Discuss Last minute tips? on IKEAFANS.com. We're Personalizing the IKEA Experience. Last minute tips? - Questions about how to handle your trip to IKEA? Want to know the best time to go or the procedure for ordering? Ask here..
Take your time and think through everything when you build the first one. After that, you'll know exactly what to do and will be assembling boxes in no time flat. It's worth it to avoid making a mistake the first time, it helps make the process easier to remember and follow.
Use the box, opened flat, to protect your floor.
Find a place to manage the trash so you don't end up with stuff everywhere.
I like to use a muffin tin to put all the little hardware pieces in, it's easy to sort them into the cups and easy to find.
You may want to get a cheap ($20) brad nailer to attach the backs more easily. A square and later on, a level are also helpful.
Keep the manuals for each type of cabinet.
Get all the boxes you need to build a cabinet together before you start. Open them and lay out the pieces all at once.
Good one about the muffin tray...it will also help us keep the nails, screw, and wood dowels (?) away from my daughter (who LOVES ikea tools).
Do you think I need the square already? We were going to buy one but thought that was just for installation (and we will have the assistance of a carpenter at that stage).
Is a brad nailer the same as a nail/staple gun? That was on the list so I have that. Also got a laser level.
I bought a cheapy air compressor and brad nailer at Sears. Spent less than $80 and it made putting the backs on a breeze...I'm also using it to brad/nail new base boards. It was well worth it.
I'll add that it's good to resist unpacking all the doors and drawer fronts while cabinet assembly is going on. You don't want them getting dinged. I labeled the boxes so that my helpers wouldn't open stuff they didn't need at the time. When grouping things, keep shelves separate from doors, and those separate from cabinets, and those separate from drawers. As long as they are labeled, they won't get mixed up, and you want to group by stage of the build rather than by individual cabinet.
If you have a large table it can really help save your back - I used my pingpong table so I didn't have to do any kneeling.
Drawer assembly is quite fun - if you have all the boxes organized, I recommend doing a bunch at a time, assembly line style. Break the process into steps and do 10 or 12 of that one step before moving on to the next step.
On the narrower cabinets (12-15"), be sure to install the drawer railings before you build the cabinets.
Do try to get them square when you build them, but keep in mind you can make some corrections as you install the boxes.
have fun!
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