How to assemble a sideboard

• Allen key (supplied)
• Cross-head screwdriver
• Small hammer
• Tape measure
• Spirit level

Before you start, lay everything out on a soft surface (the flattened box works) and check it against the parts list in your manual.

• Carcass panels: top, bottom, sides and dividers
• Back panel
• Doors with hinges, drawer fronts and boxes
• Drawer runners, shelf pins, cam locks and dowels
• Handles and screws, anti-tip fitting

1. 1

   Step 1: Sort the panels and fittings by the letters or numbers in your manual before you start; sideboards have many similar-looking parts.

2. 2

   Step 2: Fit the drawer runners and hinge plates to the side panels and dividers while they are still flat. It is much harder once the carcass is built.

3. 3

   Step 3: Build the carcass lying on its back: bottom, sides and dividers first, then the top, locking each cam half a turn.

4. 4

   Step 4: Measure the diagonals and square it up, then fix the back panel all the way around.

5. 5

   Step 5: Build the drawers: sides into the front, then the back, slide the base panel into its groove, and fix the runners to the drawer sides.

6. 6

   Step 6: Stand the sideboard up, push in the drawers and hang the doors.

7. 7

   Step 7: Adjust the hinges so the gaps between the doors are even and the doors close flush.

8. 8

   Step 8: Fit the handles, place the sideboard, level it and fix it to the wall if it is tall or has heavy drawers.

• Fitting drawer runners the wrong way round (left and right are often mirrored).
• Building on an uneven floor and blaming the hinges when the doors do not line up.
• Tightening handle screws so hard they crack the drawer front.