Disassembling and re-assembling flat-pack wardrobes - does it damage the structural integrity?

[jgkgolf]

I've bought a couple of wardrobes 2nd hand on Ebay, they were originally from Argos and are still their assembled state. I'm trying to decide whether to disassemble them and deliver them (3 miles) in the back of my estate car for free or leave them assembled and pay a man and a van 50 quid.

The only tricky part about disassembling them is the back panel which is 2 strips of hardboard hardboard with a plastic joiner down the middle. This is attached to the main body using lots of pins(like very fine nails with a small head) which have been fully nailed. I was thinking of putting a piece of 2" by1" inside it and tap it with a hammer.I suspect the pins will stay in place as the hardboard detaches and I can then remove the pins.

The rest of it is just undoing screws.However I'm just worried when I reassemble it , it won't be as solid as before? Has anybody done this?

[John]

I have wardrobes like that and have dis assembled them once. the back did pull off the nails - but I then pulled them out. On reassembly I also ran a bead of woodworking adhesive along the rebate - they are very rigid now.

[Bruce]

I did something similar with, funnily enough, an Argos wardrobe. It needed to go to a relative 35 miles away, and I decided to take it in the back of my camper van. We carefully lifted it out of the spare bedroom, down the stairs and into the van where it was laid on its back on the full-width flat bed.

The trip was over good roads but I took it fairly slowly, never exceeding 45 mph. All went well until, about 7 or 8 miles from my destination, the wardrobe just fell apart. I stopped as quickly as I could but by then the wardrobe was in pieces.

The only two parts that stayed together were one side and the floor. Everything else had come apart, and with no warning. Most of the fixings had ripped out of the chipboard; some had broken.

So instead of helping out a relative with a much-needed piece of furniture, I ended up taking it to the local recycling centre and dumping it.

Looking back, I wish I had carefully taken the wardrobe apart at least a week before the journey and reassembled it with some decent adhesive.

I didn't buy the wardrobe but would make sure I never bought any furniture from Argos in the future. It was so badly manufactured, it made MFI at its worst look like G-Plan.

[Calvin]

It'll be fine. If it's put together the way I think it is (in line with your description) the "screws" will all be cam-fasteners (search for "cam lock" and "cam dowel" on the screwfix site) which are perfectly happy being fixed and unfixed repeatedly, much better than screws which don't like being removed and reinserted too often. The back will probably look a little messy as the nails will pull through but if you simply re-use them in different places it will be structurally fine. I've taken these things apart fairly often and never had a problem.

[Owain]

If you reassemble it with screws, and glue as well as pin the hardboard it might be solider than before. Wouldn't be hard would it ...

Suggest you see the wardrobes when they're not propped up by walls before engaging the man and van. They might already be sufficiently wobbly and inclined towards self-disassembly.

Owain

[Dave Liquorice]

Are they screws into fittings or into chip? Anything into chip probably won't be quite as good but into fittings should be OK. I've taken flat pack stuff apart and reassembled it with no major issues. Large wardrobe, couple of beds. One of the beds was trouble some but only due to the kack handed orginal assembly crossing threads and damaging heads. That was an ebay purchase not my orginal assembly.

[Bill]

Also maybe worth while checking that they weren't glued when first put together. Someone I know, ex MFI, said to always use glue, even if it wasn't called for in the instructions. I've done this many times now and so far the "furniture" has stayed together. where as some I've seen that wasn't glued has slowly fallen apart. So the decision may have been made for you.

[The Medway Handyman]

I don't think a couple of Argos wardrobes are worth £50.

Thats what will happen.

It was never solid in the first place. Argos or Arrrgh os is without doubt the worst flatpack on the planet.

Glue & pin the backs back on, allow to dry & then bolt the buggers to the wall.

[The Medway Handyman]

Too right. I've seen orange boxes better made. Absolute crap.

[meow2222]

Usually they come apart ok, but 2 things can spell trouble: glue & staples. However IME even if the chipboard breaks its usually repairable enough to look ok once done. Plastic fixing blocks are useful here. Gluing does make them stronger.

NT

[Rod]

Take a supply of matches with you. Very useful when screw holes are loose. (If future dismantling and re-assembly is no issue, glue the matchsticks in the holes with PVA and re-screw while still wet.)

Take your time and, as seems sensible, let a newly glued parts/joins set before continuing with re-assembly.

If getting the back out is a real problem, you could cut it out. Then replace with a new sheet of hardboard. If the new sheet is just inside the remnants of the old, it would function fine as a back.

I am reminded of the fate of Jason, of the Argonauts:

"He was asleep under the stern of the rotting Argo when it fell on him, killing him instantly. The manner of his death was due to the deities cursing him for breaking his promise to Medea."

Don't buy an Argos four-poster...

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Aren't Argos and Homebase the same company? I've got a couple of Homebase wood filing cabinets which are beautifully made. You'd not take them apart though - the main carcass is glued and screwed, as per the instructions. But they are a few years old and things could have changed.

[Mark]

Exactly. I always use glue when assembling these as it gives then a bit of extra strength.

[Owain]

Same parent company - Home Retail Group, demerged from GUS plc in 2006. Homebase have sections of the Argos catalogue as their 'furniture' department.

Owain

[Huge]

Yes.

[Rod]

Indeed they are (although precise ownership/subsidiary structure might be complex). Go to each of their websites. Compare lists of products and product details. Very similar in areas where both cover the same general area.

And here we now have two Homebases and two Argoses (one new Extra one only opened recently). If they went bust it would be a major percentage of the town's shopping!

[Man at B&Q]

I've done this many times. It'll be fine.

MBQ

[Mark]

It's a long time since I bought any furniture from Homebase because it was utter cr*p.

[Bruce]

They have the same parent company. That doesn't mean they are "the same company".

A few years ago, Homebase was owned by Sainsbury's. An awful lot has changed since then.

[Bruce]

Plastic fixing blocks? A sign of desperation.