DIY furniture: working with chipboard at home (11 photos). Furniture assembly: features of the use of modern materials and selection of tools (105 photos) Rules for assembling cabinet furniture
Sometimes assembling furniture yourself can be a real challenge. Depending on the design, the same closet or chest of drawers can test the strength of your nerves. Usually, various problems arise during the first assembly, so we’ll talk about the intricacies and features of the process.
Basic Rules
First of all, in order to assemble any piece of furniture well, it must be of high quality. Therefore, when accepting delivery, first check the contents of your order. Most often, a single piece of furniture, or a whole set, should be accompanied by a list of parts, which will be the first part of your instructions for correct assembly furniture.
Before this, you should have accurately measured the space that the furniture you bought will occupy, so that in the end it would not turn out that the conventional wardrobe simply does not fit in the right place.
Moreover, you need to take into account that the same cabinet must also be assembled indoors, and the latter must be spacious enough to comfortably carry out assembly and subsequent movements. Carpets should be removed and the floor itself should be covered with something like a blanket to protect the surface from damage.
Tool
No less important is the tool that is needed to assemble furniture - sometimes a simple screwdriver may be enough for you, in other cases you may need a whole arsenal, it depends more on the size of the furniture and the complexity of the design.
Beginner difficulty level
For simple objects furniture you will need a simple tape measure, a hammer, several screwdrivers (can be replaced with a screwdriver), a drill (situational), a hammer and several wrenches. All this is enough for assembly entry levels difficulties.
Complex designs
This category includes large pieces of furniture with big amount parts, including moving ones, or furniture complex shape. Photos of assembling furniture with your own hands, of this type, can often be found in magazines and catalogs.
For it, in addition to the items mentioned above, you may need: a level, a hammer drill with various drills, a furniture stapler, and the like.
Dresser
Let's look at a diagram of assembling furniture with your own hands using the example of an ordinary chest of drawers. The item is very useful, and in any living room - it’s hard to imagine a bedroom or children’s room without it.
Previously, its role was played by simple chests. The disadvantage of such a piece of furniture was very simple design- at its core, it was a box that was closed with a lid, which is very inconvenient for storing a large amount of clothing, despite its obvious spaciousness.
Its modern analogue, a chest of drawers, is well suited not only for outerwear, but also for shoes, cosmetics and other things that the owner may need.
Blueprints
If speak about step by step assembly furniture with your own hands, you should always start with drawings. First you need to decide on the place where the chest of drawers will stand - depending on this, it can be made higher or wider.
As for the assembly process itself, here the drawings, namely graphic and text descriptions, will help you assemble the furniture not only correctly, but also quickly - usually their role is played by simple assembly instructions, which good shops complete almost any piece of furniture.
For example, IKEA completes all its designs with all necessary documentation, consumables in the form of self-tapping screws, bolts and the like.
If the kit contains fastenings that require special tool(hexagon) - this is also included in the delivery kit.
back side
But not everyone buys furniture from IKEA and Hoff, and it often turns out that the furniture you bought does not include any fasteners, and sometimes even drawings. In this case, you will need a photo, looking at which you bought all this, nails, screws, a screwdriver, bolts different sizes and a lot of patience.
Note! 
Assembly
If you give advice on assembling furniture to a beginner, it is best to start from the bottom or back wall. They are usually solid and solid, so other parts are attached to them.
Most often the chest of drawers has drawers, the guides of which will be more convenient to install while the walls are not fixed and do not hinder movement. Next you need to assemble the drawers themselves and install the fittings.
If you need to assemble something like a large wardrobe, then you need to start by installing the frame - the bottom, the back wall, if there is one, the side walls and the top. Only after this can you begin installing the internal parts.
In case of small lockers and it will be more convenient to assemble the racks in the free space on the floor or big table, and then simply move it to the desired location.
Note! 
You should assemble it carefully, but without fear - there is no need to rush, usually the manufacturer thinks through the assembly process for you, the main thing is to understand how he presents it.
Photos of DIY furniture assembly
Note! 
Assembling and installing furniture yourself is not as difficult as it might seem. So, you yourself, or in consultation with a specialist, drew a sketch of the future kitchen (Fig. 1). The furniture shop, according to your drawings, cut and sawed the laminated chipboard material, glued it with an edge and brought it packaged to your home. You have refused the services of professional assemblers, and you are faced with the task of assembling cabinet furniture.
Figure 1. Drawing of a kitchen unit.
