Flat-pack furniture comes in a box and requires assembly. Although ready to assemble furniture is affordable and stylish, sometimes it needs a little extra effort to make it sturdy enough to last. Some brands have better quality than others, but cheaper pieces can get wobbly or fall apart over time. Reinforcing RTA furniture is inexpensive and simple, and takes only a few more minutes added to the assembly process. The trick is to strengthen the piece as you put it together, so you don’t have to do it later and start from scratch. Even with already assembled furniture, though, you can follow these simple steps to make it sturdier.

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How to Reinforce Any Piece of Furniture

It’s the connecting parts that usually fail and make your furniture wobbly. Most modern furnishings are made of particleboard which just isn’t as firm as real wood. Try the tips from our furniture assembly experts to reinforce the connections and prolong the lifespan of your furniture.

You will need:

  • Carpenter’s wood glue* (for raw wood)
  • Polyurethane glue (for finished surfaces)
  • Wood screws
  • Screw gun
  • Drill bit
  • Steel corner braces
  • Pencil
  • Clean rag

*Apply a small amount of glue to reduce glue drying time. When using adhesives, always work in a well-ventilated space.

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Using longer wood screws will strengthen the structure of your furniture.

Step 1

Read the assembly instructions for your flat-pack furniture, and measure all the wood screws that are delivered with the assembly supplies. Buy similar parts that are longer, but not too long because they could puncture the opposite side of the surface you will be screwing them into.

Step 2

Assemble the furniture following the manufacturer instructions. Apply a small amount of glue onto the slots where wood parts fit together. Clean up any drips with a rag before the adhesive dries up. Let the glue dry for at least five hours or overnight before proceeding with the next step.

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Step 3

Insert and tighten the longer screws you bought (see step 1) in place of the manufacturer screws. Drill a small hole along the hidden edges of the furniture with a screw gun to add more strength. Screw and tighten the screws to reinforce the joint. At this point, you can apply a small amount of wood glue to the screw holes, just note that this will make taking apart the furniture more difficult in future.

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Step 4

Place steel braces on the bottom and/or back corners of your flat-pack furniture, and make marks with a pencil where screws will go. Drill starter holes with the drill. Place the steel braces on top of the pre-marked areas. Insert the screws, then tighten them to fix the steel braces to the underside corners.

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Step 5

To reinforce furniture that has already been assembled, you can put steel braces in the corners and add more screws at the hidden edges. Allways drill starter holes before tightening the screws to avoid splitting of the wood. You can also place extra steel braces on the base and back corners of your furniture. Another way to reinforce a piece that has already been assembled is to apply wood glue on hidden corners to add extra durability. Let glue dry overnight.

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