I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea. (Cheap, I know, but I'm not a
woodworker, and I'm on a budget. Unfortunately, returning them is not
an option). Anyway, they are made of white-finished particle board and
I'm having a lot trouble getting them square. Because of that, I'm
also having trouble getting the doors on straight.
So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
isn't level.
I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks,
Lisa
On Mar 11, 12:44 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea.
>
> ...
>
> So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
> and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
> as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
> hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
> stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
> isn't level.
>
> I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
> least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
> ...
I suggest you take the back and corner braces off, and try to
reassemble it _exactly_ per the instructions, laying it face
down on the floor. It is possible that the corner braces
stopped something from properly slipping into place.
Then when it is upright, use shims (thin
pieces of material, usually wood under the feet) to level
it. The DIY stores sell shims that are wedges, you use
those in pairs, one on top of the other with the pointy
parts at opposite ends so that sliding them against
each other changes the thickness. Once you get all
the shims right, you cut off the part that shows with
a chisel or razer knife.
If that doesn't work. you probably need a sturdier back
to hold the wardrobe square, or long diagonal braces
across the back.
--
FF
On Mar 11, 10:44 am, [email protected] wrote:
> I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea. (Cheap, I know, but I'm not a
> woodworker, and I'm on a budget. Unfortunately, returning them is not
> an option). Anyway, they are made of white-finished particle board and
> I'm having a lot trouble getting them square. Because of that, I'm
> also having trouble getting the doors on straight.
>
> So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
> and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
> as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
> hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
> stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
> isn't level.
>
> I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
> least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
>
> At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
> to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Lisa
Hi. First time I visited this 'group' and am not signed up yet.
Anyway I am a carpenter and cabinet-maker and right off the bat I
wonder what kind of 'back' if any this wardrobe has. most cabinets
have a 1/4 " piece of hardboard back that keeps everything square.
You need to keep those sides from bowing. If the case has a back,
maybe it needs more attachment (small nails, glue, etc.) If not, a
simple easy solution may be to attach the sides to the wall somehow to
keep them plumb. (straight up and down) Maybe even just put nails or
screws into the wall next to the side of the book-case to wedge it
straight.
If it's just the front of the sides that's bowing, then maybe there's
a shelf of some sort or divider that you could screw into through the
sides to hold them straight.
Of course you're going to have to level the whole thing somehow.
Wood shims or adjustable feet would prob. be best, but folded paper,
etc. may work.
This is Jerry-rigging. Do you have a handy friend who may be able to
fabricate some braces and beef up the structure? If you're going to
load this thing with a bunch of weight, get it right! I'd really
recommend finding studs and attaching the whole thing to the wall--at
least at the top and screw through something substantial like a cross-
prace--not just the 1/4" back (?) Then call Ikea and give them a
piece of your mind!
[email protected] wrote:
| At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
| to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
| appreciated.
Lisa...
My advice is to find a neighbor who _is_ a woodworker and ask them to
supervise you and a friend in fixing (as much as is possible, since
what you've described was pretty much junk from the outset) the
wardrobe.
It's nearly impossible for anyone to help if they can't see the
problem. You could use a digital camera to take photos to post to
news:alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking so we can see (and hopefully
understand) the specific problems - but a person on the scene is
likely to be more help.
Don't pull your hair out. That won't fix anything. :-)
--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html
[email protected] wrote in news:1173635084.095023.307910
@c51g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea. (Cheap, I know, but I'm not a
> woodworker, and I'm on a budget. Unfortunately, returning them is not
> an option). Anyway, they are made of white-finished particle board and
> I'm having a lot trouble getting them square. Because of that, I'm
> also having trouble getting the doors on straight.
>
> So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
> and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
> as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
> hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
> stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
> isn't level.
>
> I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
> least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
>
> At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
> to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Lisa
>
Some stuff from Ikea is great, for what it is supposed to be. "Billy"
bookcases are one of the things. Some are not, such as our big drawer
bedroom thing - the littler ones were OK, but the big one just couldn't
keep its shape. You have to be your own judge as to what you will buy.
In our case, assembly has not been a big problem, but stop if it feels
you are forcing something into fitting. It probably means you should
take things apart and start over, being careful to follow the directions
as intended, not necessarily as read <grin>.
You may have to recycle the "wood" pieces from your wardrobes if they
become damaged.
What is the item name of your wardrobe? Why is returning them not an
option? I think that Ikea is OK with returning, but I know I would
rather not if they didn't have a store at Rts 4 & 17, NJ, close to home.
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
I've bought and assembled some Ikea shelf/cabinets, and been reasonably
happy with the result.
They aren't strong enough to stay square if the floor they sit on isn't
level.
Don't the instructions show the picture of the smiling little man on the
phone to Ikea meaning that they will help you over the phone if you have
troubles like this? (Not sure what they can do long distance, but at least
they know how it SHOULD go together.)
Old Guy
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea. (Cheap, I know, but I'm not a
> woodworker, and I'm on a budget. Unfortunately, returning them is not
> an option). Anyway, they are made of white-finished particle board and
> I'm having a lot trouble getting them square. Because of that, I'm
> also having trouble getting the doors on straight.
>
> So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
> and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
> as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
> hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
> stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
> isn't level.
>
> I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
> least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
>
> At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
> to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Lisa
>
I've also bought a bit of furniture from Ikea over the years, and have
never had a real problem. with a tall item, like a wardrobe, it's
critical that you get the back on it straight, when it's square.
I suggest looking at the instructions again, and see if you missed a
step or two. The back is probably "cardboard", or at the least, it's
very thin.
I suggest: Get the wardrobe onto a hard floor if possible, lay it
face down and remove the back carefully (as well as your corner
braces).
Measure from corner to corner diagonally across the back. Push things
around until the measurements are equal (be as accurate as humanly
possible).
Re-attach the back (often with small, thin nails) carefully, tacking
it in each of the four corners first.
Then use ALL of the nails or other fasteners they gave you to finish
the job.
The shims mentioned in another reply can be bought at any Home Depot
or Lowes or whatever. They're used for shimming doors and windows
during installation. A bundle of them will cost you ~$2.00. Shim the
wardrobe on your uneven floor so it doesn't wobble, and then hang the
doors.
Hope this helps.
On 11 Mar 2007 10:44:44 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>I bought a pair of wardrobes from Ikea. (Cheap, I know, but I'm not a
>woodworker, and I'm on a budget. Unfortunately, returning them is not
>an option). Anyway, they are made of white-finished particle board and
>I'm having a lot trouble getting them square. Because of that, I'm
>also having trouble getting the doors on straight.
>
>So, here's what happened: first, I laid them down to assemble them,
>and the sides bowed inward. I used a triangle tool to get it as square
>as possible and then put in a couple of metal corner braces to try to
>hold the corners in place before I nailed the back on. But when I
>stand it up it still sways slightly. To complicate matters, the floor
>isn't level.
>
>I tried putting the doors on hoping that maybe I could get thing to at
>least look straight, but they are not even close to even.
>
>At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out trying to figure out how
>to fix this. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly
>appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>Lisa