A reputable furniture company will make the necessary holes, cutouts, notches in the details of your kitchen, provide fittings and hardware, sort the material into separate packages and include assembly instructions. If you are dealing with a handicraft factory, then the furniture will be delivered to you folded in disarray. Before you start assembling it, you will have to, guided by your drawings, sort the material into the components of the set.
Assembly of cabinet furniture
So, cabinet furniture packed in paper is in your home. It is necessary to check the integrity of the packaging. Any minor impact during transportation is detrimental to the appearance of the chipboard. After opening the package, check the parts included. A kitchen work table, or cabinet table, for example, consists of the following parts:
Figure 2. Scheme of fastening the bottom and walls of the cabinet.
- side wall – 2 pcs.;
- top bar – 2 pcs.;
- facade – 1 or 2 pcs.;
- shelf – 1-3 pcs.;
- table top;
- back wall made of fiberboard;
- accessories.
Before you start assembling cabinet furniture, you need to prepare your tools. You will need:
- hammer;
- roulette;
- screwdriver;
- 4 mm hex key.
Return to contents
Work order
The order of work when assembling the table-cabinet is as follows:
We fasten the bottom and side walls with euroscrews (confirmats), using a screwdriver, or manually with a hex wrench (Fig. 2).
Usually furniture edge Chipboard is not glued to the rear ends. This must be taken into account during assembly in order to connect the parts correctly. A Euroscrew is a screw with a blunt end and a countersunk head with a hex key. To connect laminated chipboards no wider than 60 cm, two euroscrews are sufficient, located at a distance of about 10 cm from the edges of the boards. The Euroscrew should be tightened all the way, until its head is hidden, but do not overtighten, so as not to crack the chipboard. When assembling furniture, with a standard chipboard thickness of 16 mm, Euroscrews 6.4 * 50 mm are usually used. This is the most convenient type of fastening chipboard. Only frequent moves with disassembling and assembling furniture wear out the connecting holes in the chipboard, and one day you will have to drill new ones.
Figure 3. Loop fastening diagram.
If the material supplier did not take care of the holes for the euro screws, then you will have to make them yourself, in both parts made of chipboard at once, with a 5 mm drill, to a depth of 53-54 mm, with a standard euro screw 6.4 * 50 mm. At the top chipboard hole expand to 7 mm. And to hide the head of the euroscrew, use a 10 mm drill to widen this hole by 2 mm in depth. There are special, confirmed drills that make the necessary holes in one pass. Plastic plugs that match the color of the furniture are inserted onto euroscrews and other visible hardware to hide them. In addition to Euroscrews, eccentric ties and furniture corners are used to connect chipboard. For additional strength of the connection, dowels are used - wooden dowels.
- In the same way we fasten the top strips and side walls.
- We place the resulting structure on the floor with its back side up and measure the diagonals with a tape measure. They must be the same length.
- We place the back wall on top and nail it with furniture nails in increments of 7-8 cm around the perimeter to the ends of the chipboard.
The modern way of attaching the back wall is with a stapler. But not everyone may have this tool available. And there is no point in spending money on it if you are not also going to start production upholstered furniture. Previously, the back walls were fastened with screws, which unnecessarily delayed the assembly of furniture.
- We insert shelf holders into the side walls, and fasten the legs to the bottom with self-tapping screws.
- We take on the facades or doors. There should already be cutouts made in them, into which we insert the hinges and fasten them with 3.5*16 mm wood screws (Fig. 3). We attach handles to the front of the facades.
- We attach the facades to already assembled structure desktop. But it’s better to do this last, after installing the table in place. Use the adjusting screws on the hinges to align the doors.
- We place the shelves on shelf holders. The table assembly is complete. The countertop is installed later.
We open the next package with table parts, with drawers. Its kit includes:
Figure 4. Order of fastening the guides.
- side walls;
- top bars;
- back wall;
- drawer parts;
- accessories.
The drawer guides should first be secured to the side walls (Fig. 4). We assemble the table body with drawers according to a well-known scheme: we connect the bottom, side walls and top slats with Euroscrews, then we nail the back wall. We assemble the drawers: we connect three walls with euroscrews, insert the bottom, it is usually made of fiberboard, into the grooves, attach the fourth wall, the facade, guides, and handle. Assembled boxes We put it on the guides of the side walls. The table with drawers is ready. The rest of the tables, cabinets, sink, and wall cabinets are assembled using the same pattern. If you managed to assemble the kitchen furniture, then an equally important task awaits you - its installation.
