How To Move A Recliner Through A Door

by Andrew Smith| Last Updated: January 4, 2022

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How To Move A Recliner Through A Door

Oh the beauty and elegance of a recliner! But how to move a recliner through a door when you need to vacate? Also, how do you get an oversized recliner chair through a door all by yourself? I was in a similar fix just a few months ago. The doorway of my new house was too narrow. What did I do? We disassembled the furniture. 

Well, most recliners come apart for moving. You can remove the arms, the brackets, the cushions, or the legs of your recliner to move in through a door. Else, move an oversized recliner through a door by angling it. The back of the recliner and the bottom should form a V. The seat should face inside. 

In this article, you’ll know what to do if the coach doesn’t fit through door and how to disassemble it. 

Table of Contents

How Do You Move A Recliner In A Door?

You can move a recliner in a door by maneuvering it at different angles or separating the door from its frames in less than 2 minutes!

In this case, you don’t have to disassemble your recliner. 

Maneuver It at Different Angles 

If you had previously taken the doorway measurements, then you’re pretty sure that the recliner should go through without much effort. So, angling should do.

If the width of your recliner is wider than the doorway and the height of the door is bigger than the recliner’s length, flipping your recliner on its end is a sure bet.

How do you go about it, therefore?

  1. While moving the recliner, angle it to have its back as well as the bottom forming a V. The recliner, on the other hand, should be facing inside. 
  2. Start moving the recliner inwards. Do so by carefully sliding the already curled recliner through your narrow doorway. 

Caution

It’s best to avoid damaging your recliner’s fabric by protecting your door jambs. In addition, wrapping the recliner with good-quality blankets should help prevent ripping the recliner fabric while pushing it through the doorway. 

Be extra careful not to hurt your fingers, else wear gloves to further protect them. 

Separate The Door From Its Frames In Less Than 2 Minutes

If angling the seat doesn’t work, don’t disassemble the recliner yet. Consider how much extra space would be enough to have it through a door without much stress. If just a little extra space is needed, probably an inch, you can move a recliner through a door by taking the door off its hinges. 

Save yourself the aftermath trouble and mark all the parts so you won’t have trouble putting your door back firmly and securely. Don’t worry about the process, too, it takes about five minutes to remove the hinges and have them back.

Remove The Legs–It Takes Seconds

If removing the door hinges isn’t anything you want to risk trying, removing the recliner’s legs is another best option. This should be your option if your recliner cant fit through door, but an extra 6 to 8 inches can help have it in. 

Related: 10 Most Comfortable High Leg Recliner

Buy a Ratchet Strap–Costs a Few Dollars

You can move a recliner through a door by installing a ratchet strap. The straps disassemble the seat’s reclining feature—thus making it narrower. How to do this?

Under the seat’s reclining parts, carefully slide the ratchet strap. Tightly wrap both the seat’s back and the front of the recliner. 

A rope could also work but be extra careful while using it lest the coach slides off your hands.

What if everything else fails, what’s the perfect remedy? Let’s find out.

How Do You Get An Oversized Recliner Through A Door–Disassembling it?

If the recliner cannot go through your doorway, it’s likely that it’s oversize. It can be tricky, but it’s doable. How? By removing the recliner’s cushions and brackets. 

Disassembling is an effective way to get an oversized recliner through a door. So, to start with…

Remove The Cushions-They’re Bulky!

The recliner’s cushions are bulky. Removing them could, therefore, make a slight difference that is worth having. Removing the slipcovers could also work. 

Here’s how the experts remove the recliner’s cushions:

  1. Right at the back of each end of your recliner and its base, there’s a gap. Put your hand there to find the lever. 
  2. Move each lever upwards so as to release the recliner’s cushioned back.  
  3. Grab the recliner’s cushion(s) and remove it by pulling it upwards. 

Did removing the cushions fail? Why should you worry while I got your back–keep your eye-balls rolling since I still have more vital-to-know tricks.

Try Removing The Brackets

  1. You can successfully remove the brackets by turning the recliner over. This helps to access the screws.
  2. Next, unscrew all the screws used to fasten the brackets. They’re used in joining the recliner’s arms to the seat cushions.  
  3. Proceed by removing the locking levers–they’re little metals on both sides of your recliner, and a slotted screwdriver goes a long way in removing them.
  4. You can now have your recliner back to its original position.
  5. Using the upward motion, pull the back off by rocking it from one side to the other–this should take about 30 seconds or thereabouts. 

There you are–now move a heavy recliner through the door without any further stress. If you’re also wondering how to move a recliner by yourself, the above tips are equally effective as they make your recliner less bulky and stress-free to move.

Caution

You don’t want to regret the eye-watering process of disassembling a sofa stuck in the doorway to have it inside your home. 

So…

How about a double couch recliner?

How Do You Move a Double Recliner Couch Through a Door?

Moving a double recliner can be a little tasking for most people, but it’s pretty easy. However, if it’s too big to go through the doorway, the process becomes a little tricky and time-consuming.  This doesn’t mean that you cannot move your double recliner. 

No!

To move a double recliner couch through a door by yourself, disassemble it. How to do so? 

  1. Carefully separate the recliner’s middle section by removing all the 7/16 inches nuts, which are on the front side. They’re a bit hidden, and reaching them would be challenging, so using a ratcheting or non-ratcheting socket and a socket ratchet could save time.
  2. Next, remove the middle section and proceed by removing the recliner section all by yourself as it’s easy to do so. You’ll need a power drill driver to seamlessly remove the ¼ inches nuts. 
  3. You can now move the disassembled double recliner couch through the door without asking for a helping hand. 

Wait…

Do All Recliners Come Apart?

While some may not, most recliners do come apart. In most models, it’s pretty easy to do so. Even so, some recliners may have more parts to disassemble than others–it all depends on who manufactured yours. 

For example, for most recliners, the seatback can be detached. You only need to remove the locking levers (the above five steps should help you do this).

Still, you can remove the bars, which are usually bolted on the recliner’s base. This also depends on the make of your recliner. If you have this option, lucky you–further disassemble your recliner to move in through a door. If your doorway is, therefore, too small, there’s nothing to worry about anymore. Recliners come apart for moving but how long the process takes depends on how many parts you want to disassemble. 

However, a few tools are necessary before you get started with the disassembly process. They include:

The Conclusion of the Matter?

How to move a recliner through a door can never be a difficult thing if you keenly follow all the above steps. Just so you don’t miss any bits, here’s what you must remember–you can move your recliner by removing its legs to make it a little smaller. Else, use a ratchet, a bracket, or simply maneuver it in different angles. If the struggle to have the recliner through the door still exists, separate your door from its hinges. 

If any of the above tips seem to fail, it’s not over yet–disassembling your recliner must work. 

Over to you now, move your recliner without hiring any of those highly-priced movers. 

Author

  • Andrew Smith

    Andrew Smith is the founder of CozySeating, is a father of 2, and an engineer from one of the leading furniture stores in the country. Due to his 10 years of experience, he has proved to be the best person to offer advice to clients regarding different seating furniture based on their needs and performance. Besides, he is a specialist in product reviews and always keeps up with the current trends in the market.

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