How to Take Apart Your La-Z-Boy Reclining Sofa for Moving

Est. Reading Time: 7 Mins

According to La-Z-Boy warehouse worker, Jason Nurnberg, when a La-Z-Boy reclining Sofa or Loveseat gets delivered to your home, the backs of your reclining furniture items come separately. 

However, thanks to our white-glove delivery service, our delivery team assembles the top and bottom halves of the furniture for you.

But what happens when it comes time to move? It might be rather difficult to move large, fully assembled furniture through pathways and doorways.

With that, at La-Z-Boy, it is highly recommended to disassemble furniture items when moving them. Our recliners, loveseats and sofas all have specific ways of being properly disassembled without damaging your furniture. In fact, the process is rather simple if you follow specific instructions. 

This article will provide step-by-step instructions for how to take apart your La-Z-Boy reclining sofa and loveseat, as well as how to put them back together again. 

Along with the helpful advice of our warehouse team, you will also gain knowledge on how to avoid damaging your furniture when taking pieces apart and putting them back together again. 

In This Article…

1. Before Anything…
2. Disconnect Your Power Furniture
3. Take Off the Top Half of Your La-Z-Boy Furniture
4. Unscrew the Seats From the Bottom Rail
5. For Stationary Furniture

Before Anything...

Before we begin, it is important to note that the steps on how to disassemble a La-Z-Boy reclining sofa and loveseat are similar. The steps below work for both sofas and loveseats, with some steps that differ. These differences will be pointed out throughout the article.

For disassembly, you will need either a flathead screwdriver or a slotted screwdriver to complete these tasks.

Two people are always better than one! Some of the steps require you to flip your furniture over so you can disassemble parts that the furniture is sitting on. Make sure you are not completing these steps alone. 

Disconnect Your Power Furniture

Before you start disassembling your furniture items, it is important to remember to disconnect all of the power furniture that you are disassembling. 

If you do not unplug your power furniture, you may be at risk of breaking the connections between your power furniture, resulting in your power furniture becoming functionless. 

Step 1 - Find the Wires

The pictures below show where the power wires will be located. Each are colour coded by function and is coloured brightly so you can distinctly see them (ex: the power connection for the adjustable headrest upgrade is coloured blue while regular power reclining wires are orange).

Step 2 - Detach the Wires

Simply unlatch the safety latch that keeps the two wires secured and detach all you can see. You can always find more by unfastening the velcroed fabric that is located at the foot of the furniture frame. 

This step is crucial for the upcoming steps. 

If you do not have power furniture and are only disassembling manual reclining or stationary furniture, you can skip this section entirely.

To learn more about Power vs. Manual Furniture, check out this article.

Step 3 - Unplug Your Power Furniture From Your Wall Outlet

If you do not have a cordless battery pack, remember to unplug your furniture from your wall outlet. 

Customers with power recliners that have Rechargeable Cordless Battery Packs do not have to worry about unplugging their power furniture from an outlet.

Step 4 (When Assembling) - Plug Everything Back In Correctly

When plugging everything back in, remember to plug every power cord into its appropriate connection. Colour-coded power cords must be plugged into the same colour as before, otherwise, your power furniture will not work properly. 

Take Off the Top Half of Your La-Z-Boy Furniture

As mentioned before, La-Z-Boy furniture can be big depending on your space. 

Some narrow doorways cannot accommodate a La-Z-Boy sofa or loveseat so easily, which is where a reason to unhook the back of the furniture would be necessary to ensure there is no difficulty when transporting the furniture. 

Step 1 - Unhook the Levers on Both Sides

Unhooking the top half of a reclining sofa or loveseat is not hard to do. There are locked levers at the back of the furniture frame that keep the back of the furniture locked onto the bottom half. This ensures that it doesn't move or fall off. 

When the locking levers are down, it means they are in a locked position. To unlock them, simply use a screwdriver to move the locked levers upward. Now the furniture is unlocked.

Step 2 - Lift the Back of the Frame From the Brackets

Along with the locking levers, the brackets are hidden between the slits of the furniture frame on each side. After this is done, you can easily lift the top half of your sofa or loveseat off from the bottom half.

