may get into contact with the floor or the walls and cause any sort of property damage.
- When taken apart partially, the couch will be able to fit through all small openings and tight spaces (doorways, tight and long corridors, sharp turns, stairs, etc.) much more quickly, thus compensating for the time it’s taken you to disassemble your sofa for moving.
Must-read: Is it better to move furniture or buy new?
How to disassemble a couch by yourself: 7 steps
The specific steps to disassembling your couch will depend on the exact type of couch you own: is it a recliner couch or is it a sectional couch? Or maybe it’s a sleeper sofa – most likely a pull-out sofa bed.
But before your start the couch disassembly job, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind:
- Consult the instruction manual of the couch to learn the specific order in which you are supposed to take apart the major sofa elements. If you don’t keep a hard copy of such a manual, do a quick online search for it. If unsure how to start the sofa disassembly process, feel free to contact a reputable furniture store – preferably the place you bought the couch from – in your town or city for assistance.
- Get a helper to assist you throughout the task of disassembling a couch for moving. Ideally, it’ll be a person who has more experience than you in handling large and heavy furniture, so they’ll be able to help you out if you happen to have any problems. Besides giving you good advice for dismantling the sofa, your assistant will also offer their physical strength, if needed.
See also: How much does it cost to move a couch?
Here’s how to disassemble a couch for moving:
- Step 1. REMOVE all items from the couch – covers, cushions, plush animals, etc. Also, vacuum or wipe down (or both!) the furniture piece if you notice any dust, dirt, or even bread crumbs on it. The thing is that you don’t want to bring any filth into the new home together with the sofa.
- Step 2. LAY the couch on its back. Then, either unscrew the couch legs directly by turning them anti-clockwise or use a screwdriver to unfasten the screws that hold those legs to the couch frame. Then, remove the legs, wrap them in bubble wrap, and pack them into a suitable box.
- Step 3. DETACH the arms of the couch to make the furniture piece lighter and a bit shorter too. How? Use a flathead and a pair of pliers to pull out the staples that keep the upholstery under the couch. Then, roll the covering up until you expose the fastening elements that keep the arms attached to the base. Be careful to undo as little upholstery as you can to prevent damage and facilitate the reassembly task.
- Step 4. REMOVE the couch arms by taking out the bolts or screws that hold them to the base. Once loosened, the arms should be able to separate from the couch base easily. Wrap the detached sofa arms in furniture blankets for safe transport.
- Step 5. REMOVE any other couch elements that can be detached safely. The idea is to make the couch as compact as possible – reduced weight and reduced size. This way, you’ll find it easier to maneuver the large couch out of the house and get it safely into the moving vehicle.
- Step 6. KEEP all fastening elements you have taken out in a sealable plastic bag to prevent losing any of them during the relocation process. Remember that misplacing even one bolt or screw can delay the couch reassembly process once you find yourself in the new place.
- Step 7. SECURE the metal mechanism of a recliner sofa using a strap or a piece of rope. The idea here is to keep the mechanism from opening accidentally during the move.
When you’re done disassembling your couch for moving, wrap the entire furniture piece in furniture blankets to protect it on the road. If the sofa has any areas that seem particularly fragile but you couldn’t remove, then place pieces of thick cardboard over those damage-prone zones for extra protection.
It shouldn’t find it too complicated to disassemble your coach for moving. Nevertheless, if you do get stuck and don’t know how to proceed, don’t hesitate to contact experienced furniture movers who will give you a hand when you need it the most. The professional furniture movers will also help you disassemble and protect other big and heavy furniture pieces in your home.
