Flat-Pack Furniture: DIY or Hire a Pro?
Written by John Gasiamis, Founder — John's Handyman Service
Simple flat-pack items — a small bookshelf, a bedside table — are usually fine as a DIY job. Wardrobes, larger units, and anything going on a wall (TVs, floating shelves, mirrors) are where hiring makes the biggest difference, both in time and in getting it properly fixed.
The most common DIY problems aren't really about assembly — they're missing dowels or panels found halfway through, doors that don't quite align once the whole unit is up, and wall fixings driven into plaster instead of the stud or brick behind it. That last one matters more than it sounds: a TV or heavy shelf on a fixing that isn't into something solid is a real safety risk, not just a cosmetic one.
Why wall fixings are the part worth getting right
Plasterboard walls need a fixing into the timber or steel stud behind them, or a rated plasterboard anchor rated for the actual weight involved — not just a screw into the plaster itself, which will pull out under load over time. Finding a stud, checking what's behind the wall before drilling, and matching the fixing to the weight of what's being hung are the parts that go wrong most often in DIY jobs, usually discovered only after something has come loose or fallen.
The honest trade-off: hiring costs more upfront than doing it yourself for free. What you get for that is time back, and the fixing done into the right spot the first time.
A TV mount in a Heidelberg home had been installed by the homeowner using the wall anchors included in the mounting kit, straight into plasterboard with no stud behind it. It was holding, but only just — a firm knock would likely have brought it down. Relocating it 4cm to land on the stud made it properly secure, no different kit needed.
Common questions
Only if the fixings land on a stud or solid structure behind the wall. The included hardware is often generic and doesn't account for what's actually behind your particular wall.
Not checking all the parts and dowels are present before starting, and rushing wall fixings for wall-mounted pieces — both are easy to fix if caught early, harder once the unit is fully built.
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