I really screwed myself this time...

[Ocelot II]

I bought one of those mattresses that comes in a box and you unroll it and let it expand. This one (supposedly) weighs 60 lbs. I was able to get it up the porch steps, into the house, out of the box and up a couple of stairs - but no farther. It's just too heavy and awkward, and now it's just sitting there on the stairs. In order to make room for it I'd already dragged the old mattress downstairs and out to the alley for solid-waste pickup, itself an endeavor that took a lot of time and effort, since there were a number of right angles involved. Now I just have a bed frame with no mattress on it and so no place to sleep except for a couch that's too short, and a heavy rolled-up mattress on the stairs.

So I went to the hardware store to see if I could find a mechanical solution. The hardware guy, who looked to be about fourteen, had never heard of a block and tackle. Seriously. He took me to the bait and tackle section. So I went to Home Despot (yes, I know) and bought a pulley, a hook and some rope. I hope to be able to haul the thing up the stairs, where after that I should be able to drag it to the bed frame.

Nothing is ever simple.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Can you call a friend for help?

It sounds awful. Hope you don't hurt yourself!

[Ocelot II]

3. I don't have anyone right now that I could call

and I don't want strangers in my house. I might be able to get help around Wednesday but I'd like to sleep before then.

[Ocelot II]

32. My dear CaliforniaPeggy, I did it and I didn't hurt myself!

[SheltieLover]

2. Gl!

Sounds like something that would happen to me.

Pls be careful not to hurt yourself.

I've done this with a few items & just stood outside & solicited the 1st 2 guys I saw & gave them $. 👍

[hlthe2b]

8. This would be my solution. Even people you don't know are often surprisingly willing to help

[SheltieLover]

10. They sure are!

Or go knock on a neighbor's door & ask for help.

[Ocelot II]

23. Neighbor to the west is another old lady.

Neighbor to the east is a butthole.

[PJMcK]

4. A bit of advice

You'll need more than one pulley to gain any mechanical advantage. A 3:1 ratio might be enough to do the job if you attach the hauling lines to the mattress securely and efficiently. You'll also need at least 3X as much rope.

I think the poster above had the right idea: Call a friend!

Good luck.

[Ocelot II]

6. I think the one pulley should do it because the problem isn't so much the weight

as the awkwardness of the thing. I do have plenty of rope. Nobody to call right now, gotta do it myself.

[MLAA]

5. Good luck! It will bed time soon and you will be so exhausted you might even

be able to sleep on the hard floor 🙂

[hlthe2b]

7. I have been in your shoes several times. Let us know how your pulley effort works out.

Help is so often not available for this kind of relatively quick task.

I'm not anxious to trade out my mattress because I have to haul it up to the vaulted ceiling and over a railing. The three sets of heavily angled too narrow stairs can not be negotiated by anything larger than a full-sized mattress/box springs. Obviously, the new roll-up mattresses could go up, but I still have to get my queen set down. (Heaven help anyone with a king-sized set). The last time I argued with the movers who kept trying--punching holes inadvertently in the wall as they tried. After they were forced to listen to me, it took two guys downstairs to "catch" and my sister and I upstairs pushing over the landing to them. Builders never seem to consider this--just think all will be mesmerized by the vaulted ceilings and big floor-to-ceiling windows.

[Ocelot II]

33. As it turned out, the ropes and pulleys weren't necessary.

Just got behind the thing and shoved.

I hear you about moving things in and out of places where they don't fit, though. Had to have a new bathtub brought in through a second-story window. This house wasn't designed for furniture or other large items. Anything for the second floor has to be assembled in situ, which is why it's mostly IKEA stuff.

[applegrove]

9. Ask one of those internet handymen to come or wait until you see some big person walking by.

I've agreed to help a stranger move some heavy stuff a bit (or I was going to when someone even bigger walked by and got asked). I only moved it a bit. The clue is to find someone who wants the challenge. My brother walked by a couple whose couch was stuck in the stairway of the building next door. He offered to help and they got it up.

[Generic Brad]

11. Perhaps you could open the box on the stairs

And then be prepared to PIVOT!

[Diamond_Dog]

12. Why does nothing ever fit easily

into an older home. (I remember that you’ve mentioned before you have an older home)

Narrow hallways and doorways and lots of right angles. I just had a hell of a time finding a refrigerator that would fit through the door and into my 1950s kitchen.

I wish you luck, Ocelot. Hope you can get this solved before bedtime!

[Ocelot II]

18. Lots of corners and right angles; the stairway is narrow

and makes a turn after the first three steps. Nothing goes up those stairs easily.

[rurallib]

13. Maybe a local moving company could be hired for a very short time

They probably have some strong youngsters who have dealt with such mattresses

[Beartracks]

14. Any DUers in your vicinity?

=========

[Jim G.]

