Nothing here needs a workshop. It does need a floor you can lay panels on, about an hour, and two things people usually skip.
Before you start
- Lay the flattened carton on the floor and build on it. It protects the finish and your floor, and it stops screws rolling under the sofa.
- Count the fittings against the parts list first. Two minutes now saves an evening. If something is missing, email the part letter to support@homartuk.com and we'll post it free — usually the same day.
- Check you have the room to stand it up. A 2,000mm bookcase assembled flat needs 2,000mm of clear floor and enough ceiling to rotate it. Measure the diagonal before you build, not after.
- Hand tools only. A cordless driver on full torque will strip a cam lock or pull a threaded insert straight out of MDF. Start screws by hand; finish them by hand.
Assembly
- Build loose, then tighten. Get every fitting started before you tighten any of them, otherwise the carcass racks and the last panel won't meet.
- Fit the back panel before final tightening. The back is what squares the box — it isn't cosmetic. A unit assembled without its back is a parallelogram waiting to happen.
- Tighten cam locks to firm, not to maximum. They're designed to be undone and redone; over-tightening is what makes them spin uselessly when you next move.
- Level it before you load it. Adjustable feet are supplied on everything over 600mm tall. A drawer in an out-of-level carcass will drift open on its own, which people usually report as a fault.
- Load bottom-up. Heaviest things on the lowest shelf, always — it's the cheapest stability you'll ever get.
Fixing to the wall
Where a product is labelled wall fixed, fixing it isn't optional — fold-down beds and desks, tall storage walls and wall-mounted tables all carry load into the wall.
- Find out what your wall is made of first. Masonry, dot-and-dab plasterboard, stud partition and lath-and-plaster all need different fixings, and the plug in the box only suits solid masonry.
- Dot-and-dab is the trap. It sounds solid, taps hollow in places, and a standard plug will pull straight through the void behind the board. It needs a fixing designed for it, or a screw long enough to reach the masonry behind.
- Find the studs on a partition wall — a fixing into a stud is worth a dozen into board.
- Check for cables and pipes before drilling, especially directly above or beside a socket or switch, where cables run vertically.
- If you aren't sure, get a competent person to do it. A fold-down bed coming off a wall is not a minor failure.
Anti-tip straps. Fit them to tall chests and wardrobes wherever there are small children, whatever the product label says. See the renting page.
Care, by material
| Material | Routine | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Oiled solid oak, ash, walnut | Dry dust; damp cloth and dry immediately for marks; re-oil once a year, or when water stops beading. Sand a ring mark lightly with the grain and re-oil — oiled timber is repairable, which is the point of it. | Standing water, silicone polish, anything alkaline |
| Lacquered birch plywood | Damp cloth, dry off. Touch chips on the exposed edge early — raw ply edge absorbs moisture. | Abrasives, solvent cleaners |
| Painted MDF | Damp cloth with a drop of washing-up liquid. Keep the paint reference for touching in. | Water sitting on a cut edge; scouring pads |
| Powder-coated steel | Damp cloth. Touch chips up quickly — once it's through to the steel it rusts from that point. | Wire wool, harsh solvents |
| Bamboo | Dry dust, occasional damp cloth. It's stable but it doesn't like being soaked. | Damp rooms, radiator heat |
| Rattan and cane webbing | Dust with a soft brush. Dry rooms only — cane sags in humidity and spots with damp. | Bathrooms, conservatories, direct radiator heat |
Small problems, quick fixes
| Problem | Usually | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drawer drifts open | Carcass isn't level | Adjust the feet at the front until a marble sits still on the top |
| Door won't close flush | Hinge plate or a racked carcass | Slacken the back panel screws, square it, re-tighten; then adjust hinges |
| Cam lock spins and won't grip | Over-tightened, or the dowel isn't fully home | Back it off, seat the dowel, retighten by hand only. We'll send a replacement free if it's stripped |
| Unit rocks | Floor, not furniture | Adjustable feet; ask us if yours didn't come with them |
| Shelf bows | Load beyond the stated figure, or a long unsupported span | Redistribute weight to the lower shelves; longer spans need a centre support |
| Squeak from a folding mechanism | Dry pivot | A drop of light machine oil on the pivot; never grease a gas strut |
| White ring on oiled timber | Moisture in the finish, not the wood | Light sand with the grain, wipe, re-oil |
Moving house with it
- Empty it completely and take the doors and drawers out — a carcass alone is half the weight and twice as easy to turn on a landing.
- Undo cam locks rather than forcing joints. Keep every fitting in one labelled bag per unit.
- Photograph the assembly sequence in reverse as you take it apart.
- Carry panels on edge, not flat.
- Fit felt pads to the new floor before you slide anything.
- Re-fit the anti-tip strap in the new place before you fill the drawers, not after.
A moving and renter kit has the pads, the straps, the spare fittings and a wall repair set in one box.
Stuck?
Send a photograph to support@homartuk.com with your order number. Half of what people send us is solved in one reply, and it's free.