Return to contents
Installation of kitchen furniture
Kitchen furniture is installed according to the sketch drawn at the preparatory stage. There might be, for example, this option: in the right corner of the kitchen there is a sink, then there is a table-cabinet, gas stove, table with drawers. Before installation kitchen furniture, guided by the same sketch, it is necessary to prepare a wall - the space between floor and wall furniture, which is called an apron, which will be subject to the greatest contamination during the cooking process. This strip is designed tiles, wall panels or glass. The last option is the most modern and has wide design possibilities.
Floor components are placed close to each other. If necessary, cutouts are made in them for electrical wiring, water and sewer pipes. Floor furniture is fastened together with intersectional ties or self-tapping screws 30 mm long.
Figure 5. After installation wall cabinets they need to be fastened with special ties.
A level is used to check their verticality and horizontality. If necessary for them correct position adjust the legs. Using a tape measure, check the distance from the wall to the facade; it should be the same along the entire length of the set. The standard depth of floor-mounted kitchen furniture including the countertop is 55 cm.
If furniture with built-in appliances is located along one wall, then it is better to order one tabletop, common to all floor sections of the set. In this case, openings for the electric stove and sink are cut out in the countertop using a jigsaw. Before installing the sink and stove, the parts of the countertop in contact with them are coated with sealant. The gap between the table top and the apron is subsequently covered with a plinth. If kitchen set corner, then the installation of cabinets, both floor-mounted and wall-mounted, starts from the corner.
Kitchens and wardrobes are almost the easiest types of furniture to assemble for novice craftsmen (not counting only bedside tables and shelves). In general, furniture for the living room and bedroom usually requires a more serious approach, the use non-standard materials, glass. This article will help beginners understand how to make furniture themselves.
Wood in its pure form is practically no longer used in cabinet furniture; solid wood is considered an expensive luxury material.
Now wood is being replaced with a cheaper material - laminated chipboard (abbreviated laminated chipboard). Most often, these boards have a thickness of 16 mm; chipboards with a thickness of 10 and 22 mm can also be found on sale. 10 mm sheets are usually used to fill wardrobe doors, and 22 mm - for bookcases and shelves where high bending strength is required. Also, sometimes the structure is decorated with elements made from 22 mm laminated chipboard.
Almost all furniture parts are made from 16 mm laminated chipboard (except for doors and facades).
Laminated chipboard
Laminated chipboard is cut on special machines along guides. Of course, you can saw it off at home using a jigsaw, but then there will be chips and wavy irregularities on the edges. It is almost impossible to saw off chipboard evenly with a jigsaw at home.
Edges
The most vulnerable spot Laminated chipboard - cut it down. It is the easiest way for moisture to penetrate inside, so if the protection is poor, the ends may soon swell. Therefore, the ends are closed using edges; there are several types of them.
- Melamine edge is the cheapest, but of poor quality. You can stick it on at home using an iron.
- PVC edge 0.4 and 2 mm – best option. It can only be glued on a special machine, so it is done immediately when ordering a cut. To save money, 0.4 mm is glued to the invisible ends, and 2 mm to the external ones, which will experience constant loads and friction.
PVC edge 2 mm - ABS edge is similar to PVC, but made from environmentally friendly material.
- Mortise T-shaped profile - inserted into a groove previously made with a milling cutter. Rarely used.
- Overhead U-profile - can be easily glued to liquid nails at home. The main disadvantage is that the edges will protrude a few millimeters, so dirt will get stuck under it. On the other hand, this drawback allows you to hide a poor-quality cut.
Facades
Kitchen fronts and furniture doors are usually made of more elegant material. But if you are making a drawer door inside a wardrobe that no one will see, you can use regular 16 mm chipboard with PVC edging 2 mm. But the cabinets in the kitchen should look more presentable.
The façade is separate furniture element. It is usually made to order. If the dimensions of the facades are non-standard, their production may take several months.
By standard sizes you can easily navigate: usually the facades are made 2 mm smaller than the cabinet itself on each side. Therefore, for a standard 600 mm cabinet, a 596 mm façade is used.
The height of the kitchen cabinet also depends on the facade and ranges from 715 to 725 mm for floor cabinets (without legs) and low wall cabinets, and 915-925 mm for high wall cabinets.
Types of facades
Since facades serve mainly a decorative function, the choice is huge; they differ in appearance and material.
