How to assemble furniture? Types of furniture, necessary materials and tools, step-by-step instructions and expert advice

2024 Author: Aaron Duncan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 03:30

When buying furniture in a store, you need to decide in advance who will assemble it and how. There can be two options - hire a specialist or do everything yourself. Both cases have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, for those who do not have any skills in this area, the process can become excruciating. Ordering assembly from a specialist will require additional costs, as it is not included in the price of furniture. To save money, many stop at the first option. As a result, they have a question about how to assemble furniture with their own hands. You will find a detailed answer with all the recommendations and nuances in our article.

General recommendations

So, you have decided to assemble the furniture yourself. In order for the process to go smoothly and give you pleasure, you must follow some rules. In this job preparation is as important asthe process itself.

1. Get all the necessary tools ready. You will find out which of them specifically will be needed below. When delivering the product, you must make sure that there is an instruction in the box. It will greatly facilitate the process of assembling furniture.
2. You can do this job without problems if you have all the details. Therefore, carefully check the package. Make sure that there is no damage or marriage anywhere. This should be done in the presence of a delivery service worker.
3. If the package is heavily soiled or damaged, you should carefully inspect the items inside.
4. The next important point is the availability of all necessary fasteners and accessories. The fact is that in some cases these parts are not included in the kit, but must be additionally transferred to you by a delivery service worker. Control this moment.
5. How to assemble furniture, the instructions should be painted, and some even drawn. You should plan your next steps step by step. In order not to waste time looking for the right element, lay them all out in the order in which the assembly should be done.

Required tools

Telling how to assemble furniture, it is necessary to explain what kind of tools will be required for this. So, you will need the following:

1. Roulette.
2. A screwdriver or a regular screwdriver.
3. Hammer.
4. Hex keys.
5. A set of wrenches in different sizes.

These tools will be quiteenough to assemble a simple product. If the design has a more complex system, for example, you need to assemble transforming furniture, then additional elements will be needed. This list includes:

1. Punch.
2. Jigsaw.
3. Wiring tester.
4. Building level.
5. Drill with nozzle for glass and ceramics.
6. Furniture stapler.

Mount selection

In order for the furniture assembled by the owner himself to serve for a long time, it is necessary to choose the right fasteners. They come in the following types: corner, cruciform, end and elements for fixing hanging furniture.

Corner and cross joints are used to securely connect load-bearing furniture structures. There are rigidly fixed, collapsible, as well as visible and hidden elements.

Hidden corner and cross joints give the furniture an attractive appearance. For them, as a rule, special holes are prepared in advance. These parts can be presented in different ways:

1. Self-tapping screws. Used for quick assembly, most often come with chipboard.
2. Furniture screw M6x60 M6x100 with nut. For a strong connection. The nut is installed in a special hole.
3. Furniture screw M6x60 or M6x100 with a nut installed in the hole. The strongest type of fixation.
4. Eccentric mount. Used for easy assembly and disassembly of furniture.

Visible connections

Visible mounts are easier to install and require no preparation. As fastening, you can use metal and plastic corners. Plastic elements are cheap, suitable for securing light shelves designed for a small load. Metal parts are used for strength.

Plastic corners are fixed at the moment of joining the panels. In the process, it is recommended to use wood screws with a diameter of 4 mm and a building level.

Other varieties

End connections are required for fastening several parts located in the same plane. For example, they can be used to make a table.

Hanging furniture fixtures are mainly used in the assembly of kitchen and bathroom furniture. When considering how to assemble kitchen furniture, be sure to take care of the presence of such a connector.

Unpacking and site preparation

Before starting the assembly process, you need to prepare a place. How to do it?

1. Determine how much space you need. Remove from there everything that can interfere or be damaged by accidental contact with bulky furniture parts. When you assemble wall furniture, the details of cabinets, pencil cases, chests of drawers and other items included in the kit must be connected in a lying position.
2. Unpack the furniture. No need to tear the package, just carefully cut it along the tape. If the product does not complywhat you ordered or is damaged in transit, you can issue a refund. When cutting tape with a knife, be extremely careful not to damage furniture parts.
3. If items of the product are placed in several packages, arrange them separately. This will help avoid confusion and waste time.
4. Don't know how to assemble furniture? When unpacking, try to find the assembly instructions first. Do not throw away the boxes until the furniture is fully assembled. Find all the elements indicated in the manual, arrange them in the order in which the process should be carried out. Most often, each part has a number or symbol. Put all small parts (accessories, fasteners, screws, etc.) in a separate box so as not to lose or step on them.

