Measuring for your installation
When measuring your room the following tips should help ensure you get off to a good start. They are particularly important if the space is tight:
- "Measure Twice Cut Once" is an old saying, but whenever you measure anything do it twice. If two of your measurements differ, you have made a mistake. This simple approach can help avoid plenty of mistakes.
- Make sure the tape measure is straight and not sagging or being pulled at an angle across the space. Both of these can make a space seem larger than it is.
- A decent laser measure will be more accurate and much quicker and easier to use but these cost around £100. Cheaper ones have higher tolerances of say 10cm and are not suitable.
- Take account of fixtures such as, picture rails and skirting boards, radiators etc. These cannot usually be moved and so could become awkward obstacles. Most flat pack furniture cannot be cut around them without weakening the strucutre of the unit and importantly invalidating the product warranty.
- Check the furniture will clear the ceiling.
- Ceiling heights (and floors) are usually uneven and the height will vary across the room.
- If you are buying large wardrobes that are to be assembled lying down, you may need to check the item can be assembled lying down and then stood up (use Pythagoras's Theorem for this below)
- What ceiling clearance is required above wardrobes during assembly? Some need screws to be put in to the top and 6 inches or so of room may be necessary.
- Always check with suppliers whether advertised measurements are accurate or approximate, and what the tolerance is if your space is tight.
Pythagoras's Theorem :
The sum of the square of both sides is equal to the square of the hypotenuse i.e.:
(Height x Height) + (Depth x Depth) = (Diagonal x Diagonal)
So if you wardrobe is 238cm high x 60 cm deep then (i.e. Ikea Pax):
Diagonal = Square Root of (238 x 238 + 60 x 60) = 245.44 cm
This means if your ceiling clearance is more than 246cm you can build the wardrobe lying down then stand it up. If your ceiling is less than 246cm, you can't and must build it standing up. Also be aware that your carpet can affect the height of the room too.
With some wardrobes building them standing up is much more difficult, with others (such as Rauch) they can only be built standing up.
Flat Pack Blog
Sunday, February 6th, 2011
Whether it is a bunk bed or loft bed, it is important to heed the warnings on the instructions. If you do not attach the slats properly to the upper bunk your child can suffer serious injury. The following two things have been identified:-
- The slats must all be fastened down on the top or raised bunk. On a normal bed the slats are often strung together and fastened down at six anchor point. If the slats fall through the bed you only have 12 inches to fall so no issue. If you are on the top bunk, such a fall could cause a serious injury, especially considering the way the slats might move and trap an unlucky child.
- Slat must be placed right up to the head and foot boards on the upper bunk. Again an unlucky child could slip and get trapped in a seriously uncomfortable or fatal position.
The chances of these two things happening are increased during play and therefore it is imperative that bunk beds and loft beds are assembled correctly.
