20 Flat Pack Assembly Tips from Someone Who's Built 1,000+ Pieces of Furniture

I've been assembling flat pack furniture professionally for years. Over a thousand builds. Five hundred plus five-star reviews. And in that time I've learned things that no instruction manual will ever tell you. Here are the tips that actually matter.

Before You Start

1. Open every box and check every part BEFORE you start building. The worst thing is getting halfway through a wardrobe and discovering a panel is damaged or a bag of screws is missing. IKEA will replace parts for free, but it takes days. Check first.

2. Read the instructions fully once before touching anything. I know nobody does this. But understanding where you're going prevents wrong turns that cost you 30 minutes of disassembly.

3. Clear the entire room. You need floor space. Especially for wardrobes and beds. If you're trying to build a PAX wardrobe in a room full of other furniture, you'll damage something — the wardrobe, the furniture, or yourself.

4. Lay panels on a soft surface. An old bedsheet or duvet on the floor protects the panels from scratches while you work. This is especially important for glossy finishes and dark colours that show every mark.

During Assembly

5. Don't fully tighten anything until the end. Leave all screws, bolts, and cam locks finger-tight until the whole piece is assembled. This gives you room to adjust alignment before everything is locked in.

6. Cam locks have a direction. The arrow on the cam lock needs to point toward the dowel it's locking onto. Get this wrong and the joint won't hold. This is the number one mistake I see on self-assembled furniture.

7. Use a proper Phillips #2 screwdriver. Not a multi-bit. Not a flathead that "kind of fits." A proper Phillips #2 that sits snugly in the screw head. This alone prevents 90% of stripped screws.

8. Wooden dowels need a tap, not a hammer. Tap them in gently with a rubber mallet or the heel of your hand. If you hammer them, you'll split the panel or drive them too deep.

9. Two people for anything over waist height. Wardrobes, bookcases, tall shelving — these need two people to stand up safely. A 236cm PAX wardrobe weighs 40-60kg and will go through your floor, your wall, or your face if it falls on you.

10. Build wardrobes on the floor, then stand them up. It's tempting to build them upright. Don't. Build the frame flat on the floor where you can reach everything, then tilt it up with a helper.

The Pro Tricks

11. PVA glue on every dowel joint. A tiny dab of PVA wood glue on each dowel before insertion makes the joint permanent instead of just friction-fit. Your furniture will never wobble.

12. Nail the back panel properly. Those tiny nails holding the back panel are structural — they keep the whole unit square. If the back panel is loose, the entire piece will rack and wobble. Drive every nail. Use a small hammer, not your hand.

13. Level it before you load it. Use a spirit level on top of wardrobes and bookcases. If the floor is uneven (most UK floors are), use furniture pads or thin offcuts under the feet. A level unit is a stable unit.

14. Wall-mount everything tall. This isn't optional. IKEA includes wall brackets with every wardrobe and bookcase for a reason. Children climb furniture. Earthquakes happen. Cats happen. Use the brackets.

15. Pre-drill into walls, not into furniture. The wall fixings are the only part where you need a drill. Mark the wall through the bracket holes, remove the bracket, drill the holes, insert plugs, then screw the bracket in. Never drill through the furniture panel — it splits.

Finishing Touches

16. Adjust hinges after assembly. IKEA hinges have three adjustment screws — up/down, left/right, in/out. Spend 5 minutes adjusting until doors hang perfectly and close evenly. It makes a £200 wardrobe look like a £2,000 one.

17. Peel the protective film off doors and glass. You'd be surprised how many people leave the blue or clear protective film on glossy doors and glass panels. It's meant to come off.

18. Soft-close add-ons are worth every penny. IKEA sells soft-close devices for drawers and doors. They cost £5–£10 and turn every slam into a gentle whisper. Install them.

19. Keep the Allen key. Tape it to the back of the furniture with a small piece of masking tape. When something loosens in six months, you'll know exactly where the tool is.

20. If it's not fun, don't force it. Seriously. If you're three hours in, frustrated, with screws stripped and panels scratched — stop. The cost of professional assembly is almost always less than the cost of damaged furniture plus your wasted Saturday plus the argument with your partner about whose idea this was.