- Facades made of laminated MDF. This is a pressed material, more moisture-resistant and dense compared to chipboard. Most often, the surface is laminated to look like wood. But no matter how strong the film is, over time it can come off at the edges and crack. The main advantage of this material is its low price and fast production.
MDF facades - In addition to standard blank facades, there are also options with figured cutouts for stained glass. The glass is attached to the cover on the reverse side.
- Softforming - such facades are similar to ordinary MDF, but have a characteristic two-color layout with relief on both sides. They can only be used in dry rooms, bedrooms or living rooms.
- Postforming – even higher quality and durable products. Thin plastic at the edges is wrapped 90° or 180°, thereby eliminating unnecessary seams at the corners. Chipboard or MDF boards are used as the base. Typically, postforming is done in a strict form, without unnecessary pretentious decorative elements.
- Plastic facades are of high quality, but expensive. They consist of a base (chipboard/MDF) lined on both sides with thick plastic. They always have a strict design and a flat surface, glossy or matte. The edges of the slab are sometimes protected with ABS edges or aluminum profiles. IN Lately Super glossy acrylic plastic is especially popular.
Plastic facades in aluminum profile - Wood and veneer facades - suitable for amateurs natural materials, but they are expensive. In addition, there are long debates about environmental friendliness: there is an opinion that there is so much varnish and impregnation that there is only one name left for the tree.
- Painted facades to resemble enamel. Have significant drawback– the surface is vulnerable to scratches and deformations, and has low chemical resistance. They used to be popular due to their rich color, but with the advent of glossy acrylic plastic, everything changed.
- Aluminum facades with glass are suitable for a high-tech kitchen. They look modern, but are difficult to manufacture and install. Non-standard fittings are used for their fastening.
Back walls and bottoms of drawers
The back wall and bottom of the drawers are most often made of HDF. Smooth side The sheet should face the inside of the cabinet/drawer. The thickness of the sheets is 3-5 mm, the color is selected to match the chipboard.
Some people prefer to attach HDF to a furniture stapler, but this cannot be done. Over time, the brackets will become loose and the structure may warp. It’s not worth talking about the bottom of the drawers - a stapler is clearly not suitable for fastening.
Furniture LDVP Sometimes it is inserted into a groove prepared with a milling cutter, but all dimensions must match down to the millimeter.
Most often, HDF is attached to nails or self-tapping screws. It is better to use self-tapping screws with a press washer, but before screwing them in, you must drill a hole, otherwise the product may crack.
In rare cases, for example, to create a “stiffening rib” in a tall cabinet or in drawers with high loads, Fiberboard is replaced with chipboard. These materials can also be combined.
Tabletops
Table top – horizontal working surface, on which you can cook, eat, read, write, etc.
Most office and desks, as well as in cheap dining rooms, the tabletop is made of the same laminated chipboard as the main parts. The thickness is 16 or 22 mm, it is necessary to frame it with a 2 mm PVC edge.
Special countertops are used for the kitchen. They are a sheet of chipboard 28-38 mm thick, which is covered on top with durable plastic using postforming technology. Moisture-resistant countertops have green color on the cut, and ordinary chipboard is gray. Correct kitchen countertop must have a drip tray that will prevent the flowing liquid from getting onto the facades and drawers.
The weak point of such countertops is the cut edge. They are usually covered with a simple melamine edge, so they become unusable within the first year of use. To avoid this, it is recommended to protect the edges with special aluminum profiles ( end strip), and to protect against moisture, pre-coat the cut with silicone sealant.
There are also other types of profiles: corner and connecting strips, which are needed for joining several cabinets with different tabletops.
Corner, connecting and end strip for table top Another element is a decorative corner that closes the gap between the wall and the tabletop.
Sometimes used to finish an apron wall panel. Unlike tiles or mosaics, it is more practical due to the absence of seams and is inexpensive compared to glass splashbacks.
The tabletop is attached to the cabinets from below using short self-tapping screws to horizontal spacers so as not to spoil the smooth front surface.
Countertops made from natural or artificial stone are higher quality and more durable than others. A natural stone heavy and demanding special care due to high porosity. A fake diamond has no such disadvantages, it can be given any size and shape. Main disadvantage stone countertops– high price, for a small kitchen they cost from 40 thousand rubles. and more.
An alternative option is a countertop made of tiles or porcelain stoneware. You can make it yourself, but the tiles cannot be mounted on regular plywood or chipboard. The base must first be covered with cement-fiber sheets.