15. Order A Pizza Delivery...

Tell the delivery person the other driver always helps you push your mattress back upstairs.




And why did you take it out of the box first? It might have been easer to move one step at a time in the box.

[Ocelot II]

17. The box is too big to make the first turn up the stairs - old house,

narrow stairs with a right angle turn after the first three steps. It's still in the plastic wrapper, so now it's a slippery cylinder, but it fits on the stairs.

[Jim G.]

20. Okay, That Makes Sense. Well, Good Luck...

You might want to give the pizza delivery idea some thought. It might take two or three pizzas but...


No seriously, I hope you work it out.

[3catwoman3]

16. To make things more difficult, contemporary mattresses...

…aren’t made with handles anymore, like they used to be “in the old days.” Even a twin mattress is a pain to move.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Sorry, I had to laugh at "bait and tackle". But, this should work. Might have been easier if..

you left it in the box, but so it goes. Probably the worst thing is that you can't say you learned anything because you will probably never have to do this again.

I had an apartment once where the bedrooms were built so that you could get some furniture in, but not out. Really! A sofabed went in, but there was no way to get it out. Had to leave it there.

[Ocelot II]

22. The box was too big to get up the weird, narrow old stairway.

[TreasonousBastard]

24. Saw that after I posted. Big, slippery roll should work.

[left-of-center2012]

21. I bought one of those

It is really comfortable.
But it is extremely heavy because mine is not just a mattress but has an inner spring.

Guess mine weighs about 50 lb.

And it is a twin size.

[wackadoo wabbit]

25. Craigslist, at least in my area, has people looking to do odd jobs

I've hired people off there, and it's worked out fine.

[question everything]

26. Try to post in the Minnesota group. I think that some Duers could help

[Ocelot II]

27. Got a pm from someone - I think it's covered

if my pulley method doesn't work. I think it will work, but I'm too tired tonight to deal with it and my back hurts from hauling the old mattress out. I'll attack it tomorrow, and we'll see.

[Piasladic]

28. So glad you have a plan. Be careful! -nt

[question everything]

30. Great! I was going to add that I would if I could

but several weeks shy of - gasp - 75, I barely drag myself up the stairs.

Please come back to this thread to tell of happy ending.

[Ka-Dinh Oy]

29. I have always thought that some young stapping high-school boys would do well.

at things like that.

[Ocelot II]

31. I DID IT!!!

Didn't even need the ropes and pulleys; I just got behind the MFer and pushed, one step at a time. Brute strength. Now I shall rest for awhile before finishing the installation, but at least I won't have to battle gravity so hard for that part. For one born during the Truman administration, I think I did good. Old ladies rule!

*pant, gasp*

Thanks, everyone, for your advice.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Congrats on getting it done, my dear Ocelot II!

It's always good to find out that, in a pinch, you really can do it.

[Marthe48]

37. Good for you!

I dragged a nasty big old carpet out of my basement a year or so ago. I know exactly how you feel!

[TxGuitar]

34. TBH, i had to look up block and tackle

And I'm a bit more than fourteen!

[Marthe48]

36. I hope you won the last round

and enjoying a sound sleep on your new mattress.

A few years ago, my daughter tried to move a portable a/c unit up the steps by herself and got trapped. She called and called for help, and finally the neighbors heard her and freed her.

[Ocelot II]

38. I got the mattress out of the plastic wrap

and put it on the bed frame to expand. It did expand pretty fast, so I flopped down on it and it is so comfortable! I can hardly wait to go to bed tonight, but have to go to Target in a bit and buy a new mattress pad and maybe a couple of pillows (the old ones are almost as flat as the old mattress). I can relate to being trapped on the steps; that occurred to me as well if I'd had to drag it up, but since I ended up pushing from below that wasn't a problem. I did worry about falling backwards down the stairs, knocking myself out and expiring and eventually being eaten by my cat.

[LisaL]

39. Nice.

What kind of mattress is it?

[Ocelot II]

41. Sealy, 12" memory foam.

[Marthe48]

40. lol

Gotta love the cats lol

We got memory foam once, but at the time, there were 2 of us to drag it to the bedroom, and no steps.

[question everything]

44. Congratulations! You did it!

Is the cat the same alley cat that adopted you during the winter?

[Ocelot II]

45. No, the cat who would eat my dead body is my 12-year-old resident cat, Pixie.

But I'm still feeding Mr. Cat. I think he has decided to live on/under my porch.

[jmowreader]

42. This is why a hand truck is a household necessity

[Ocelot II]

43. I have one, but it wouldn't have gotten the mattress up the stairs.

Only my enormous strength did that. Strong like bull, smart like tractor.