Assembly guide

Low side cabinet beside your bed

Every part arrives cut, edged, finished and drilled, with the connectors set, the hinges on the doors, the drawer slides on and the drawer fronts fixed. These steps cover all four styles; a step only some styles have says so.

Height
28" tall
Depth
15-7/8" carcass, 16-19/32" over the fronts
Widths
18" to 33"
People
one; two to stand it up
Start building
Part 1

Before you start

Step 1. Check what arrived

Each side cabinet comes in its own carton on the bed's pallet. Look at every box before you sign for the delivery, and write any damage on the driver's receipt. Every part is cut, edged, finished and drilled, the connectors are set in their pockets, the hinges are on the doors, the drawer slides are on, and each drawer front is already fixed to its box front.

  • Carcass: two sides, the deck (the bottom), the toe kick rail, the hang rail and back support and the top, and the thin back panel.
  • Shelves: one, on the door and open styles.
  • Doors (door styles), hinges already on.
  • Drawers (drawer styles): for each drawer, the front (fixed to its box front), two box sides with their slide pieces on, a box back and a box bottom.
  • Our hardware bag: the connector bit, cover caps, shelf pins, the pulls and their screws, and four #10 × 3" wall screws.

CheckMissing or damaged part? Stop and call us before you build around it.

Step 2. Tools

  • Drill/driver with a clutch, and the connector bit from our bag
  • #2 Phillips screwdriver or bit
  • 1/8" drill bit, at least 3" long
  • Stud finder, tape measure, level and a pencil
  • A blanket to work on

TipOne person can build a side cabinet; two make standing it up and fixing it to the wall easier.

Part 2

Build the cabinet

Step 3. Lay the right side down

Lay the right side on the blanket, inside face up (the face with the rows of shelf pin holes), front edge toward you. Every other carcass part stands on this one.

The right side lying inside face up.

Step 4. Stand the deck and rails on it

Each part has connectors set in it whose screws line up with holes drilled in the side. Stand each one on its end in place and drive its connectors with the connector bit until the joint pulls tight.

  1. Deck, at the bottom, 3" up.
  2. Toe kick rail, under the front of the deck, set back from the front edge.
  3. Back support on the deck at the back, and the hang rail at the top back.

TipSet the clutch low. A connector pulls the joint tight at a gentle setting; driving it hard strips the hole.

Deck
The carcass parts standing on the right side.

Step 5. Slide the back in

The thin back panel runs in a groove in the side, the deck and the top. Slide it into the grooves, finished face toward the front, until it bottoms in the groove in the side. Nothing fastens it; the grooves hold it.

The back sliding into its grooves.

Step 6. Put the other side on

Lower the left side onto the parts, inside face down, with the back panel in its groove. Line up each connector screw with its hole, then drive them all.

The left side going on top.

Step 7. Stand it up, fit the top and cap the connectors

Stand the cabinet up. Lay the top on it, overhanging the same at both sides and flush at the back, and drive the connectors from inside the cabinet up through the sides into the top. Then press a cover cap onto every connector you can see until it snaps in.

The top going on over the sides.
Part 3

Drawers, doors and shelves

Step 8. Build the drawer boxes

Drawer styles

For each drawer:

  1. Lay the drawer front face down on the blanket; its box front stands up from it.
  2. Stand a box side against each end of the box front, slide pieces outward, and drive the connectors.
  3. Fit the box back between the two sides and drive its connectors.
  4. Slide the bottom in from the back, along the grooves in the sides and the box front, until it stops.

CheckMeasure the box corner to corner both ways. The two should match; if not, push the long corners together before the last connectors are tight.

Step 9. Fit the pulls and hang the drawers

Drawer styles

Fit each drawer's pull now, while you can reach inside the box: posts into the two drilled holes from the front, screws in from inside the box.

Then hang it: pull the slide pieces in the cabinet out toward you, line the pieces on the box sides up with them, keep the drawer level and push it in. It runs smoothly once both sides are engaged, and closes the last inch on its own.

The drawer going onto its slides.

Step 10. Hang the doors

Door styles

The hinges are on the doors and their plates are on the cabinet sides. Hold a door open at about a right angle, hook the front of each hinge arm onto its plate and press the back of the arm down until it clicks. Fit the pull the same way as a drawer's: posts in from the front, screws from the back of the door.

Then adjust it with a #2 Phillips until the gaps are even:

  1. Side to side: the screw nearest the door.
  2. In and out: the screw at the back of the hinge arm.
  3. Up and down: the cam on the plate.

TipTo take a door off again, press the release at the back of the hinge arm and lift the door away.

The doors hung, under the drawer.
Cabinet sideDoor1 Side to side2 In and out3 Up and down (plate cam)
Each hinge adjusts three ways.

Step 11. Shelf pins and shelves

Push four shelf pins into the holes at the height you want each shelf, at the same level in all four rows, and lay the shelf on them.

If a pin hole you want has a hinge plate over it, use the hole below.

The shelves on their pins.
Part 4

Fix it to the wall

Step 12. Set it in place

Stand the cabinet in its place beside the bed, back against the wall. Check it with a level across the top and down the front edge. If the floor is out, pack thin shims under the sides until it is level and sits flat against the wall.

TipThe doors and drawer fronts stand one front proud of the bed's side. That is how it is designed.

Step 13. Screw it to the studs

Find the studs behind the hang rail (at the top back). Drill a 1/8" pilot hole through the rail into each stud and drive our four #10 × 3" wall screws, at least two into a stud, until the rail pulls tight to the wall.

In metal studs or masonry, use toggle bolts or masonry screws instead, as in the bed guide's wall step. Drywall alone will not hold a loaded cabinet.

CarefulA tall cabinet full of books and an open drawer can tip. Do not use it until it is screwed to the wall.

Hang railStuds are usually 16" apart. Find yours.
Looking at the back: the wall screws go through the hang rail into the studs.