What’s different about IKEA shelves
LACK hides its fixing inside the shelf: a rail goes on the wall and the shelf slides over it. It looks clean, but a marking error has nowhere to hide. If the line is a couple of millimetres off, you see it from the doorway.
EKET cabinets and other wall units hang on a rail or brackets, so the whole load sits on two or three points. Concrete wants one kind of plug, brick another, plasterboard a third: a spring toggle or a fixing into the metal stud. IKEA’s own instructions say the same thing, choose fixings for your wall.
Think about the load too. A shelf packed with books keeps pulling at its fixings, and a weak wall gives way over time.
Rather hand the job over? More here: IKEA furniture assembly in Warsaw.
Why shelves end up crooked
- Marking off the ceiling or skirting. In most flats in Śródmieście, old or new, neither is straight. Use a level.
- Plugs from the kitchen drawer. A basic plastic plug spins in plasterboard and the shelf starts to tip forward.
- Drilling without checking the wall. Cables often run above sockets and switches, and kitchens and bathrooms hide pipes.
- Ignoring weight. An empty shelf holds fine, then pulls away a month after the books go on.
On safety: the wall gets checked with a cable detector before drilling, especially near sockets and switches.
Before the handyman comes
- Decide where the shelves go and at what height, and pencil it on the wall.
- Find out what the wall is made of. Knock on it or ask the building manager.
- Clear the space along the wall and cover anything that hates dust.
- Keep the IKEA instructions, they show the fixing points.
Getting it booked
In the app, say which shelves and how many, and add a photo of the wall. Handymen who take this work send offers with their own price, and you choose on price, rating and reviews.
Contact details and your address are shared after you pick someone. You pay the handyman directly and they issue the invoice. Fixings are normally part of the job, rubbish removal is extra.
Order in the app
Describe the job, add photos and the address. Tradespeople send their own prices and dates, and you pick one of the offers.
Open the appIf a shelf moves because of how it was hung, the handyman who hung it redoes their work. Crumbling plaster or hidden voids in the wall aren’t covered by that.
