Flat-pack furniture is affordable, stylish and delivered to the door in a box that weighs far more than it looks. Then comes the hard part: forty pages of wordless instructions, a bag of nearly identical screws, cam locks that will not turn, a back panel that does not line up, and an evening on the floor that ends with one panel on backwards. Flat-pack furniture assembly is one of the most popular small jobs we do in Dandenong and the surrounding suburbs, for households, renters, home offices and businesses.

With IKEA’s Springvale store just up Springvale Road and plenty of big furniture retailers along the Princes Highway and in Dandenong South’s homemaker centres, flat-pack furniture is everywhere in the south-east. We assemble it quickly, correctly and safely, then take away the cardboard.

What we assemble

• Wardrobes, including large sliding-door and multi-section systems
• Beds, bunk beds, loft beds and bed frames with storage drawers
• Chests of drawers, bedside tables and dressers
• Bookcases, shelving units and display cabinets
• Desks, office chairs, filing cabinets and home office setups
• TV units, entertainment units and sideboards
• Dining tables, chairs and bar stools
• Cots, change tables and children’s furniture
• Outdoor furniture, storage boxes and small garden sheds
• Kitchen trolleys, pantry units and laundry storage
• Gym equipment such as benches and racks, within reason
• Commercial and office furniture fit-outs

Why have it professionally assembled

Time

A large wardrobe can take an inexperienced person most of a day. With the right tools and plenty of practice, we assemble it in a fraction of that time, often alongside other jobs in the same visit.

Getting it right

Flat-pack instructions rely on doing every step in the exact order. A panel fitted upside down, cam locks not fully tightened, or a back panel not nailed square can leave the piece wobbly or the doors misaligned. Fixing mistakes often means taking half the piece apart again, and chipboard does not like being reassembled: screw holes strip and cam lock housings break.

Squareness and doors

Wardrobes and cabinets only work well if the carcass is square. If it is out of square, doors will not line up, drawers stick and sliding doors jump their tracks. We check diagonals as we build, square the carcass before fixing the back, and adjust the hinges so doors close evenly.

Safety

Tall furniture must be anchored to the wall. More on this below, because it matters.

Anchoring furniture to the wall

Tip-over of furniture and televisions is a serious and often underestimated hazard in Australian homes, particularly for young children who climb drawers like a ladder. Product safety authorities recommend anchoring tall and heavy furniture, including chests of drawers, bookcases, wardrobes and TV units, to the wall. Most flat-pack pieces come with an anti-tip kit, but the fixings supplied are generic and may not suit your wall.

We anchor furniture using fixings matched to the wall:

• Into timber studs behind plasterboard with screws, which is the strongest option
• Plasterboard anchors rated for the load where a stud is not in the right spot
• Masonry anchors into brick or concrete walls

We locate studs and check for hidden cables and pipes before drilling. Renters should get the landlord’s consent before drilling, but in Victoria, renters can install furniture anchors without consent in most circumstances, as long as the wall is not heritage-listed or made of brick or concrete. We can help you work out what applies.

Our assembly process

Before we start

We check the boxes against the parts list where practical, and set out panels on a protected surface so nothing is scratched. Missing or damaged parts are identified early, so you can contact the retailer straight away rather than discovering a problem halfway through.

Building

We follow the manufacturer’s sequence, use the correct screws for each step, and avoid over-tightening into chipboard, which strips easily. Hand tools are used where power tools would risk damaging soft materials. Glue is used where the instructions call for it, such as dowel joints on some pieces.

Finishing

Doors and drawers are adjusted so gaps are even and they open and close smoothly. Shelves are set at the heights you want. Tall pieces are anchored. Packaging is broken down and either taken away or flattened for your recycling bin, whichever you prefer.

Large wardrobes and built-in-style systems

Modular wardrobe systems with sliding doors, internal drawers and hanging rails are among the biggest jobs we assemble. They often need two people to stand up safely, a level floor or adjustable feet set correctly, and careful alignment of the top and bottom sliding door tracks. If your floor slopes, common in older homes on reactive clay, we shim or adjust feet so the system stands plumb and the doors run true. We can also fit the system between walls and fix it in place so it looks built in.

