Such an interior component as a wardrobe must be present in every home. Its presence will allow you to save free space in the room. There is no difficulty in making and assembling it yourself.
Although this requires some knowledge, the task is much easier than initially imagined. Completed on our own, the work will not only bring pride and pleasure, but also save on the services of a specialist.
General rules
To assemble the purchased cabinet, you must follow the instructions supplied with the product by the supplier .
There are a number of principles by adhering to which you can collect anything quickly and efficiently:
- There is no need to unpack everything at the same time and interfere with parts from several packages.
- Do everything in order.
- Study the manual carefully so that the mistake made does not become a problem.
- Make sure that all materials and accessories are included.
- Collect sequentially from the bottom to the sides.
- Get the components out of the packages, lay out the tools.
- Install the mirror elements at the very end, otherwise they can be scratched or broken.
Required tools
They will not require significant expenses.
The standard set is enough :
- Stationery knife;
- Screwdriver;
- Hex key and confirmation bit;
- Screwdriver;
- Awl;
- Drill and drill;
- Roulette;
- Sandpaper;
- Rubber mallet;
- Jamb knife.
In addition, you need a hammer and a simple pencil, glue will come in handy.
Preparatory stage
First of all, you need to prepare the room. This will affect the end result as well as the amount of time spent. Nothing should hinder the assembly process, and all the required tools and materials should be nearby.
If there is a garage, then you can carry out all the work related to partial assembly and drilling there. The only drawback of this approach is the need for additional loading operations. But this will eliminate the need to annoy neighbors with the noise of a drill.
In the living room, you will have to find a balance between comfort and cleanliness.
In addition to the space where the cabinet will directly be, you will also need a large amount of space to move its parts. It is necessary to provide an opportunity to work without fear of damage to other pieces of furniture and interior.
You will also need a base for drilling. Ordinary stools covered with chipboard will do. You should not rush to throw away your obsolete furniture. A couple of planks from the old one can be very useful for assembling a new cabinet.
Parts inspection
- First you need to carefully inspect all the components , check their quality so that there are no defects such as scratches or cracks.
- It is advisable to carry out this check in the store so that there are no misunderstandings during assembly.
- The cabinet should be transported carefully to damage the furniture on the way.
- It is worth paying attention to all necessary precautions . The cabinet must be well fixed, and preferably drive on a flat road.
DIY installation: instruction
First you need to check all the dimensions of the ordered cabinet. If it is installed across the entire width of the room, then there must be free space between the side walls and the walls of the room. The back wall of the fiberboard is nailed, and this cannot be done if there is no free space. You also need to keep in mind the length of the diagonal of the cabinet in order to be able to unfold it. Then you should remove all elements and parts from the packages, discard unnecessary packaging materials, otherwise they will interfere with work.
It is necessary to immediately understand the location of the internal compartments and shelves. Some models allow them to be mounted both on the left and right side, but this permissibility is not always welcomed. To correctly determine the side, you need to pay attention to the width of the shelves and the location of the holes in the bottom of the case.
When installing a built-in cabinet in a niche, the back wall of the fiberboard is usually absent. In this case, the side walls are simply attached to the lower base and to the walls of the niche with dowels.
Markup
This is a very significant stage for assembling a wardrobe, so it is worthwhile to make the markup with due care.
First of all, you need to measure the length of the cabinet from the corner of the room in which it will be located. Then, using a simple pencil, mark its borders. After that, you need to mark with a pencil the lines dividing the sections of the cabinet, and also indicate the distance between the shelves, having measured their length before that.
Fixing the legs
First detach the plastic plugs from the legs (using a knife or with bare hands) and then insert them into the 10mm holes in the bottom of the base. Some models have adjustable feet that screw to the base at a distance from the edge. The advantage of these legs is the ability to adjust their height in a fairly wide range (from 10 to 14 cm).
After attaching the legs, you should start installing pins and minifixes in the lower and upper parts of the structure. It is important here not to confuse the side of the inner compartments.
Then you need to adjust the legs so that the bottom is level. As a check, it is recommended to use a guide strip along which the cabinet doors will move. If the lower part of the body is level and does not bend anywhere, then the bar will adhere tightly to it, without gaps.
Installing the cabinet walls
At this stage, you will most likely need an assistant who will hold the parts to be installed. The side wall is pushed onto the already installed pins and is thus attached to the base.
Next, the inner walls are installed, then the second side. They are fixed between themselves by shelves. All holes should already be drilled, it remains only to tighten the confirmations with a hex wrench. It is better to do it by hand, without using a power tool. Power tools can be particularly damaging to cheap factory cabinets.
Installation of the upper part of the structure
To install the upper part, most likely, you will need a hill that you can stand on (chairs will do), and an assistant will also come in handy - if the wardrobe is wide enough. If the closet is small, you can do it yourself.
Minifixes are inserted into ready-made 16 mm holes in the body parts and tightened clockwise, due to which the bottom and top are fastened to the side walls. At this stage, the cabinet slowly begins to take on its final appearance, although the structure is still unstable. Manufacturers rarely supply stubs covering minifixes with the cabinet, since they do not consider their presence to be critical. If necessary, you can purchase them yourself, moreover, very cheaply.
Installation of the back wall of fiberboard
Before installing the back wall, you must first measure the diagonals of the structure - in this way, the correct angles are checked. Ideally, they should be 90 degrees, however, in the case of a factory product, you can only try to get as close as possible to perfection. Standard chipboard walls are 16 mm thick, so they can slightly bend.
