Delivery access survey: will it get in?

At a glance

All dimensions are clear dimensions measured on site, in millimetres. The two tests are plane geometry for a rigid box carried level: a screening step, not a guarantee.

Survey the route, not just the door

Most failed deliveries are decided before the piece is made. The drawing shows the finished item in its room; it does not show the stair it must climb, the corner it must turn or the lift it must ride. A delivery access survey follows the route the item takes, from the vehicle to its final position, and records the narrowest, lowest and tightest point on it. Those points, not the front door alone, decide whether an item can arrive whole.

Survey with the item's real sizes in hand: its three overall dimensions, the same dimensions in its packaging, and its weight. If it is not yet drawn, use the overall sizes on the drawing, and ask the maker for the packed sizes and weight, which are not the finished ones. Our process checks access routes, floor protection and lift dimensions before delivery day (see our delivery page), and the same measurements feed the site survey and the site readiness check.

Two tests you can run with a tape and a calculator

Test 1: turning a corner. Carry the item flat and level into a right-angle corner between two passages of equal clear width a. An item of length L and plan depth w (its size seen from above) turns the corner only if L is no more than 2.83 x a minus 2 x w. A table top 1,200 mm wide and 40 mm thick has a plan depth of 1,200 mm flat but about 40 mm on edge, which is why carrying it on edge turns much tighter corners (and needs the height to do it). Add the packaging to w, and keep room for hands.

Longest item L, in mm, that turns a right-angle corner between two passages of equal clear width a, by plan depth w. Rounded down to 10 mm. For a corridor of 900 mm, an item 300 mm deep can be up to 1,940 mm long; at 600 mm deep, 1,340 mm.

Where the two passages differ, as when a corridor of 1,200 mm leads to a doorway 800 mm wide, the same test applies with a figure for each side. There is no short formula for that case, so take a worked example: an item 300 mm deep can be up to about 2,200 mm long. A doorway is only as deep as the wall, so treating it as a long passage errs on the safe side.

Test 2: standing it up. A tall item delivered lying down is stood up by rotating it about a bottom edge. As it rises, its far top corner sweeps to a height equal to the diagonal of the item's side, the square root of (H squared plus D squared), where H is the height and D the depth. The clear ceiling height where it is stood up must be greater than that diagonal. Measure to the lowest thing overhead: a bulkhead, a sprinkler pipe or a light fitting.

Diagonals rounded up to 10 mm. A 2,300 x 600 mm carcase needs 2,380 mm under the lowest obstruction, and 2,500 mm if it is stood up in its packaging. The [50] mm is an example: use the packed size the maker gives you.

What the tests do not cover.

• They treat the item as a rigid box carried level. Real moves can tilt an item, stand it on edge or take it through a window, which can allow more. Handrails, skirtings, door stops, radiators and pipes allow less.
• They are geometry only. The people carrying need room for hands and shoulders; the delivery team sets that allowance.
• When a result is within [ ] mm of the limit, make a full-size template of cardboard or plywood at the packed size and carry it along the route.
• Weight matters as much as size. See the section on lifting below.

The route checklist, from kerb to room

Walk the route in the order the item travels, and write down the narrowest point of each stage. Photograph each tight spot with a tape in the picture.

Hoists, cranes and heavy items

When an item is too large or heavy to carry, it goes by hoist, crane or other lifting equipment. Two duties come from the law we have read:

• Lifting equipment. Regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 says every lifting operation involving lifting equipment must be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.
• Carrying by hand. Regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 says an employer must, so far as reasonably practicable, avoid the need for employees to do manual handling that risks injury. Where it cannot be avoided, the employer must assess it using the factors in Schedule 1 (the task, the load, the working environment and individual capability) and reduce the risk.

HSE's guidance on planning lifting operations (updated 29 October 2024) adds that routine lifts may be planned by the people doing them, while a complex lift needs a written plan from a person with significant and specific competencies, and that loads should not be suspended over occupied areas where that can be avoided. HSE's manual handling page (updated 25 March 2024) notes that the law sets no specific weight limits.

You do not plan the lift, but you do decide whether one is needed, and the sooner the better. A crane needs a place to stand, a plan and sometimes a licence: one London borough, for example, requires a licence to use a crane on or over the public highway and asks for applications at least 15 working days ahead, while other authorities have their own rules and periods. Give the maker and the contractor the packed weight and size of the item, and the opening it must pass, as soon as they are known. Floor loads from heavy pieces and trolleys are a question for the structural engineer, not a figure to guess.