Location of parts
A detail is any element of cabinet furniture: lids, tabletops, walls, facades, shelves. Each part can be either nested or invoice. Right choice the type of location is very important.
Let's look at examples of two kitchen cabinets: one of them will stand on legs, and the second will be hanging.
Base cabinet:
As can be seen in the photo, the operating stress in the floor-standing cabinet is directed downwards from the lid and in the first option is naturally transmitted through the parts to the cabinet legs.
In the second, incorrect option, the load is transmitted through the confirmat (furniture screw), and because of this it will be torn out of the part at a fracture.
Wall cabinet:
In the second example, the opposite is true: the load will go to the bottom shelf, and the attachment point will be on top.
If we apply the same fastening scheme here as in base cabinet(Option 1), all 4 bolts will be constantly under the load of being pulled out of the wood. Therefore, it is better if the confirmations experience stress on the fracture (see diagram “correctly”).
Furniture fasteners
Furniture fasteners are hardware (metal products) that are used to connect parts. Most often, connections are made at right angles.
- Wooden dowels - inserted in advance drilled holes in both details. They are used for preliminary fixation and increasing the shear load, then the parts are fixed in a more reliable way.
- Furniture corners are a popular, but outdated type of furniture fastening. Among the disadvantages: appearance, loosening over time and bulkiness.
Furniture corner 
The main disadvantage of this type of fastening is that screwed-in caps remain visible. To hide them, use plastic plugs matching the color of the chipboard.
Furniture fittings
- Handles - everything is clear here. They are usually attached with screws.
- Legs – comfortable in rooms where work is done frequently wet cleaning floors, for example in the kitchen. Any wood, especially chipboard, will quickly deteriorate from daily contact with water. In addition, the legs can be used to level furniture on uneven surfaces.
- A silicone damper is a cheap but very useful part that can reduce the noise of impacts from cabinet doors. It is glued to the top and bottom of the cabinet door or end to soften the impact.
- Furniture hinges. Round cutouts for them (additives) in the facades can be made in any furniture workshop, if the manufacturer has not made them in advance. The hinges differ in the degree of door opening. Standard hinges have an opening angle of 180° and a closed angle of 90°.
The hinges have special mechanism, allowing you to adjust the doors in height and seating depth. For glass doors Separate hinges are sold; glass can be clamped into them without drilling a hole.
- Furniture hinges. Round cutouts for them (additives) in the facades can be made in any furniture workshop, if the manufacturer has not made them in advance. The hinges differ in the degree of door opening. Standard hinges have an opening angle of 180° and a closed angle of 90°.
Among the inexpensive manufacturers of accessories, we can recommend the Chinese Boyard, and among the serious global manufacturers, the Austrian Blum.
Drawers and slides
There are many ways to make furniture boxes. The simplest of them is to assemble a perimeter from laminated chipboard. If you want to beautiful facade, it is screwed onto the main frame from the inside (like the table top). The façade can also be secured with eccentrics as the fourth wall of the drawer.
But the main thing is not to assemble the drawer, but to secure it correctly.
Drawer guides are divided into roller or ball guides.
- Roller guides are usually attached to the bottom of the drawer. He will ride on them on two rollers. A pair of such guides costs about 150 rubles, but it is highly not recommended to use them. The main disadvantage is that they do not allow the drawer to be pulled out completely; a heavy drawer in the more than half-open position may simply fall.
- Ball guides, or as they are also called, “full extension telescopic guides,” can exactly double the length. They have many balls inside, like bearings, so they provide a smooth ride.
Roller and ball guides for drawers - In addition, Blum has metaboxes and tandemboxes. These are ready-made side walls of drawers with installed guides. All that remains is to install the façade, back wall and bottom.
Doors for wardrobes
The sliding wardrobe can be separate (with side and back walls), or built into a niche or corner (with one side wall). The internal content can be anything: regular shelves and mezzanines, drawers and baskets, clothes rails, special hangers for trousers, ties, etc.
Main element wardrobe – sliding doors. You can’t save on them; you need to buy high-quality fittings, otherwise you’ll suffer with falling and jamming doors. In almost any city you can find domestic sliding doors in specialized stores. Aristo systems no problem.
A sliding wardrobe usually has 2-3 doors. They consist of a profiled frame into which they insert decorative elements: mirrors and glass, chipboard, rattan sheets, bamboo, artificial leather (based). Each door can be assembled from a combination of several such materials, which are separated aluminum profile. It is not recommended to make doors more than 1 m in width.
