Moving house: dismantling furniture made easy
Moving house shows which furniture was dismantled well — at the latest during reassembly, when screws are missing or parts no longer fit. With the right order and a little preparation, you can take most furniture apart without damage and put it back together in your new home.
Before dismantling: take photos and label
Take a few photos of each piece before you take it apart — especially of joints, fittings and the position of shelves. Keep the assembly instructions; most manufacturers also provide them online.
Stick a piece of masking tape with a short label on larger parts, such as "bedroom wardrobe, left side". That saves a lot of guesswork during reassembly.
The right order
As a rule, dismantle in the reverse order of assembly:
- Empty the furniture completely
- Remove doors, drawers and glass inserts
- Take out shelves and clothes rails
- Detach the back panel
- Dismantle the carcass — with two people for large wardrobes
Don't lose screws and small parts
Put the screws, dowels and fittings of each piece in their own labelled bag and tape it directly to a large part of the same piece. That way everything arrives together.
With hinges it's worth taking a look first: many can be unclipped without changing the setting. Then the doors will hang almost exactly as before after the move.
What's better left assembled
Chipboard furniture doesn't cope well with repeated dismantling: every time a screw is driven in again, the thread suffers. Small, sturdy pieces such as chests of drawers or bedside tables are therefore better transported whole — secure the drawers with tape or carry them separately.
Solid wood furniture and high-quality wardrobe systems with metal fittings, on the other hand, can usually be assembled and dismantled several times without problems.
Reassembly in the new home
In the new home, check the wall type first before fixing tall furniture — the old wall plugs won't necessarily suit the new wall. The anti-tip fitting must be reinstalled in any case.
Take care with fitted kitchens: worktops and panels are cut to the old room and often won't fit the new kitchen without adjustment. Have the new kitchen measured beforehand.
Moving without furniture stress
We dismantle your furniture in your old home and reassemble it in the new one — including wall fixing.