Whole, in sections or knocked down: decide before the drawings are signed

If the survey shows a tight route, the usual answer is to change the item, not the building. Where a finished piece cannot travel whole, it is developed in sections that join on site. A site joint is a compromise on a finished surface, so it is better planned on the drawing than improvised at the door. Whether a piece can be made in sections depends on its construction, its finish and the workshop, so ask the maker; the table lists the questions, not what any workshop offers.

What to send the maker

• A marked-up plan of the route, with the narrowest points and every turn measured.
• Photographs of each tight spot, with a tape in the picture.
• The record sheet: clear widths and heights, lift sizes and rated load, ceiling heights.
• Loading arrangements, time windows, permits and contacts.
• The number of people the route allows to carry, and any floors, finishes or services that need protection.
• A request for the packed size and weight of every item, in return.

Delivery to [address, floor and room]. Access route as marked on drawing [ref]: narrowest clear width [ ] mm at [location]; clear door opening [ ] mm wide by [ ] mm high; lift car [ ] mm wide, [ ] mm deep and [ ] mm high, door opening [ ] mm, rated load [ ] kg; stair [ref] with [ ] turns; floor-to-ceiling height at the standing position [ ] mm. Items are to be made, packed and delivered so that they can pass this route. Items that cannot pass whole are to be made in sections, with the site joints shown on the shop drawings.

[Contractor / designer] is to confirm the access dimensions on site on [date], as clear dimensions with doors open to 90 degrees and fixed obstructions in place. The maker is to tell [name] in writing within [ ] days of receiving the survey if any item cannot pass the route.

Deliveries on [days] between [times], loading from [bay, kerb or yard] booked by [party]; lift booked by [party] for [ ] hours. Licences for any crane, hoist or road occupation are obtained by [party]; lifting operations are planned by a competent person and the plan is issued to [party] [ ] days before the lift. Floors, walls, door frames and the lift car along the route are protected by [Contractor] before delivery. Packaging is removed by [party] on the day.

Where a shop drawing shows a site joint, the maker is to supply [fixings and jointing parts] and the joint is to be assembled and finished on site by [party]. Alignment, finish match and fixings are agreed on the shop drawing before manufacture is released.

Standards and sources

• Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 8: organisation of lifting operations (read 5 Nov 2026).
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, regulation 4 and Schedule 1: avoid, assess and reduce; the Schedule 1 factors (read 5 Nov 2026).
• HSE: Planning and organising lifting operations: page updated 29 Oct 2024, read 5 Nov 2026.
• HSE: Manual handling at work: page updated 25 Mar 2024, read 5 Nov 2026.
• Southwark Council: Crane licence: one London borough (updated 31 Mar 2026): an example, check your own authority.
• Make Bespoke Studio: Delivery and Installation: how delivery is coordinated.

Questions we are asked

How do I check that a large piece will fit through a door?

Measure the clear opening, not the door leaf: open the leaf to 90 degrees and measure from the face of the open leaf to the stop on the opposite side, and from the head to the threshold. Compare that with the item's smallest cross-section in its packaging, leaving room for hands. If the item then has to turn a corner, run the corner test too.

What is the longest item that will turn a corner?

For two passages of equal clear width a, carried flat and level, an item of plan depth w can be up to 2.83 x a minus 2 x w long. In a 900 mm corridor an item 300 mm deep can be up to 1,940 mm long, and one 600 mm deep up to 1,340 mm. Carrying a flat piece on edge reduces w.

Can a tall unit be stood up in the room?

Only if the clear ceiling height is greater than the diagonal of its height and depth, measured to the lowest thing overhead. A 2,300 mm tall, 600 mm deep carcase has a diagonal of about 2,380 mm, and about 2,500 mm in packaging.

When does a delivery need a crane or hoist?

When the route cannot take the item whole and it is too large or heavy to carry through the building, for example through a window or balcony opening. The lift must be planned by a competent person (LOLER 1998, regulation 8), and in some places a crane on or over the public highway needs a licence from the local authority. Raise it as soon as the survey shows the problem.

Should I ask for furniture to be made in sections?

If the survey shows a tight route, yes, and decide before the drawings are signed so that the site joints are drawn and the finish is planned. Not every piece can be sectioned: ask the maker what the construction allows.

Who carries out the access survey?

Whoever can get into the building: the contractor, the designer or the delivery team, using a record sheet the maker has seen. The maker and the delivery team should have the measurements and photographs before a piece is released for manufacture.