You attach a wardrobe to a wall using metal L brackets or a supplied anti tip strap fixed from the top of the carcass into a solid anchor point: a timber stud in a plasterboard wall, or a heavy duty plug in masonry. Locate the fixing point first, drill into the wall rather than through the wardrobe back panel, and use fixings rated for the weight of a fully loaded unit rather than whatever came in the box.<\/p>\n
This is a short job with serious consequences if it is skipped. A tall wardrobe is stable when empty and considerably less so when the doors are open and one side is loaded with coats. Fixing it takes around twenty minutes and removes the risk entirely. The method below covers both common UK wall types and the situations where standard fixings are not enough.<\/p>\n
UK homes typically have either solid masonry walls, usually brick or block with a plaster skim, or plasterboard on timber studwork. Tap the wall with a knuckle: a dull solid sound indicates masonry, while a hollow ring suggests plasterboard with a cavity behind it.<\/p>\n
Newer properties often use dot and dab, where plasterboard is bonded to blockwork with adhesive. This is the trickiest type, because there is a small cavity behind the board even though the wall is solid. Standard plasterboard fixings can crush into that gap, so you need a screw long enough to reach the blockwork behind and take a proper masonry plug there.<\/p>\n
On a stud wall, use an electronic detector to locate the timber uprights, which usually sit at four hundred or six hundred millimetre centres. Confirm the position by probing with a fine bracad nail before drilling. Fixing into plasterboard alone with a hollow wall anchor is acceptable for a light unit, but a full height wardrobe should always reach timber.<\/p>\n
Every detector should be used to check for cables and pipes before any hole is drilled, particularly above sockets and switches where cables run vertically. If you find services in the intended position, move the bracket sideways rather than drilling and hoping.<\/p>\n
Most wardrobes are supplied with a thin L bracket and short screws. These are adequate for light chipboard units but underspecified for anything tall or heavily loaded. Upgrading to a heavier gauge bracket costs very little and makes a genuine difference.<\/p>\n
For masonry, use a sixty millimetre screw into a nylon plug, or a frame fixing for greater holding power. For timber studs, a seventy millimetre wood screw driven at least forty millimetres into the timber is sufficient. Into the wardrobe itself, use a shorter screw that will not break through the outer face, and always drill a pilot hole in chipboard to avoid splitting the panel.<\/p>\n
Slide the wardrobe roughly into place, then mark where the top rail or top panel meets the wall. Pull the unit forward, fix the bracket to the wall first, and check it sits level. Fitting the wall side first means you are not working blind in a narrow gap behind the carcass.<\/p>\n
Push the wardrobe back so the bracket sits against the top panel or the back rail, then drive the screws into the carcass. On a unit with a thin hardboard back, never fix into the back panel alone, since it will simply tear out under load. Fix into the top panel, into a solid rail, or into the side panels where they are thick enough.<\/p>\n
Use two brackets on any wardrobe wider than eight hundred millimetres, positioned close to the outer edges rather than in the centre. That spread resists twisting as well as tipping.<\/p>\n
Check the carcass with a spirit level across the top and down each side before securing anything. Adjustable feet or plastic shims under the base correct a sloping floor, which is common in older UK properties. Fixing a wardrobe that is out of level locks the carcass into a slight twist, and the doors will never sit evenly afterwards.<\/p>\n
Carpet complicates this. A wardrobe placed on thick pile will settle over the first week or two as the pile compresses under the load. Fix the brackets loosely at first, check the level after a week, adjust the feet, then tighten fully.<\/p>\n
Some walls simply will not take a reliable fixing. Old lath and plaster, crumbling render and thermalite blocks all present problems. In those cases, options include fixing a horizontal timber batten across several studs and mounting the brackets to the batten, or using an anti tip strap anchored to the floor joists instead of the wall.<\/p>\n
