GENERAL ASSEMBLY GUIDE

Building our cabinets are easier than ever before as we've worked hard to come up with a simple method of assembly which, in most cases, shouldn't take more than an hour or two!

This is a general assembly guide for our range of cabinets.

Although the dimensions, layout and style may be different, the method of assembly will be the same.

What tools will you need?

Hammer

Screwdriver

Measuring Tape

Electric Screwdriver

In most cases, these will be the only tools you'll need to fully assemble your cabinet. Although most fixing's are fitted and tightened with just a hammer and a screwdriver, having an electric screwdriver makes easy work of where wood screws are involved!

In cases where you plan to scribe filler panels to walls, or trim a counter-top to a wonky alcove, a jigsaw or block plane will also be required.

Getting started

The best place to begin is to simply unwrap all your panels from there packages and lay them on the floor in groups of either side panels, tops, bottoms, doors etc., or in groups of the cabinet they belong to. This will make it easy to manage and hopefully less overwhelming!

Locate your fitting kit(s) which will also be with your assembly guide and exploded diagrams and just have a check through so you become familiar with the design and the basics of how your cabinet will go together. 

Assembling your cabinet will be easier than ever (and easier than IKEA!), but if you have any questions or issues with anything, don't hesitate to contact a member of our team and we will be happy to help in any way we can.

Now that you have all the components organised and ready to go, it's time to start assembling!

Assembling your cabinet

1.Starting with your side panels:

Screw the Rafix screws into their holes using a drill and repeat this step for both side panels. Depending on if your cabinet has fixed shelves, there may be more screws to screw in on both side panels.



TIP: A Phillips #3 screwdriver bit works best for these screws. Try to keep them straight as they're screwed in!

2.Top and Bottom Panels:

Use a hammer to insert the Rafix fixings into their holes with the opening facing the opening edge of the panel.

Repeat this process with both the top and bottom panels. If there are fixed shelves in your cabinet, these will also have the same Rafix fitting's.

3.The Plinth:

Along with the sides, top and bottom panels, the plinth will also have the same fixings.

Tap the white Rafix fixings into the plinth and screw the Rafix screws into the bottom panel. These will be along the front edge of the bottom panel.

4.Assembling the cabinet:

Now that the fixings are in place, it's time to put the pieces together!

A couple things to keep in mind before starting:

• The white Rafix fixing's will always face the outside of the cabinet.

• The front edges of the panels will be smooth and slightly chamfered.

  • Lay the side panel on the floor with the screws facing upwards.
  • Slot the top and bottom panel into their mortices. For the Rafix to align, the white fixing's will need to face the outside.
  • Slot the Plinth into it's mortice with the Rafix facing the rear of the cabinet.
  • Optional: If you have fixed shelves, slot these into their mortices, too. The white Rafix will face towards the base of the cabinet.
  • Finally, align and tap the other side panel into place. This may take some wiggling to make sure all the tenons slot into their mortices.

Tip: Refer to your diagrams to better understand which parts are which and how the final result should look!

5.Fastening all the fixings:

Now that the structure is built, it's time to fasten all the Rafix fixings to strengthen up the cabinet.

Using your screwdriver, tighten all the white Rafix fixings until the connections are tight, strong and until they can't be screwed any further. Be careful not to screw them with too much pressure!

The built-in screws are angled for easy accessibility. 

Remember to tighten up the plinth and, if you have them, the fixed shelf fixings!

6.The Back Panel(s):

With all the fixings tightened up, lay the cabinet face down on the floor. Be careful when tipping the cabinet not to crook the structure into a rhombus shape! This may damage the tenons and fixings.

Before nailing the back panel in place, make sure the cabinet is square!

To do this: Use your tape measure and measure the diagonal corners of the cabinet. Gently knock and adjust the cabinet until both diagonal dimensions are the same.

This will mean the cabinet will be square for when you fix the back panel which will lock the shape in place.

The cabinet can now be tipped the correct way up and everything will be secure and sturdy!

7.Fixing the Counter-Top:

The next step is to fix the counter-top.

Place the counter-top on top of the cabinet. The position of this will depend on whether you requested it to overhang any of the edges, but for most cases, the back edge will be flush with the back of the cabinet.

Using the 30mm screws, screw up from inside the cupboard using the pre-drilled holes.

For a tight connection, it's often helpful to loosen the screws slightly after tightening them, and then re-tighten them.

Your cabinets carcass will now be nice and strong, sturdy and, for bookcases, finished!

If you have a cupboard with doors, the last step is attaching the hinges and hanging the doors.

8.Attaching the hinges and doors:

Locate in your fitting kit, your hinges. These will be individually packaged in their own bags with their own screws.

Detach the hinge from their plates by pushing the little metal button on the end of the hinge, keeping note of which way the hinge plate faces the hinge.

Line the hinge plate up with the 5mm diameter holes on your side panels and simply screw them in. Repeat this step with all the hinges plates.

Now, with the doors laying face down on the floor, slot the hinges into the large circular holes, keeping the arms as perpendicular with the door edge as possible.

Use the small 15mm screws included in the hinge packet to secure the hinges to the door. 

All that's  left now is to hang the doors! 

Simply position and hook the hinge arms in line with the hinge plates and press the hinge into the plate to lock them in place

Do the same for all doors until they are securely fitted onto the cabinet.

8.Levelling the doors:

Adjusting the doors isn't always necessary as they may already look perfect. If they're slightly unlevel or the gaps are too large/small, it a very easy fix!

As standard, all our doors have a 2mm slack between the door edges and carcass sides, with a 2mm slack between the doors if you have more than one.


For more information regarding our hinges, feel free to check out our hinge fitting guide!