How Much Stuff To Move House? A Room-by-room Volume Guide
Knowing how much stuff you have to move house is the first real number in any move. This guide shows you how to estimate it in cubic metres, room by room, and why a proper survey still matters.
Start with volume
Why Volume, Not Bedrooms, Decides Your Move
Ask most people how big their move is and they will give you a bedroom count. "It's a three-bed semi." But bedrooms tell you very little about how much stuff you have to move house. One three-bed home has a clear loft and a bare garage. Another has a loft full of boxes, a garage full of tools and a shed full of garden kit. The second move can be far larger.
Removal firms measure moves in volume, usually in cubic metres (m³). One cubic metre is a cube one metre wide, one metre deep and one metre high. It is about 35.3 cubic feet. Add up the cubic metres in every room and you have the size of your move. To add up your own home item by item, use our volume calculator and send the list with your quote request.
We are CMR Relocation, a removal company based in Broadheath, Altrincham. Darrin, who runs the business, has surveyed homes across Trafford, South Manchester and Cheshire since 2011. This guide explains how to make your own rough removal volume estimate and why the real figure comes from a survey.
This page is not a price guide. If you want to know how volume and access shape the cost, read our separate guide on what affects removal costs in Manchester.
Room by room
Typical Moving Volumes Room By Room, In Cubic Metres
These are typical rough estimates for a quick self-check. They are general figures, not CMR Relocation survey data and not a quote. Your own rooms may be well above or below them.
| Room or space | Lightly furnished (rough m³) | Well furnished (rough m³) | What pushes it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | 4 to 6 | 7 to 10 | Large sofas, cabinets, bookcases, a piano |
| Dining room | 2 to 3 | 4 to 6 | Extending tables, dressers, display cabinets |
| Kitchen | 2 to 4 | 5 to 7 | American fridge-freezer, full cupboards, small appliances |
| Main bedroom | 4 to 6 | 7 to 9 | King-size bed, freestanding wardrobes, chests of drawers |
| Second bedroom | 3 to 4 | 5 to 6 | Double bed, desk, stored items under the bed |
| Small bedroom or study | 1.5 to 3 | 3 to 5 | Desk, office chair, shelves of books and files |
| Bathroom and airing cupboard | 0.5 to 1 | 1 to 2 | Towels, linen, laundry baskets, cabinets |
| Loft | 1 to 3 | 5 to 12 | Years of boxes, suitcases, cases of decorations |
| Garage | 2 to 4 | 6 to 12 | Tools, bikes, freezers, shelving, paint and sports kit |
| Shed and garden | 1 to 2 | 3 to 6 | Mowers, garden furniture, pots, barbecues |
To use the table, go through your home and pick the column that fits each room best. Add the figures up. Then add a little extra, because almost everyone underestimates. If your total is a range, keep both ends. A range is honest. A single number from a quick self-count rarely is.
As a worked sense check, a lightly furnished three-bed house with no loft, no garage and a tidy shed may land somewhere in the 20s. The same house, full, with a busy loft and garage, can easily pass 50 cubic metres. That gap is the reason two quotes for "a three-bed house" can look so different.
The big items
The Items That Take Up More Room Than People Expect
A few items do more to swell a move than all the small boxes put together. When you make your list, look for these first.
- Sofas and corner units. A large corner sofa can take up as much room on the van as a whole bedroom of boxes.
- Wardrobes. Freestanding wardrobes are tall and deep. Some come apart, which helps, but the parts still take space.
- Fridge-freezers and washing machines. They are boxy and cannot be stacked on top of much.
- Dining tables and chairs. Chairs do not stack well when they are wrapped.
- Pianos. A baby grand can weigh about 225 to 545 KG and needs its own planned space. Our piano removals service sends at least three people with floor protection.
- Garden and gym kit. Exercise bikes, rowing machines, trampolines and garden sets are awkward shapes with a lot of air around them.
Awkward shapes matter as much as size. A crew can pack square boxes tight from floor to roof. A sofa or a bike leaves gaps that nothing else fits into. That is why a surveyor looks at shape as well as size.
Hidden spaces
Garages, Lofts And Sheds: The Hidden Part Of A Move
The rooms you live in are easy to picture. The spaces you store things in are not.
Lofts, garages and sheds are where moves grow. People forget what is up the ladder or behind the car. On the day, the crew opens the loft hatch and finds years of boxes, cases and old toys. That is the most common reason a move runs long.
Before you add up your own figures, go and look. Climb into the loft with a torch. Open the garage door and walk to the back. Count the bikes, the tools and the boxes. Look under the stairs, in the airing cupboard and on top of wardrobes too.
- Loft: boxes, suitcases, cases of decorations, baby kit, old paperwork
- Garage: tools, bikes, chest freezer, paint, shelving units, car parts
- Shed: mower, strimmer, garden furniture, pots, barbecue, gas bottles
- Cupboards: vacuum cleaners, ironing boards, coats, shoes, sports bags
Some things in a shed or garage should not travel at all, such as open paint tins, fuel and gas bottles. Our room-by-room packing advice covers what a removal firm cannot carry and how to pack the rest.
