Brace yourselves!

[supersadie]

Hi
When I moved house recently the removal men disassembled a wardrobe before it went into storage. They offered to reassemble it but given what happened with their other assembly jobs, I decided to do it myself as I knew what went where.
I have now (days and days and days later) managed to reassemble it and get the doors on and drawers in. How proud was I?!
However, I discovered that it's racking every time you open a door. Like a comedy cupboard. Open one door it racks right, t'other door makes it rack the other way. With all this rockin and rollin, the back boards have come away.
Because it's heavy and unstable, I'm not keen to try to move it to access the back. Question is, could I brace it from above to make it stable? Would it work to clamber up a ladder and put an x-brace on from corner to corner?
The whole thing is a double wardrobe with three drawers and a door above on the left and a full length door on the right. It's divided in two by a vertical barrier and there is a hanging rail and a fixed shelf.
Apologies for long post! And thanks

 

[Burnerman]

It sounds like it's the back of the wardrobe that prevents it becoming a parallelogram, and therefore it's much better if it's fixed.
Could you consider removing the doors and drawers, and getting someone to help you lower the thing onto it's front while you get to work?
John

 

[big-all]

if the back is i two halves[top and bottom]
can you at least temporeraly get the bottom section in with the clip on plastic joining strip clipped on top

 

[supersadie]

It sounds as though the back board is the only option. Funny how something so flimsy can hold this monster in place. It's not top and bottom, but side and side, unfortunately, Big-all. I had a heck of a job pinning it on as the nails kept bending or going through the wardrobe. I might try little screws this time and possibly invest in some slightly heavier weight board. Thanks for sensible responses.

 

[big-all]

aahh its on the back rather than in a groove
iff you cant easily rotate is to get to the back
i would remove all doors then fully empty before moving it round and face flat onto the floor

 

[Burnerman]

It sounds like the wardrobe back is actually hardboard .....common enough in flap pack stuff. Unfortunately it's tough to hammer nails through, and they run dangerously close to the edge of the sides so screws could be an issue unless you are very careful.
Some 3mm ply as a back replacement will be a bit more forgiving.
John

 

[supersadie]

3mm ply with nails or screws, you think?

 

[foxhole]

What's racking?

 

[supersadie]

It's where a shape that should be square leans to one side, turning into a rhombus and eventually collapsing

 

[big-all]

It's where a shape that should be square leans to one side, turning into a rhombus and eventually collapsing

yes indeed when the weight off the structure is no longer contained in a purely vertical downward compressing motion on the sides
but the weight starts to pull the structure to the side where the weight exceeds the ability off the fixings and structure to contain the extra sideways strain and forces then it will move to a point when it collapses

 

[DaveHerns]

Did it rack before you moved? I'd refit the back using No More Nails or similar.

 

[supersadie]

No. It was perfectly stable. These things never seem to go back exactly as before. It wasn't cheap, but it's still particleboard. Hey ho.

 

[supersadie]

What I've learnt... The wardrobe is now rock steady. I have discovered...1) make sure the top of the backboard and the top of the wardrobe are aligned. 2) use 'annular ring' nails and not the tintacks supplied with the wardrobe 3) buy a large clamp or two to keep the shebang stable while it's being done 4) the wardrobe itself had a loose bolt. This could have been tightened by the insertion of a little Andrex. Other loo paper brands are available...