Assembling Flat-Pack Furniture Properly

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Assembling Flat-Pack Furniture Properly

Preparation, the common mistakes, fixings and making it last

Flat-pack furniture is blamed for being flimsy when most of the failures come from assembly, and a few habits change the result entirely.

Before you start

Check every part against the list before assembling anything, since a missing piece discovered at step fourteen means dismantling. Lay parts out in order on a soft surface such as the flattened box.

Read the whole instruction sheet through first, and identify which side of each panel faces out.

The common mistakes

Fully tightening each fixing as you go, which stops the frame squaring up. Leave everything slightly loose, check the piece is square and flush, then tighten in stages.

Ignoring the back panel. Those thin hardboard backs are what stop a unit racking, and a cabinet assembled without one properly pinned will lean within a year.

Cam locks and dowels

Dowels go in dry unless glue is specified. Cam locks turn a half turn and tighten by drawing the bolt in, so if it spins freely the bolt is not seated.

Do not overtighten anything into particleboard, which strips easily and cannot be repaired properly.

Tools

Use the supplied key for final tightening and a screwdriver rather than a power driver, which strips fixings in seconds. A rubber mallet seats panels without marking them.

Anchor it to the wall

Tall units, bookcases and drawer units must be fixed to the wall with the bracket supplied. Toppling furniture causes serious injuries every year, usually when a drawer is opened and climbed.

Use fixings suited to the wall type rather than the ones in the box, which are frequently for masonry only.

Buying flat-pack sensibly

Check the assembled dimensions and the route into the room, and check the box weight, since a single heavy box needs two people. Read reviews mentioning assembly time and instruction quality.

Keep the instructions and spare fixings with the item, since moving house means dismantling.

Damaged parts

Inspect panels on delivery before assembling, since most retailers will replace a damaged panel and few will do so after it has been built.

Looking after it

Keep particleboard and MDF dry, since both swell irreversibly. Use mats and coasters from the first day, and wipe spills immediately rather than letting them sit on a laminate edge.

Lift rather than drag when moving anything flat-packed, since dragging racks the joints.

Disposal

Flat-pack furniture rarely survives being dismantled twice. Check whether a local reuse scheme will take it before it goes to a skip.

Living with it

Retighten fixings after a few weeks and again annually. Keep particleboard dry, since it swells irreversibly.

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