Why it matters
How Your Moving Volume Shapes Storage, Packing And Time
Your total volume feeds into almost every part of the plan.
| Part of the move | How volume affects it |
|---|---|
| Crew and vehicles | More cubic metres means more people, more loads or a larger vehicle |
| Time on the day | Each extra cubic metre has to be wrapped, carried, loaded and unloaded |
| Packing materials | The number of boxes, crates, paper and wrap rises with the volume |
| Packing time | A bigger home may need a packing day before moving day |
| Storage | The volume decides how much container space you need |
| Access | Long carries, stairs and narrow paths make each cubic metre slower to move |
Volume And Storage
If there is a gap between leaving one home and moving into the next, your goods may need storage. Storage space is planned in the same cubic metres as the move. Our containerised storage in Broadheath keeps your things packed in sealed containers until you need them. There is no minimum term, and access is by arrangement.
Volume And Packing
A larger volume means more boxes and more hours of packing. Plastic crates can help on a busy move. Our crate hire delivers lidded crates at least ten days before the move. If you would rather not pack at all, our full packing service can pack one room or the whole house.
The survey
Why A Survey Beats Any Moving Volume Calculator
A calculator counts what you remember. A surveyor counts what is really there.
- 1
Every room is seen
The surveyor walks through each room, cupboard and outbuilding, in person or on a video call.
- 2
Items are listed
Large pieces are noted one by one, and boxed items are judged room by room.
- 3
Access is checked
Stairs, doorways, parking and the distance to the van all change how long the move takes.
- 4
A plan is agreed
You get a quote based on your real volume, with the crew, time and materials it needs.
A survey also tells you what is going and what is staying. If you plan to leave the garden furniture or sell the spare bed, tell the surveyor. It changes the volume and the plan. Our guide on how to choose a removal company you can trust explains the difference between a home visit, a video survey and a quote by phone.
Our team would always rather see the loft and the garage than guess. It is the best way to avoid a move that runs over, or a quote that changes on the day.
Less to move
Cutting Your Moving Volume Before Moving Day
The best cubic metre to move is the one you leave behind. Start sorting as soon as you know you are moving. Work from the hidden spaces outward: loft, garage, shed, then the rooms you live in.
- Measure the new home, so you know which furniture will fit
- Sell or give away anything you have not used in a year
- Recycle old paperwork, broken toys and worn-out garden kit
- Run down food, cleaning products and garden chemicals
- Tell your surveyor what you plan to get rid of before the survey
For help on where unwanted things can go, read our guide to decluttering before a move in Greater Manchester. If you are moving somewhere smaller, our guide to downsizing your home room by room helps you decide what to keep.
Your next step
Your Volume Checklist Before You Ask For A Quote
- Walk every room, cupboard, loft, garage and shed
- Add up a rough total in cubic metres using the table above
- List the large and awkward items, including any piano
- Note what will be sold, given away or left behind
- Check access at both homes: stairs, parking, long paths
- Decide if you need storage between homes
Then book a survey. Our house removals service covers South Manchester, Trafford and Cheshire, from the survey to every box in the right room. For the wider plan, use our week-by-week moving house checklist. You can read what customers say about our crew on Trustpilot.
Call Darrin or the team on 0161 478 3639, or email Darrin. CMR Relocation holds goods vehicle operator licence OC1109721.
Want a real figure, not a guess? Ask for a survey and we will send a free quote based on your own home.
Get a free quoteFAQs
Estimating Moving Volume: Your Questions Answered
Still unsure about something in this guide? Darrin is happy to talk it through.
How many cubic metres is a three-bed house?
There is no single answer. As a rough guide, a lightly furnished three-bed house with no loft or garage might be in the region of 25 to 35 cubic metres, and a full family home with a busy loft and garage can be well above that. Add up your own rooms with the table on this page, then book a survey for a real figure.
Why do removal firms use cubic metres?
Because volume, not bedrooms, decides how much space your things take on the vehicle and in storage. Cubic metres let the surveyor add up every room, the loft and the garage into one number. That number then guides the crew size, the time, the packing materials and any storage you need.
How do I convert cubic feet to cubic metres?
One cubic metre is about 35.3 cubic feet. To turn cubic feet into cubic metres, divide by 35.3. So 700 cubic feet is a little under 20 cubic metres. Many van hire and online calculators use cubic feet, so this helps you compare them.
Is an online moving volume calculator accurate?
It is a useful first guess, but it relies on you remembering every item. Most people forget the loft, the shed, the garage and the cupboard under the stairs. A surveyor sees every space, so a survey is far more reliable than any calculator.
Can I do a video survey instead of a home visit?
Often, yes. A video call lets the surveyor walk round with you and see each room, cupboard and outbuilding. For larger homes, homes with lots of stored items or tricky access, a visit in person is usually better.
How can I cut the volume before I move?
Start with the loft, the garage and the shed, because they hide the most. Sell, give away or recycle what you will not use in the new home. Every cubic metre you remove is space you do not need to pack, carry or store.
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