Standard profiles are designed for a sheet thickness of 10 mm. But how to insert a 4 mm thick mirror into it? To do this, put a silicone seal on the edge of the mirror. To prevent broken glass from injuring anyone in the event of an impact, you need to order a mirror with a film glued to the reverse side.
The doors move along guides; they are installed at the top and bottom. The lower doors provide forward and backward movement, and the upper ones fix the door relative to the depth of the cabinet.
The bottom rollers are usually made of plastic, have a shock-absorbing spring and a screw for height adjustment. The upper rollers have a rubberized surface.
With the right approach homemade furniture It turns out cheaper and better quality than what is displayed in stores. But besides this, it will be exclusive, precisely suited to the needs of the owners and the characteristics of the room.
FURNITURE ASSEMBLY
Nuances that neither an amateur nor a professional assembler will tell you about
If you bought new furniture and do not intend to assemble it yourself (for any reason), you will need furniture assembly services. From this article you will learn how these services differ from each other, and you will be able to understand whether you need our help.
WARNING
I must warn you right away that this is a serious matter. It's not about little things that aren't worth paying attention to. What's at stake is the build quality and appearance of your furniture, which will likely last for years. I think you will agree that it should be beautiful, strong, reliable, and this is IMPORTANT.
Therefore, it is equally important to clearly understand in advance WHO will assemble your furniture. Because collectors are different, but you would like to remember them kind words, not curse words. It is this difference that I will talk about. So this is not a stupid piece of text for the sake of search engine optimization, but a useful article that will help you avoid disappointments and surprises when assembling furniture.
EXPERIENCE OF A FRIEND
My friend bought new kitchen and ordered the assembly from a person who gave the impression of being a specialist. She did not control the process, because the apartment was being renovated, and the installer came there himself. When she decided to look at (as she thought) already ready-made kitchen, it turned out that the assembler assembled only a few cabinets in a few days. Although everything could be done in 1 day! And when he finally finished the work, he hung the doors of the wall cabinets without looking, although there was general drawing. I had to call him again to rearrange the doors, and my friend spent a lot of her time on this.
VARIETIES OF FURNITURE ASSEMBERS
Let's move on to specifics. When you choose who to entrust the assembly of your furniture, keep in mind that there are three types of assemblers, and if you live in the vicinity of Yaroslavl - four types (because it is in this region that we work). So, the types of collectors:
amateurs
shabby people
professionals
Belikov brothers
Now let's talk about everything in order.
AMATEURS
Amateurs are novice assemblers who want to make money assembling furniture and were able to convince you that they are experts. At the same time, they either have no experience and the necessary skills at all, or, due to their intellectual organization, are not able to learn from their mistakes and improve their skills.
They will unpack your furniture and spend a long time studying the instructions and figuring it out. Then they start assembling and in the middle they realize that they have mixed up the parts. They will redo it. When it's almost done, you'll find that you forgot something you should have done in the first place (like attaching drawer slides). You will either have to take everything apart again, or do it with great inconvenience. As a rule, amateurs have a minimum of tools, which also significantly slows down the assembly process. As a result, you will lose a lot of time; it is not very pleasant to watch such work, especially if you do not trust the assemblers 100% and are worried about your furniture.
How do I know? Because we ourselves went through this. We were new, we made mistakes and did it over. This is a passed stage, and we are not ashamed of it, because we have always worked conscientiously, and our clients were satisfied even then. But we are rather an exception, and in general, when you turn to amateurs, you run a big risk, because they can simply break something.
It’s easy to identify amateurs: ask what experience they have, how much furniture they’ve already assembled, ask for photographs of completed work. Find out what set of tools they use. Pay attention to how the interlocutor answers: quickly and clearly or uncertainly, with pauses. This way you can distinguish a beginner from an experienced person.
SHABASHNIK
Shabashniks are assemblers who already have some experience and a set of tools. As a rule, these people are quite direct, assertive and even rude. They do not stand on ceremony with clients, they do not care about other people's concerns. They also don't worry about quality. Perhaps you sense a negative emotional connotation in the word “shabashniks”. It is true, this is not a very respected category of workers.
They simply assemble your furniture, making small mistakes from time to time, which they do not pay attention to. Sacrificing quality, they do everything quite quickly and work cheaply. In general, their main advantage is their low price. Actually, this is the only thing they can offer, so they always call low price and are ready to bargain. But don’t be surprised if during the process or at the end of the work they tell you a completely different amount.
