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Thread: Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

  1. #1
    mightymo117 Guest

    Default Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

    Hello,

    I’ve enjoyed this forum and I’m learning a lot on what to do and not do when looking for furniture. I currently have a no name, cheap couch that has hit the magical 6 to 7 years in age and is in process of imploding in on itself. I’m trying to purchase the best quality furniture I can find within our single income budget range. If there are details already posted within this forum on what I’m fixing to ask, sorry, I’ve been searching for answers before posting this.

    I want to replace this disaster of a couch with a small leather sectional. As a newbie I was having problems understanding all the abbreviations and how they related to how I would view the item if it was in front of me. I have “LAF”, “RAF”, etc. figured out now. H & M threw a few more new ones at me. I still don’t know what the “Q” in “LAQ” is, but I think I know how the piece is measured. The nice thing about the H & M site is that they include a “wall space” dimension on most of the items I looked at. My main confusion is when there is a separate wedge piece involved (sofa, wedge, loveseat). When they give the wedge dimension, is that corner to corner? To get one wall length do you divide the wedge length in half and add it to the length of the other piece (sofa or loveseat)? Also to make sure I have this right, for a sofa/loveseat sectional. Would I add the depth of the sofa to the length of the loveseat to get the true wall length for the loveseat side?

    I’m also a little concerned that I’m going to have a hard time finding a sectional to fit my room. The H & M web site shows the Campaign Section 1283, a loveseat/sofa combination, with a wall space of 116” x 92”. My walls are 124” x 80”. The short wall is part of my paranoia of making sure I understand how the lengths are figured. I also have a floor air vent that’s in a bad spot. The corner leg of the sectional would have to clear the wall by 10”. I have attached a drawing showing the layout for that half of the room. I’m going to keep searching and trying to better understand floor space requirements, but it’s looking like I may possibly be limited to something along the line of a LAF-Sofa with a RAF-Chase Lounge. Sorry if I've rambled on too much or was confusing. Any input or suggestions is appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    mightymo117 Guest

    Default Re: Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

    I just noticed that the Bradington-Young sectionals have dimensional PDF's. I'm downloading and printing a couple off now to see if I can't answer my own questions from looking them over.

    Thanks.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
    Posts
    15,890

    Default Re: Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

    Sectionals can be very confusing. When I first started selling them, I was so intimidated by the nomenclature that I would draw each one out on the purchase order to the maker, to be SURE I didn't mess it up.

    An industry standard is to identify parts as if you were standing in front of them and looking at the piece. So "LAF Sofa" means LEFT ARM FACING (there would be a 3-seat sofa to the left of the corner with an arm on the far left and the open area butting to the wedge). RAF is the opposite.

    When you see the "Q's", that means its a 2-piece sectional where one half of the wedge is incorporated into each segment. So LAQ Sofa means Left Arm Facing, Quarter Wedge. 2-pieces units cost less to make and are technically less problematic in fitments, but getting them in the house can be more challenging.

    Its very difficult to determine the wall run when a wedge is involved as you don't know how they are measuring it. I know when they don't spec that measurement, I call and check to be sure. Last thing I want to do is have a customer expecting say a 115" wall run piece and they get a 128"!

    On "L-Shaped" sectionals you are correct, you take the run of the one piece and add the overall depth of the second one.

    Keep in mind all these are handmade, and most every maker has a 2" +/- tolerance allowance. If you ever need a sectional to be a specific length and no longer (or shorter) than the spec, be sure to tell your selling dealer so they put that on the purchase order otherwise the variance may get you.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  4. #4
    mightymo117 Guest

    Default Re: Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

    Thanks for the quick response. It definitely was helpful. I didn't know about the tolerances, so that was really good information. Would be nice of more companies had downloadable dimensional drawing available like Bradington-Young. It would make shopping so much easier. I'm sure the local retails have access to them. Unfortunately I haven't been too thrilled with our local retailers. One sold junk, the others best was Flexsteel, and one high end furniture store took the "high" a little too seriously when it came to their prices. I also hated that they took off the company tags and replaced them with their own tag. You had to ask who the maker was. A fourth higher end place had a lot of Charles Schneider furniture. I haven’t found out much about them, but their construction doesn’t seem too bad to my untrained eyes. The prices for pieces seemed okay, but their offerings in sectionals seem a little thin. Also I think you could most likely set me up better quality piece for along the same price of what they are wanting for the Charles Schneider.

    When you have a moment, could you point me to some of the better valued sectionals to look at? Once I get things narrowed down I would like to PM you for a quote. If it helps, I like the look of the H&M September Sectional – 9748. I don’t want to waste your time blindly asking for quotes on pieces that are way out of our price range.

    Thanks again for your answers in the above posting.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Alexandria VA
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    15,890

    Default Re: Understanding sectional dimensions and floor space

    I agree. I hammer away at them constantly for drawings like Bradington Young as on their website in .pdf form. Most the time I get "We'll look into that" and nothing ever comes of it. Believe it or not, my tools as a retailer are exactly the same ones you have! I do have experience on my side to decipher them, however.

    The H&M September sectional done in Document Saddle (not my favorite leather but it makes for a respectable promotional hide) in a Loveseat/Quarter/Loveseat configuration is on promo in Town and Country and the most aggressively priced one they have. Expect to pay over $ 7K for it, however.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

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