Step 3 (When Assembling) - Gently Slide the Back Into the Brackets

When putting the top half of your reclining sofa or loveseat back onto the bottom half of your furniture frame, simply slide the top half back onto the bracket and lock the levers on each side to prevent unnecessary movement or injury.

Jason tells us that it is important to carefully slide the back into the brackets slowly and surely. If you are not careful with this step, you might risk tearing into the upholstery of your furniture, exposing the inner foam padding.

Unscrew the Seats from the Bottom Rail (Optional)

As an optional step, Jason says that the La-Z-Boy reclining sofa or loveseats can be further detached from the bottom of the frame by unscrewing the rail that holds everything together. 

When unscrewing the base rail from the furniture frame, the individual seats on the sofa or loveseat can be separated so you can fit into smaller spaces if necessary.

Step 1- Remove the Power Motor from the Rail

For power reclining furniture, there is an additional power motor that you need to remove before unscrewing the base rail. This power motor is located in the middle of the seat inside the furniture frame. These motors are white in appearance and stretch from the back of the frame to the front.

To remove the power motor, simply unhook the piston from the back of the furniture frame and pull it out carefully. 

Step 2- Remove the Base Bar

Once there is no power motor, the next thing is removing the bar from the furniture frame. For this step, it is highly recommended for individuals to have a power drill with them to avoid stripping the drill bits. 

All La-Z-Boy, drill bits are T-30 bolts with a 6-star shaped hole. Loveseats have 8 T-30 bolts in total along the base bar while sofas have 12 T-30 bolts. 

One must be careful when removing these drill bits. Jason tells us that even with a power drill it is easy to strip the bit if drilled carelessly. “These bits are originally air drilled into the base so that it stays in place,” he says.

Luckily, T-30 drill bits can be replaced by either calling La-Z-Boy or by purchasing new pieces at a hardware store like Home Depot.

Step 3 - Remove All Nuts and Bolts From the Base Bar

After the T-30 bolts are removed, it’ll become much easier to remove everything else from the base bar. As shown below, each La-Z-Boy motion loveseat and the sofa has gliders along the base bar, with sofas having 8 and loveseats having 6. 

The easiest way to remove all nuts is by unscrewing the gliders in a clockwise direction. This will inevitably remove the lower and upper jam nuts, as well as the lock washers from the base rail. 

Once those are all removed, you can easily remove the base rail from the furniture frame, allowing the individual seats to be separated.

Step 4 - Putting the Base Bar Back Together

Once you’re done moving your individual seats, the best way to put everything back together is by doing the aforementioned steps backward. 

This means putting the gliders on first by screwing everything back onto it–remember the proper placing of each nut and washer–and drilling back the T-30 bits. 

If you have a power recliner, hook back the power motor by putting the piston back to its original position.

For Stationary Furniture

When it comes to stationary furniture, there is unfortunately not much disassembly. The backs do not come off, due to the fact that the furniture is only one piece and does not have the ability to recline. 

In contrast, reclining furniture at La-Z-Boy has multiple different pieces that move, meaning these pieces can be connected or disconnected at any point.

The only thing you can disassemble is the wooden legs of the furniture. These small pieces can either be screwed off using your hands or drilled off by a power drill. 

Make sure to take a look at if there is a T-30 bit at the bottom of the foot so you can see what to use.

Jason says to easily keep track of where your sofa feet are, you can place them inside the sofa by unzipping the zipper located at the bottom of the furniture frame.

What's Next?

You now have the knowledge you need in order to properly disassemble and assemble your reclining La-Z-Boy furniture. These helpful steps will hopefully allow you to move your furniture more easily, without worrying about your furniture being too big.

Now that you know everything about taking apart reclining sofas and loveseats, perhaps you may be wondering about how to disassemble our recliners? 

We also have an article on that! Make sure to check out How to Disassemble Your La-Z-Boy Recliner, for more information on that subject. 

If you’re looking for NEW stylish and comfortable furniture, why stop by today? You can start shopping by visiting one of our local showrooms located in Ottawa or Kingston. You can also schedule a visit online before coming in.

Our design consultants are always eager to lend a helping hand. Take advantage of our interior design services to see how our furniture could fit in your home. 

Related Articles:

Cost to Reupholster a La-Z-Boy Recliner

How Dependable are Power Recliners?

Everything You Need to Know About Furniture Financing