It’s not a shame for the covens to change the terms of the contract retroactively, and they will try to increase their value when you have nowhere to go. This is where their assertive and rude communication style comes in handy. However, if you don’t give in, you won’t have to pay too much. Like this. You will still have to defend the already agreed upon price.
Shabashnikov can be seen in their conversation; they communicate confidently and not too attentively. They are not interested in your problems and experiences, only the matter at hand, and even then without details. Sometimes this "no detail" thing results in them missing a tool or another problem that causes the job to take longer.
PROFESSIONALS
Professionals are people who earn money by assembling furniture, have extensive experience and position themselves as experts. They have already assembled so much furniture that they often don’t even look at the instructions. At the same time, professionals can be either polite and pleasant young people or serious, withdrawn men. They have all the necessary tools.
The main value of professionals is speed. They have no emotions about their work. It is important for them to pack up your furniture as quickly as possible and leave - either for the next order or for a vacation. On the one hand, this is an advantage because you will spend a minimum of your time. On the other hand, professionals often go too far in their quest to save time. They save seconds where it is already unnecessary. For example, they tighten Euroscrews with a screwdriver without adjusting the force. As a result, they drive the screws into the chipboard all the way to the middle of the board, so that decorative coating in the place of the hole it cracks and breaks off, and the strength of the connection is reduced by half.
This is ugly and, in our opinion, unprofessional. Instead of saving this half a second, it is wiser to adjust the screwdriver for tightening or tighten all the screws with a wrench manually. This will take an extra minute, but the furniture will look beautiful and, if necessary, will survive several more disassemblies and reassemblies and more than one move.
I would like to believe that I am wrong, but the experience of communicating with professional assemblers convinces me every time that haste is a common problem among professionals. They are too accustomed to their work, for them it is a routine, they simply do not bother (it is especially sad when such assemblers work for hire, for example, in a furniture store, because in this case they still do not feel personal responsibility for their work). But the prices for their services can vary significantly from very loyal to unreasonably inflated.
BELIKOV BROTHERS
Let me make a reservation right away: don’t be misled by the fact that I put ourselves as the fourth point. This doesn't mean we better than professionals. More precisely, it is YOU who decides who is best for you.
The Belikov brothers are my brother and I, Ivan and Dmitry. We have been assembling furniture for a long time, but not very often. We have a lot of experience and many tools, but we always carefully study the instructions. We still have room to grow; we can be considered emerging professionals.
And this is our main advantage. We haven't gotten bored with work yet. We didn't lose our emotions. We assemble furniture as if it were our own, and the relationship with each client is important to us. We take into account your wishes and concerns and do our best to make you feel comfortable and calm. We take our time during assembly and do everything as carefully as possible. We put quality first - and pay for it with our time. And guess what? We can afford to spend a few extra minutes to ensure that your furniture is assembled beautifully and neatly!
FOR EXAMPLE
When we assembled this wall, we had to tinker with installing a pneumatic lift for the door that opens up. There were no markings, and the instructions allowed for too much error. Moreover, there are two elevators, and they must be installed symmetrically. I spent almost 15 minutes measuring and double-checking everything. Then another 2 minutes to install the elevators - and they are perfect.
Another example: we are assembling a cabinet and see that the shelf protrudes slightly side wall, and from the side you can see the raw edge of the chipboard half a millimeter wide. This is because Euroscrews allow the parts to move slightly relative to each other. We can leave it like that, but we loosen the screws, place the shelf nicely and tighten the screws back.
You don't have to pay extra for such important, time-consuming little things. You don't need to worry about them. This is how we always work. That is why our work costs more than the work of covens. By contacting us, you will receive high quality work taking into account your wishes and friendly communication. But you will have to allow a little more time if you want to be personally present during the assembly, because we will not rush. We assembled the wall in the first photo in 5.5 hours.
ASSUMPTION
Despite the extensive personal experience and talking to a lot of furniture assemblers, I have to admit that I could be wrong. It is possible that both polite shabatniks and not too hasty professionals work in Yaroslavl. If so, that's great. I’m writing about my personal experience in a particular region, even if you don’t like it too much. But honestly and without embellishment.
LET'S SUM UP
Working with amateurs can be very cheap, but it takes a long time and is very risky. Shabashniks will also offer a low price, but they may try to increase it during the assembly process. In addition, some of them are careless. Remember the story of how a friend of mine waited almost a week to have her kitchen assembled, which was assembled in a day? The question is, is this loss of time worth the amount you will save? You don't pay for quality here - don't expect it.