The back wall of the fiberboard is nailed to the body. In this case, it is necessary to observe the same indentation. Unlike the corners of the body, the corners of the fiberboard wall are always ideal, since it is manufactured on high-precision machines. Therefore, it is necessary to fasten the fiberboard to the frame so that the wall does not protrude beyond it, and its edges are strictly parallel to the sidewalls.
The intervals between the nails are selected independently. As a rule, there are very few of them in the kit, so buying an additional amount of furniture nails will not be superfluous - this will affect the quality only in a positive way. In Soviet-era furniture, self-tapping screws were generally used to secure the back wall, located at a distance of 3 cm.
Pieces of fiberboard must be nailed horizontally. In order to prevent gaps between them, special strips are used. Sometimes it becomes necessary to correct them to the required size using a knife. When fixing the fiberboard to the inner walls, you should initially make the markup, for which you will need a simple pencil and a ruler. Having marked everything out, it will be possible to hammer in nails without missing, exactly in the middle of the chipboard.
Installation and alignment
When the installation of the back wall is completed, position the cabinet structure where you plan to install it. At this stage, you should pay attention to the legs: they must be tightly screwed, otherwise they may be damaged when moving the cabinet.
Adjust the legs again so that the bottom is level. Underlays can be used if necessary. Adjust the lower and upper parts to the level. This will affect how well the doors move. If everything is done correctly, then the doors will remain in the place to which they were pushed.
Adjust the cabinet vertically by applying a level to the side and inner walls. It is desirable that the upper part of the cabinet is slightly tilted towards the wall. It is much easier to do this if the legs of the cabinet are adjustable.
When installing the built-in cabinet in a niche, the bezels must be fixed. This is done with a drill, dowels and screws.
Preparation and installation of the sliding system
You need to drill holes in the guides yourself, since manufacturers do not do this. This is done with a drill and 4 mm drill. In the bottom guide, you need to make holes along the edges, in the middle, and also at equal intervals (about 60 cm). At the top - at the same intervals, but in each compartment.
Then you need to install the stoppers in the grooves of the lower guide, using pliers and a screwdriver for this. If there are two doors, then one stopper is installed in the corresponding groove: one in the near one and one in the far one. If there are three of them, then two stoppers are placed in the near groove along the edges and one in the far one. Accordingly, two facades will be located in the near groove and one door in the far one.
Further, the guides are attached to the body with self-tapping screws. It is necessary to indent 15 mm of the lower guide from the edge of the lower part of the structure. The top guide fits snugly with no indentation.
Installation of microlifts
Microlifts are installed using 4 self-tapping screws, thus attaching to the top shelf. To avoid fears about whether 4 screws will withstand heavy outerwear, you can also use bolts. In this case, you will have to drill 4 mm holes and buy the bolts themselves. But in general, this method is rarely used.
It should be borne in mind that the microlift extended under the weight may break. Despite the fact that its design is designed for this, the screws may not withstand and break out of the chipboard.
If the depth of the wardrobe is more than 45 cm, a 25 mm pipe and a flange can be used instead of microlifts. This design allows clothing to be placed parallel to the sidewalls.
The depth standard is 60 cm. It is not known where it comes from, but most likely it is used to reduce the cost of production and, as a result, the cost of the finished product. In reality, these 60 cm are often not enough: after installing the guides, the depth becomes even smaller, and the facades touch the outerwear. Therefore, if it is possible to purchase a custom-made product, it makes sense to designate a 70 cm depth. Although it will be more expensive, it will be much more convenient and practical.
When installing flanges, you should adhere to a 27 cm distance from the back wall and 10 cm from the edge of the chipboard. Before bolting the flange to the body, insert it into the pipe. A hexagon is used to tighten the bolts.
Preparing facades for installation
Fastening of sliding doors - facades is already the final stage of assembly. Before installation, you must first remove the protective film and examine the wheels fixed to the aluminum profile. The doors are included in the kit ready-made, they do not need to be assembled, but specifically the lower wheels are sometimes installed incorrectly, which makes their adjustment unavailable. To adjust the height of these rollers, there is a special bolt: by tightening or loosening it, you can lower or raise one side of the door. This is necessary to remove gaps between doors and side walls.
A common problem with some models is that the adjusting bolt hole is too narrow, which makes the adjustment process impossible. Faced with this, you should yourself increase the diameter of this hole using a suitable drill. If this problem does not arise, you can proceed directly to the installation of facades.
How to install the guides for the wardrobe - in the next video.
Do-it-yourself door installation
An assistant is required to install the doors. It will lift the door up and place it on top of the inner groove of the top rail. At the same time, you need to insert both rollers at once into the lower guide and carefully place the bottom of the door into the inner (far) groove. In this case, the wheels must be held so that they remain inside the profile. The internal facade must be installed at the beginning. In a three-leaf wardrobe, you must first install the middle facade.
Do the same with the front doors. Take your time, or you may damage the mirrors. When everything is ready, you can start installing self-adhesive bumpers (fleecy tapes that remove gaps and cushion the movement of facades). Using a screwdriver, you need to adjust the stoppers so that the closed door fits snugly against the structure.
Do-it-yourself installation of a sliding wardrobe with sliding doors - in the next video.
Finally, it is necessary to adjust the lower rollers so that the gaps between the doors and the body disappear. To raise the facade, tighten the bolts, and to lower it, loosen them. In this case, the rollers should protrude by 1 cm. This is easy enough, you just have to spend some time. Gaps can form again later, so it is advisable to always have a valid key nearby.