Where the wardrobe sits in an alcove, packing the sides with timber shims and screwing into the side walls can be more secure than fixing at the back. For rooms where nothing can be drilled, such as some rented properties, choosing a lower unit with a wide base is a more sensible solution than relying on weight alone. Our range of modern chest of drawers UK sale<\/a> includes several designs that provide substantial hanging free storage at a much lower centre of gravity.<\/p>\n Tipping incidents almost always involve open drawers or doors, and often a child climbing. Fixing the unit is the primary defence, but layout helps too: store the heaviest items at the base and keep the top shelf light. Avoid placing anything appealing on top of a wardrobe in a child’s room, since it invites climbing.<\/p>\n Furniture intended for younger rooms is generally designed with this in mind, and our modern childrens wardrobes UK sale<\/a> are supplied with wall fixings included. Whatever the room, fitting them is part of the assembly rather than an optional extra.<\/p>\n Screws in plasterboard and chipboard can work loose over time, particularly on a wardrobe with heavy doors that are opened many times a day. Check the brackets once a year and retighten if needed. If a screw spins without gripping, move to a fresh position rather than forcing the same hole, or use a slightly larger diameter screw.<\/p>\n Planning a full bedroom refresh is a good moment to get this right across every tall piece. At Furniture in Fashion<\/a> we supply assembly instructions and wall fixings with our tall storage, and browsing the wider modern bedroom furniture UK sale<\/a> selection makes it easier to plan wall positions before anything is delivered. If you are choosing a larger unit, the proportions in our modern 4 door wardrobes UK<\/a> range give a wide, stable footprint that spreads load across more of the wall.<\/p>\n Sliding door wardrobes are more sensitive to alignment than hinged units, because the doors run in a track that must stay level and parallel. Fix the carcass only once the frame is level in both directions, and avoid pulling the top of the unit tight against a wall that bows, as this twists the track and causes the doors to bind or drift.<\/p>\n Alcove installations offer an alternative anchoring point. Screwing through the side panels into the alcove walls, with timber packers behind to take up any gap, produces a very secure fixing and spreads the load across two walls rather than one. Use packers rather than overtightening, since drawing the side panel across a gap bows the carcass and throws the doors out.<\/p>\n Where a wardrobe sits proud of a picture rail or coving, a timber spacer batten fixed to the wall at the correct depth gives the bracket something solid to meet. Fixing a bracket that spans an air gap places the screws under bending load, which is exactly what they are least suited to resist.<\/p>\n A cordless drill with a hammer setting handles masonry, while a standard driver is enough for timber studs. A combined stud, metal and cable detector is inexpensive and prevents the most expensive mistake in the whole job. Add a spirit level of at least six hundred millimetres, a pencil, a tape measure and a set of quality wall plugs matched to your screw diameter.<\/p>\n Prepare the area before you start. Clear the top of the wardrobe, move the bed away from the wall so you can work comfortably, and lay a dust sheet, since drilling into plaster produces a surprising amount of fine debris. Holding a vacuum nozzle just below the drill bit catches most of it as it falls.<\/p>\n Any wardrobe taller than it is wide should be fixed, and manufacturers state this in their instructions. Low, wide units are more stable, but fixing is still recommended in homes with young children or pets.<\/p>\n Heavy duty hollow wall anchors will hold a light unit, but they are not a substitute for a stud fixing on a full height wardrobe. If no stud falls in a usable position, fit a timber batten across two studs and bracket the wardrobe to that.<\/p>\n L brackets and anti tip straps are widely available and inexpensive. Choose a bracket of at least two millimetre gauge steel, and match the screw type to your wall: masonry plugs for brick, wood screws for timber studs.<\/p>\n It leaves two or four small screw holes, which are simple to fill and repaint if the unit is later moved. That is a minor cosmetic issue compared with the risk of leaving a tall unit unsecured.<\/p>\n No. Adhesive alone cannot be relied upon to resist the leverage of a tall unit tipping forward, and it causes far more wall damage on removal than screws do. Mechanical fixings are the only appropriate method.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Securing a wardrobe to the wall takes around twenty minutes and removes a genuine safety risk, yet it is the step most often skipped during assembly. This guide explains how to identify whether you are working with masonry, timber studwork or dot and dab plasterboard,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3334],"tags":[23,1231,5561,5560],"class_list":["post-57195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-guide-for-your-home","tag-bedroom-furniture","tag-home-improvement","tag-wall-fixings","tag-wardrobe-safety"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furnitureinfashion.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Children, Safety and Everyday Use<\/h3>\n
Check the Fixing Periodically<\/h3>\n
Fixing Sliding and Alcove Wardrobes<\/h3>\n
Tools and Preparation Worth Having<\/h3>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h3>\n
Do all wardrobes need fixing to the wall?<\/h3>\n
Can I fix a wardrobe to plasterboard without hitting a stud?<\/h3>\n
What if my wardrobe did not come with brackets?<\/h3>\n
Will fixing the wardrobe damage my wall?<\/h3>\n
Can a wardrobe be fixed to a wall with adhesive?<\/h3>\n