Beds, cots and children’s furniture

Bed frames need to be rigid so they do not creak or loosen. We tighten all fixings correctly and check slats are seated. For cots, we follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly, check every part is fitted, and ensure the base is set at the correct height for the baby’s age. Bunk beds and loft beds need guard rails fitted on all sides of the top bunk and ladders fixed securely.

Office and commercial assembly

Businesses in Dandenong South’s industrial and commercial areas, and offices throughout the region, use us to assemble desks, workstations, storage units, shelving and break-room furniture. We can work out of hours by arrangement to avoid disrupting staff, and take away all packaging. See our commercial handyman page.

Outdoor furniture and garden storage

Outdoor settings, storage boxes and small garden sheds come with their own challenges: heavier parts, many fixings and the need for a level base. Small kit sheds need a flat, level base and should be anchored so they do not lift in strong wind. We assemble outdoor furniture and small sheds and can advise on base preparation.

Moving house

Flat-pack furniture is often dismantled for moving, then reassembled in the new home. Each time it is taken apart, the fixings weaken. We dismantle carefully, bag and label fixings, and reassemble with fresh fixings where holes have stripped. Before you move out of a rental, we can also remove wall anchors and patch the holes as part of our end-of-lease repairs.

Tips before your furniture arrives

Measure twice

Measure the room, the doorways, the hallway corners and the stairwell before you buy. A wardrobe that fits the bedroom wall may not stand up once assembled if the ceiling is too low for it to be tipped upright, because the diagonal height of the piece is greater than its standing height. Allow at least a few centimetres above the diagonal height. We assemble large pieces lying down and then stand them up, so ceiling clearance matters.

Choose the spot first

Decide exactly where each piece will go before assembly day. Large wardrobes are much easier to build in their final position than to move once built, and some cannot be moved without partial dismantling. Clear the area and leave a little room around it for working.

Keep the boxes together

Multi-box items, such as large wardrobes and beds, can come in three, four or more boxes. Keep them together and unopened if possible, so nothing gets lost before assembly.

Check the wall

If you want furniture anchored, think about what is behind the wall. We use a stud finder and cable detector, but knowing where power points, switches and plumbing run helps us choose the best fixing point.

Common flat-pack problems we fix

Wobbly furniture

Wobble usually comes from cam locks not tightened fully, a back panel that was not nailed square, or a floor that is uneven. We tighten, square and level the piece so it stands solid.

Drawers that stick or fall out

Drawer runners fitted upside down, on the wrong side or at slightly different heights cause sticking and misalignment. We refit runners and adjust them so drawers glide.

Doors that do not line up

Concealed cabinet hinges are adjustable in three directions: in and out, up and down, and side to side. Most misaligned flat-pack doors can be fixed in minutes with the right adjustments, if the carcass is square.

Stripped screw holes

Chipboard screw holes strip easily. We repair them with timber dowels and glue, or with fixings designed for chipboard, so the joint holds.

Sagging shelves

Long shelves in particleboard sag over time under books. We can add a centre support or a stiffening batten under the shelf.

Furniture you have had for years

We do not only build new furniture. We also repair existing flat-pack pieces: re-gluing loose joints, replacing broken drawer bottoms, fitting new runners and hinges, and re-fixing back panels. A repair often saves throwing out a perfectly good piece.

Assembly for older relatives and busy families

Many of our assembly jobs are for people who simply should not be on the floor wrestling with heavy panels: older residents, people recovering from injury, or busy parents setting up a nursery before the due date. We do the heavy lifting, place the furniture where it is wanted, and make sure drawers and doors are easy to use. If it helps, we can also hang pictures, fit shelves or move other furniture while we are there, so the room is finished in one visit rather than one piece at a time.

We also check that any furniture placed near windows keeps blind and curtain cords well out of reach of children.

Areas we cover

We assemble furniture across all our service areas, including Springvale, Keysborough, Dandenong South and Noble Park.

Related services

Flat-pack assembly pairs well with TV wall mounting, picture and shelf hanging, kitchen and cupboard repairs and odd jobs and rubbish removal.

Frequently asked questions