“Getting big furniture into a row house?”

photo by Elvert Barnes

“Dear PoPville,

I know I can’t be the only person in this city full of rowhouses-split-into-condos that has an awkward staircase and a need to find creative ways to get big furniture into the house, so I’m asking for advice/recommendations. I have a second-floor condo with a roof deck, and stairs that turn 180 degrees between the front door and my unit.

When my grandmother died and my grandfather moved into assisted living, I inherited the dining room furniture, and despite many new holes in my walls the sideboard simply could not make it around the corner and up the stairs. (It’s 8 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft and maybe 80-100 lbs.) I have previously gotten furniture (couch and box spring) in through the deck door fairly easily, with one mover on the ground and me and the other mover on the roof, but those obviously weigh much less than the sideboard. I contacted Georgetown Movers, which advertises their “hoisting” services, but because my roof deck doesn’t go all the way to the edge of the roof and there’s no railing right at the edge they wouldn’t take the job for liability reasons. Help! How do I get this furniture into my house? Sawing it in half is not an option.”