Professionals work clearly, quickly and quite accurately, but are often in too much of a hurry. As a result, your furniture does not look 100% and could be stronger, but it is assembled quickly. However, this is not a death sentence either; you may meet excellent collectors. The price depends greatly on the company or employees. How to choose? Chat with the collector, ask your questions, evaluate his answers and disposition. It’s good if someone can recommend you a trusted specialist. Most The best way- observe (if possible) how the person works.
Now you can imagine how furniture assembly services differ and why different people different prices. You can also decide what services you want to order for yourself and why.
ASSEMBLY OF FURNITURE FROM BELIKOV BROTHERS
If you want to contact us, we will be happy to help. We work in Yaroslavl, if necessary, we can travel to the region or another city. Our experience is more than three years; we have a customer with a network of their own furniture stores, whose furniture we regularly assemble. And also many clients for whom we have assembled furniture from small bedside tables to complete room furnishings.
You can see some of the furniture we have collected in the section, and read customer reviews in the section
A practical guide for those who decided to independently assemble a wall slide purchased at a furniture store.
Due to the availability of the information provided and step-by-step recommendations, even an amateur can handle assembling a wall of furniture for the living room.
Usually, all purchased furniture is equipped with some kind of instructions, where all stages of work are perfectly described.
So let's get started...
Let's look at each step step by step:
1 Instructions from the manufacturer
Carefully read the instructions from the manufacturer. It usually contains important information about furniture assembly, list of parts, names furniture fittings, installation methods, warranty provided and operating rules.
2 Preparing the site for assembly
Prepare a place to work: clear the room of disturbing objects, completely clear the area where the assembled wall is expected to stand, spread an unnecessary blanket, carpet or cardboard on the floor (to prevent damage to the floor covering).
3
Sort the parts by size and color; it is also better to set the facades aside separately (so as not to accidentally damage them).
4 Assembly of large structures
It is always necessary to start assembly with larger structures. Therefore, if there is a cabinet or pencil case in the wall, start with them.
5
If holes have already been drilled in the parts, then all you have to do is screw together the sides, roof and bottom of the cabinet, not forgetting about the stationary shelves.
If there are no holes, you should draw them relative to the thickness of the chipboard (chipboard 16 mm - distance to the center of the hole - 8 mm; chipboard 18 mm - distance to the center of the hole - 9 mm).
6
After the main structure is assembled, you should nail the back wall (fibreboard) and screw the legs (supports).
Usually, in order to save money, furniture walls are equipped with two types of legs: cheap plastic and beautiful metal (it’s good if both are adjustable in height).
Screw the metal legs in front, and the plastic ones in the back of the cabinet.
7
Once you have assembled the dimensional modules, you can begin attaching the facades.
8 Installation of glass doors
Again, it's best to start with larger cabinets. Be especially careful when hanging glass doors.
Use special bushings for furniture handles and the necessary plugs for hinges.
Step-by-step instruction:
- put a loop on the glass facade;
- screw the hinge to the side of the cabinet;
- put the plug on the loop;
- install furniture handles;
- screw the shock absorbers to smoothly close the hinged glass doors;
- Check the operation of the shock absorbers by pressing them.
Other swing facades are installed in the same sequence.
9 Assembling drawers and installing them
Drawers are assembled strictly according to the diagram. Some of the guides are attached to the sides of the opening where the boxes will presumably go, and some are attached to the sides of the rack itself.
10
Adjust the legs of all wall elements to the level.
11 Installation of removable shelves
Now is the time to install removable shelves inside cabinets and hang oversized items.
If the wall needs to have a hanging shelf between the pencil case and the cabinet, first measure the actual distance between them and check with the parts you have left in stock.
If the sizes match, you can start drilling the wall.
Assemble the shelf itself, if it consists of several parts, and attach the eyes to it.
Place the shelf in the designated space. If necessary, additionally attach to the sides of adjacent cabinets.
12
The only thing left to do is adjust all the facades. It is better to start adjusting with hinged ones, gradually moving to retractable ones.
Congratulations, you were able to assemble the wall yourself!
Now your home has another functional storage for things, bed linen, dishes and books, and the living room has become much more comfortable.
Enjoy the comfort and start saving for new furniture, and we will tell you how to assemble it.
(modena select=23, All living rooms here >)
