Thursday, August 18, 2005

from cambridge: on being psychologically destroyed by a sofa

The movers just left. My nifty Pottery Barn sofa wouldn't fit up the stairs. (Of course, the dowdy chair that I don't like but own because it matches the sofa fit just fine.) It's sitting downstairs in this hallway; they weren't even able to move it to get it into storage.

At the moment, I feel less like an worthwhile new member of the Harvard Community and more like a broken kite that has been left out in the rain for several days.

I think maybe the movers were wrong about the legs not coming off. It might go up the front stairs with the legs off. As if I know how to take the legs off a sofa, but then again desperate people can sometimes manage a dramatic increase in aptitude. Otherwise, um, anybody know anybody in Cambridge who needs a sofa? Or, alternatively, anybody got a crane?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is only one way to find out, Jeremy. Flip the sucker over and look at the legs. Some legs just screw out. Maybe you need to get out your saw. (I'm sure you packed one.) ~~
Paulette

Anonymous said...

(trouble leaving comment: this may come up twice)
If sofa legs are wood, saw them off; reattach with gorilla glue and iron corners. Or you may find the frame has joints you can pry apart. at base;
or nice neighbors may help you tie rope around it and hoist it up;
or keep cushions and use them for floor seats;
or if frame really IS too big, get a plywood platform and legs (from Door Store) and
recycle cushions on that.

You'd need a car for the latter.
If it's on the sidewalk, someone will probably take it away pretty quickly.
Good luck. Hey! Don't give up. There's gotta be a way (how do they get stoves and fridges up there?). Be creative!

Anonymous said...

Just looked at the picture. I'll bet the legs are screwed into the bottom frame. You HAVE to have a screwdriver. ~~
Paulette

jeremy said...

Believe me, I'm scurrying around now trying to find my box with the screwdrivers.

Anonymous said...

The legs may be attached with hanger bolts. If so, try twisting counterclockwise and see if they loosen. You know what hanger bolt is? piece of hardware, half screw (which would be in leg), half bolt (which would be in a sleeve in frame).

Anonymous said...

I can contact some people who may be interested in taking it off your hands. Just let me know if it comes to that. But I hope you can figure out a method. (Sorry, no ideas though.)

Anonymous said...

Hanger bolts ARE much used hardware for furniture assembly these days: easy to knock-down and reassemble. If there's a seam and no screws visible, try twisting.
You can get it started by loosening leg gently with soft-head mallet (or pad your hammer with towel and tap).
Or are legs attached with Allen screws? In which case you just need Allen wrench.
(Careful: you can't saw through a hanger bolt),

Anonymous said...

Think outside the box. For instance, getting my queen-sized boxspring into my bedroom involved hoisting it up to a balcony, over the balcony railing, through the sliding glass doors and down into the bedroom rather than going up the stairs. Is there another avenue of entry for the sofa?