Saturday, July 28, 2007

21st Century furniture in early 20th house...

We continued our move yesterday. Elise and I moved a number of things in the morning. I couldn't focus on putting together the sermon, so while Elise got some sleep, I went back to load up and transport a few more things.

Seeing that it was getting to be late afternoon, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few items I needed for supper. And then I went back to the apartment to get another load. While there, Deloris caught me and said she would be back to help move some furniture.

I unloaded our pickup, and then returned to the apartment to move some of the furniture. Deloris thought we should move the couch -- 42 in. x 33 in. x 7 ft. and weighing quite a bit. We got it moved around and ready to go. I had picked up my end and began to move, but Deloris wasn't ready, and so her end dropped to the floor. I checked the couch to see if it was okay, and as far as I can tell, it still looks fine. But we decided that we should move some of the smaller and less bulky items first.

It was a good thing we did, because after getting to the house, we measured the front door width. It measured 30 inches... The couch will not fit through the front door. The back door, when the door and the screen door are off their hinges, has a 34-inch width. The problem is that between the back and the living room, there is a kitchen. The path that we have to take is constricted by a refridgerator. There is a possibility that by standing the couch on end and spinning it around, it might get through the space without moving the refridgerator. If not, then it will have to be moved out. And then after getting past that point, the couch has to be lifted up and over counter to get it into the dining area after which the move into the living room will not be a problem.

The other options are much less desirable -- such as remodeling the front door to increase it to say 40-inches. Or taking apart the couch and reassembling it... Houses in the 1930's were not designed to handle furniture designed for 21st century homes.

I also measured for the washer and dryer... There is a set of doors on the room that leads directly out, but it is stuck and we haven't been able to open it. But in order to get the washer and dryer in, and the old ones out, we will have to get those doors unstuck. We could try to bring it in through the back door, but we would then have to lift the units over the heater. I didn't really pay attention until now, but now I see how much narrower entries and hallways used to be.

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