diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 7a23dc7345..1a8d6739d8 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -149,6 +149,21 @@ code stops using it. Removing a schema object is therefore a two-step process ac
 1. **Release 1:** Stop using the object in the code, but leave it in the schema. No drop migration yet.
 2. **Release 2:** Drop the object in a migration, now that no running code (current or N-1) references it.
 
+**"Stop using" an ORM column means stopping both reads _and_ writes.** SQLAlchemy eagerly includes every
+mapped column in its default `SELECT`, and eagerly emits any column that has a Python-side `default=` in every
+`INSERT`. So leaving a column mapped — even when no application code reads or assigns it — does **not** stop
+using it, and a later drop will break the still-running previous release. To fully stop using a column in
+release 1, before dropping it in release 2:
+
+- **Reads:** mark the column `deferred()` so it is excluded from the default `SELECT`.
+- **Writes:** remove any Python-side `default=`. If the column is `NOT NULL`, removing the Python default
+  alone makes inserts fail the not-null constraint (SQLAlchemy sends no value and the database has none), so
+  first move the default into the database with a `server_default`. A **nullable** column with no default
+  is already omitted from `INSERT`s, so it needs no write-side change.
+
+Both the read-side (`deferred`) and write-side (`server_default`) changes are backwards-compatible, so they
+belong together in **release 1**; the drop is **release 2**.
+
 The same constraint applies in reverse when adding required schema: a new non-nullable column must first be
 added as nullable, or with a **server default** so the database fills it in for rows written by N-1 code (which
 does not yet know about the column). Never write a single migration that both adds a not-yet-used column as
diff --git a/alembic/versions/20260715_dbeb42224c1b_add_server_default_to_lanes_size.py b/alembic/versions/20260715_dbeb42224c1b_add_server_default_to_lanes_size.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2efbb323b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/alembic/versions/20260715_dbeb42224c1b_add_server_default_to_lanes_size.py
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+"""Add server_default to lanes.size
+
+Revision ID: dbeb42224c1b
+Revises: a6c85605404c
+Create Date: 2026-07-15 13:42:28.828886+00:00
+
+"""
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision = "dbeb42224c1b"
+down_revision = "a6c85605404c"
+branch_labels = None
+depends_on = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    # ``lanes.size`` is deprecated and no longer read or written by the current
+    # code, but it is NOT NULL with no database default. Moving the default into
+    # the database lets the ORM omit the column from INSERTs (it previously
+    # supplied a Python-side ``default=0``), so a follow-up release can drop the
+    # column without breaking the still-running previous release's inserts.
+    op.alter_column("lanes", "size", server_default=sa.text("0"))
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    op.alter_column("lanes", "size", server_default=None)
diff --git a/src/palace/manager/sqlalchemy/model/lane.py b/src/palace/manager/sqlalchemy/model/lane.py
index cab6284e25..b090a6c431 100644
--- a/src/palace/manager/sqlalchemy/model/lane.py
+++ b/src/palace/manager/sqlalchemy/model/lane.py
@@ -13,11 +13,13 @@
     Unicode,
     UniqueConstraint,
     or_,
+    text,
 )
 from sqlalchemy.dialects.postgresql import ARRAY, INT4RANGE, JSON
 from sqlalchemy.ext.associationproxy import association_proxy
 from sqlalchemy.orm import (
     Mapped,
+    deferred,
     relationship,
 )
 from sqlalchemy.orm.session import Session
@@ -115,8 +117,9 @@ class Lane(Base, DatabaseBackedWorkList, HierarchyWorkList):
     # The code that maintained them (update_size and the lane-size Celery tasks)
     # has been removed; the columns remain mapped only so the model continues to
     # match the database schema, and will be dropped in a follow-up migration.
-    size: Mapped[int] = Column(Integer, nullable=False, default=0)
-    size_by_entrypoint = Column(JSON, nullable=True)
+    # TODO: Drop these next release when it is safe to do so.
+    size = deferred(Column(Integer, nullable=False, server_default=text("0")))
+    size_by_entrypoint = deferred(Column(JSON, nullable=True))
 
     # A lane may have one parent lane and many sublanes.
     sublanes: Mapped[list[Lane]] = relationship(