How to Assemble Furniture Alone

The setup

Open any flat-pack manual and there's the little drawing of two people, one holding the side panel while the other drives the screw. Alone, you're both people, and the panel keeps falling over.

Why it's hard alone

Assembly needs one set of hands to hold and another to fasten. Panels need to sit at exact right angles while you screw them together, and big pieces need to be lifted upright once built. The solo answer is to recruit things that hold still: clamps, walls, the floor, and gravity.

The solo method

1. Unpack and sort everything first. Lay out hardware in a muffin tin or egg carton, labeled by letter. Count it against the list.
2. Build on a blanket or the flattened box. It protects the floor and the finish, and lets you slide pieces around.
3. Use clamps as your second person. Clamp the panel you're holding to the one you're attaching to, then fasten with both hands free.
4. Brace against a wall or corner. Push a side panel against the wall so it stands upright on its own while you attach the next piece.
5. Build it lying down where you can. Bookcases and cabinets are easiest assembled on their backs, then tipped up.
6. Tip up from the top, walking your hands down. Slowly, with the piece's bottom edge against your foot or a wall so it can't slide.
7. Anchor it to the wall. Tall furniture can tip. Use the anti-tip kit that came in the box.

What nobody tells you

Don't fully tighten any screw until all the pieces of that section are in. Snug them, check that it's square, then tighten. Fully tightened early, the last piece never lines up.

And wardrobes and tall wall units are genuinely two-person jobs to stand upright. That's the honest line: assemble alone, then get help for the lift.