c.1840–1910
Moving out of a London period terrace
The London default — and the staircase turn that catches everyone out.
The Victorian and Edwardian terrace is the default London house, and it is what most of this city’s moves actually involve. From Walthamstow to Wandsworth, Hackney to Hammersmith, the same basic plan repeats with local variations.
That familiarity is deceptive. Two terraces on the same street can be entirely different jobs depending on whether the loft has been converted, whether the cellar is usable, and whether a side return extension has changed the ground floor.
What does not vary is the staircase. It is narrow, it turns, and it is the single most common reason something has to be left behind.
The turn, the loft and the cellar
A London terrace staircase typically has a quarter or half turn with a winder — the wedge-shaped steps at the corner. Furniture has to rotate through that turn in three dimensions, and the limiting dimension is usually the diagonal across the winder, not the width of the flight.
We measure that diagonal at the survey against the largest items. Where something will not make it, you hear about it while there is still time to decide what to do — sell it, store it, or have it taken apart properly.
Loft conversions add a final flight that is steeper and narrower than the ones below, often with a restricted head height at the top. Anything that went up before the conversion may not come down after it.
Cellars are where the volume hides. Most terrace owners underestimate what is down there by a wide margin, and it is a common reason a vehicle turns out to be too small. We count it properly.
Other kinds of building
Next step
Moving out of one of these?
Send us the address, the floor, and a photograph of the staircase or the lift. We will tell you what the building allows before we talk about anything else.