🪛 Flat-pack furniture assembly checklist

Most flat-pack disasters start before the first screw goes in — an uncounted parts bag or a skipped page of the instructions. Slow down for step one and the rest goes quicker.

19 items

1. Parts laid out and counted against the parts listA missing piece found now is an email; found at step nine, it's an overnight delay.
2. Instructions read through once before startingThe step where two panels have to go on in a specific order is easy to miss halfway through.
3. Clear, flat floor space, bigger than the finished pieceCarpet works but grips small parts; a hard floor is easier to sweep for a dropped screw.
4. Cardboard or an old blanket to protect the floor and the panels
5. Electric screwdriverSaves the wrists over two hundred screws — the hex key in the box is not built for the whole job.
6. Rubber malletFor persuading a dowel home without denting the panel a hammer would leave a mark on.
7. Spare hex keys×2The one in the box is the first thing to go missing under the packaging.
8. Pencil and paper for labelling partsUseful when two panels look identical but are drilled differently for left and right.
9. A second person for anything over a metre tallWardrobes and tall units are far easier held upright by someone else while the back panel goes on.
10. Cam locks and dowels checked before tightening
11. Dowels seated fully before the panel is drawn tight
12. Cam locks turned to face the same direction shown in the diagram
13. Panels dry-fitted before final tighteningTightening every screw fully on the first pass makes correcting a mistake much harder.
14. Back panel left until lastIt squares the whole piece up — fitted too early and everything else has to match a frame that's already slightly off.
15. Doors and drawers adjusted once the carcass is squareHinges usually have a screw for exactly this — a gap that looks uneven is rarely the carcass itself.
16. Packaging kept until the final checkFor returning a faulty part without also returning the invoice and the box it needs to travel in.
17. Wall-fixing strap attached if the unit is tallSupplied with most tall units for a reason — an unsecured wardrobe is a tipping hazard for a child or a cat climbing it.
18. Final check for any leftover screwsUsually means a joint further back didn't get one — worth a look before deciding it's finished.
19. Position and levelling checked against the floorAdjustable feet exist for a reason; a rocking unit on an uneven floor loosens its own joints over time.