IKEA and flat-pack furniture: what to move, what to take apart
Flat-pack wardrobes and IKEA furniture are not built for repeated moves. How Spartan decides: move it whole, take it apart, or call a handyman.
Three options for each piece
3 items- Move it whole. Small and medium pieces like dressers, nightstands, bookcases and TV units usually travel assembled, wrapped in moving blankets, with drawers emptied.
- Take it apart. Beds, desks and tables are routine; disassembly and reassembly are included in the hourly rate.
- Let a handyman handle it. Tall wardrobes are the tricky case. They are too tall to move standing and too weak to carry tilted when fully assembled, and they are not always designed for multiple moves. When a wardrobe is not structurally safe to move assembled, we may recommend having a handyman take it apart and rebuild it.
The foreman makes the call on site with you, piece by piece.
Before the crew arrives
5 items- Empty every drawer and shelf. Particleboard drawer bottoms fall out under weight.
- Unscrew wall anchors on tall pieces, or point them out to the crew.
- Find the assembly instructions if you still have them, or note the model names.
- Keep spare cam locks and dowels in a labeled bag.
- Tell us in the quote request which pieces are tall wardrobes.
Flat-pack is cheap to buy and hard to move
Nearly every Bay Area apartment has some flat-pack furniture: a PAX wardrobe, a MALM dresser, a KALLAX shelf, a desk from a weekend of assembly. These pieces are made from particleboard held together with cam locks and dowels. They are designed to be assembled once. Every time they are taken apart and rebuilt, the holes wear and the joints get weaker, and a wardrobe that has moved three times may not survive a fourth. We move a lot of flat-pack furniture, and the right approach is different from solid wood.
Why we are careful with tall wardrobes
A PAX-style wardrobe is often anchored to the wall, has sliding or hinged doors with fiddly hinges, and has a thin back panel that keeps the whole frame square. Moving it assembled risks racking the frame; taking it apart risks stripping the cam locks. We would rather tell you that upfront than promise a rebuild that wobbles. If you plan to replace a worn wardrobe anyway, moving day is a natural time to do it.
What it costs
There is no extra charge for flat-pack furniture. Disassembly and reassembly are part of the service, billed as time at $175 per hour for 3 movers or $235 for 4, every day, with a 3-hour minimum and 15-minute increments. Many small apartments are a 3-hour job; a studio typically takes 3 to 4 hours and a 1-bedroom 3 to 5. Assembling brand-new furniture that has never been built is a separate question; ask David when you book.
When it is cheaper to leave it
Sometimes an inexpensive bookcase is simply not worth the moving time. If a piece is already wobbly, compare the minutes it will take to dismantle, wrap, carry and rebuild with the cost of replacing it. We will move whatever you choose; this is just the conversation we would have with a friend.
Questions and answers
Do you move IKEA furniture?
Yes. Most pieces move whole or are taken apart and rebuilt, included in the hourly rate. Tall wardrobes may need special handling.
Will you take apart my IKEA wardrobe?
The foreman decides on site. These wardrobes are not always designed for multiple moves, and sometimes we recommend a handyman.
Do I need to empty IKEA dressers?
Yes. All drawers must be emptied for safety, and particleboard drawers are especially weak under load.
Is flat-pack furniture extra?
No. It is moved at the normal hourly rate.
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