Furniture Measurement and Fit Sheet

Who this is for

The measurements that decide whether a sofa gets through the door. The openings and turns of your own home go at the top, each item's size goes on a line, and the clearance against the tightest opening is worked out for you.

Anyone buying furniture that cannot be returned easily, people moving into a flat with a narrow stair or lift, and anyone who has already had a delivery go back on the van.

What this helps you track

• The width and height of every opening and turn between the street and the room
• Each item's width, depth and height, written down before you order
• The clearance between the item and your tightest opening
• The floor space each item takes, so a room can be planned as well as reached
• Which items need a second look before they are ordered

How to use it

1. Measure the openings and turns first — front door, hall, stair turn, lift, room door — and write the narrowest width and lowest height in the fields at the top. Measure the frame opening, not the door itself.
2. Decide on a unit, write it in the units field, and use the same one everywhere. The sheet does the arithmetic but cannot convert between units.
3. Write each item with its width, depth and height, taken from the maker's figures or your own tape.
4. The clearance column takes the item width off your narrowest opening, so a negative figure means it will not go through as it stands.
5. For anything tight or negative, note in the last column what could change it — feet or legs removed, the item carried on its side, a window taken out, a door unhung.
6. The footprint column and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, multiply width by depth.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What does a negative clearance mean?

That the item is wider than the narrowest opening you entered, so it will not pass flat. Many pieces still get in on their side or with the feet off — the sheet flags the ones to think about rather than ruling them out.

Does it account for turning a corner?

Not by arithmetic, because a turn depends on the item's depth and length together and on the space each side. Measure the hall width at the turn and enter it as an opening; then use the note column for anything awkward.

Which units should I use?

Whichever your tape and the maker use, as long as it is the same one throughout. There is a units field at the top so the sheet says which it is.

Can I use it for a room plan?

Up to a point. The footprint column adds up the floor space the items take, which tells you whether a room is being overfilled, but it cannot lay them out. The room measurement worksheet works out the room area to compare it with.