What should I measure before an appliance delivery?

The appliance with its handles, every doorway, hallway, stair flight, and elevator on the route, the open floor wherever it has to turn, and the installation spot.

Where do I measure a doorway’s width?

With the door fully open, at the narrowest point — usually the door stop or the door itself on the hinge side, not the frame.

Do I need to measure the floor in front of the installation spot?

Yes, if the appliance arrives side-on: it has to turn there to go in back first, and that needs its footprint diagonal clear.

Should I measure with the packaging?

Measure both. If it comes boxed through the route and is unboxed at the end, the box size matters on the way and the body size at the spot.

What if one stage is too tight?

Check whether removing doors or handles is allowed, whether it can come unboxed, or whether another route avoids that stage — and measure that route too.

Illustration of a delivery route drawn as a list of stages from the front door to the installation spot

Home, moving & space

Appliance Delivery Checklist: What to Measure

A delivery route is a chain of passages, and every link needs a measurement. This checklist walks the route in order — from the curb to the installation spot — so nothing is guessed on the day the appliance arrives.

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The appliance

Width, depth, and height of the body.
Depth with handles, hinges, and anything else that sticks out.
The box size, if it arrives boxed.
Whether the manual allows laying it down, and how doors or handles come off.

Each stage of the route

Each stage of the route comparison
Stage	Measure
Doorway	Clear width with the door fully open (at the stop or hinge side), and height
Hallway	Narrowest width, ceiling height, and length if it has a turn at each end
Stairs	Width rail to wall, headroom from the step edges, rise, run, number of steps, ceilings at the foot and head
Elevator	Door width and height; cabin width, depth, and height
Junctions	Open floor and ceiling wherever the appliance has to turn

The installation spot

Measure the spot’s width, depth, and height, and the floor in front of it. If the route arrives side-on, the appliance has to turn on that floor to go in back first. A spot 33 × 32 × 70 in takes a 30 × 29 × 68 in refrigerator with 3, 3, and 2 in to spare; use the manufacturer’s clearances for the gaps it needs to run.

A worked route

A 30 × 29 × 68 in refrigerator with 2 in handles, kept upright, comes through a 34 in front door, turns into a 40 in hallway, and turns again through a 32 in kitchen doorway. The tightest point is the kitchen doorway, with 2 in to spare, and the route works end to end because one upright, back-first carry links every stage.

On the day

Clear the route of rugs, furniture, and anything on the walls at shoulder height.
Prop doors fully open and protect the floor.
Have a tape measure ready for the narrowest point.
Check the installation spot is clear and the hookups are in reach.

Delivery Measuring Checklist FAQ

What should I measure before an appliance delivery?: The appliance with its handles, every doorway, hallway, stair flight, and elevator on the route, the open floor wherever it has to turn, and the installation spot.
Where do I measure a doorway’s width?: With the door fully open, at the narrowest point — usually the door stop or the door itself on the hinge side, not the frame.
Do I need to measure the floor in front of the installation spot?: Yes, if the appliance arrives side-on: it has to turn there to go in back first, and that needs its footprint diagonal clear.
Should I measure with the packaging?: Measure both. If it comes boxed through the route and is unboxed at the end, the box size matters on the way and the body size at the spot.
What if one stage is too tight?: Check whether removing doors or handles is allowed, whether it can come unboxed, or whether another route avoids that stage — and measure that route too.