Assembly nuances

So that the process does not turn into chaos, the following should be observed:

1. Thinking about how to assemble furniture? The answer is simple - everything should be done sequentially, as indicated in the manual. This will avoid confusion and mistakes. Each type of fastener has its own designation and a special hole in the piece of furniture. The name and purpose of the fasteners should be written in the instructions. It is important not to confuse them with each other. Most often, the assembly process begins with the connection of the side elements with the cover and the bottom of the case.
2. If the furniture involves the presence of several sets, for example, a kitchen and a living room, thenunpack and assemble each section separately. Otherwise, there will be a lot of confusion. Professionals recommend that you first assemble the lower part of the headset and only then move on to the upper parts.
3. Cover the floor with cloth or cardboard from furniture packaging. This is necessary so as not to damage the flooring and parts of the product.
4. When looking for an answer to the question of how to assemble furniture, it should be borne in mind that this process will take an inexperienced person much more time than a professional. Therefore, you should be prepared to spend not only a fair amount of nerves, but also time. It is possible that you will have to swap parts, sequence and correct your own shortcomings several times.
5. Try not to confuse the details. They may look almost the same, but differ in one extra hole or length. When assembled, they will have different attachment points.
6. A person who wants to assemble furniture himself should be able to distinguish between the front and back sides of the end. In fact, everything is simple here - the edge is always processed on the front part, but not on the back. It is also very easy to confuse the bottom of the side elements and the top. Holes are usually cut on the underside for attaching legs or a plinth.
7. On factory furniture, all the holes are made where they should be. Exceptions are in extremely rare cases. If something doesn’t work out for you, then most likely it was you who made the mistake. No need to break fittings and parts in an attempt to insert them where they do not fit. Don't rush to drill new onesholes that (in your opinion) the manufacturer forgot to make. Read the assembly instructions again. Assemble the furniture on the second try, you may be able to do it without any problems.

Installing the rear wall

Before installing the rear wall, check the diagonal with a tape measure. This is necessary in order to eliminate the possibility of product distortion. Checking is carried out as follows:

1. Lay the cabinet face down on the floor.
2. Measure the opposite diagonals of the locker on the back wall. They should all be the same length.

Following these steps will ensure that the sides are even, the corners of which should be 90 degrees.

Back wall fixation

After checking the diagonals, it is necessary to fix the back wall. Most often it is made of fiberboard material, so fastening can be done in one of three ways:

1. Nails.
2. Screeds and confirmants.
3. Furniture stapler.

If the choice fell on the last option, then it is recommended to take hardened staples for the stapler, at least 15 mm thick.

Sometimes a groove is provided for the back wall. In this case, there is no need to set the diagonal and mount.

When tightening self-tapping screws, try to do it as smoothly and tightly as possible. If confirmants are used, they do not need to be pressed in deeply, otherwise it will not be possible to put plugs on them.

When fixing, do not overtighten the fasteners. The final tightening is bestcarry out when the body of the product is finally assembled. Make sure that there are no gaps in the joints.

Installation of additional items

Fragile parts (glasses, mirrors) should be installed at the very last moment. Otherwise, you risk ruining them. Hanging, adjusting facades and doors should be carried out only after the product has been installed in a permanent place. In addition, before this you need to set the level. In high-quality kits, the level is adjusted by rotating the adjustable height of the legs. If this is not possible, then you can put homemade or purchased records under the product.

Conclusion

Remember, in this case, haste can cost you dearly. You'll lose a lot of time fixing bugs, and you'll also spend extra money on buying new parts and accessories. Therefore, it is recommended to follow the rules and steps prescribed in the instructions.

However, if you were fond of constructor as a child, then you will definitely succeed!