How to Dismantle and Reassemble Furniture for Moving in Abu Dhabi
Dismantling furniture before a move, and reassembling it at the new home, is mostly about the big flat-pack pieces: wardrobes, beds, bunk beds, dining tables and TV units. Done right, every panel goes back together straight and every door closes. Done in a hurry, you end up with a bag of mixed screws, a wardrobe that leans and stripped holes in the particle board. This guide covers which pieces need dismantling, the tools, the labelling system that saves hours at the other end, and how to check the reassembly.
The short answer
- Take apart: wardrobes, bed frames, bunk beds, large tables and anything that will not fit the lift or stairs.
- Leave whole: glued pieces, antiques with old joints, and small items that pass through doors.
- Photograph first: every piece, from the front, back and inside, before the first screw comes out.
- One bag per piece: screws and fittings labelled and taped to that piece.
- Never overtighten particle board: stripped holes are the main reason flat-pack furniture fails after a move.
- Re-anchor tall furniture: wardrobes and bookcases go back on the wall at the new home.
Which furniture needs to be taken apart before moving?
The test is simple: will it pass through every door, corridor, lift and staircase between the old room and the new one, without tilting it so far that the joints strain? In Abu Dhabi flats, the service lift and the bedroom door are usually the tightest points. In villas, it is the turn in the staircase.
| Usually taken apart | Usually moved whole |
|---|---|
| Wardrobes, including IKEA PAX and hinged or sliding-door units | Chests of drawers that fit the lift, with drawers taped shut |
| Bed frames, storage beds and headboards | Bedside tables and small cabinets |
| Bunk beds, loft beds and cots | Armchairs and two-seater sofas |
| Dining tables with removable legs | Glued or dowelled solid wood pieces |
| Corner and sectional sofas | Antiques with old or fragile joints |
| Large TV units, desks and shelving | Office chairs and stools |
If in doubt, measure. A full-height wardrobe often will not stand upright in a passenger lift, and tipping it on its side puts strain on the back panel.
What tools do you need to take furniture apart?
- Allen keys: a full set, as flat-pack brands use different sizes.
- Screwdrivers: Phillips and flat, in two sizes each.
- Cordless drill: only on the lowest clutch setting, and never for the final turn into particle board.
- Rubber mallet: to tap panels apart and back together without marking them.
- Zip bags, masking tape and a marker: the labelling kit.
- Your phone: photos and a short video of each piece before you start.
If you have the original assembly instructions, keep them with the piece. IKEA publishes the instructions for its products on each product page, so you can download them if the paper copy is gone.
How do you label furniture parts so reassembly is easy?
This is the step that decides how long reassembly takes. Use one simple system for the whole house:
- Give each piece a letter: wardrobe A, bed B, bunk bed C.
- Number the panels: a strip of masking tape on the inside edge of each panel, A1, A2, A3, in the order they come off.
- Mark the direction: an arrow on the tape pointing to the top, so side panels go back the right way round.
- Bag the hardware by piece: all of wardrobe A's screws, cams and dowels in one bag marked A.
- Tape the bag to the piece: inside a drawer or to the back panel, never in a general box.
- Keep doors and their hinges together: hinges stay on the door if they can, so the alignment is not lost.
How do you take apart a wardrobe for moving?
- Empty it: clothes, shelves, drawers, rails and baskets out.
- Release it from the wall: most tall wardrobes are fixed to the wall with a bracket or strap near the top. Undo that before anything else, with someone holding the wardrobe.
- Take off the doors: for hinged doors, unclip or unscrew the hinge from the frame side. For sliding doors, lift each door up and out of the bottom track, as the manual describes, and keep the tracks and stoppers in the bag.
- Remove drawers, shelves and the back panel: back panels are often thin board held by small nails or clips. Ease them out slowly.
- Release the cam locks: turn each round cam a half turn anticlockwise until the panel comes free. Do not force it.
- Lay panels on blankets: carry them on edge and stack them with something soft between each.
Wardrobes made of particle board, which is most flat-pack furniture, can take one or two moves well. Each time it is taken apart, the screw holes get a little weaker. Solid wood wardrobes handle repeated moves much better.
How do you take apart a bed and bunk bed?
Standard bed frames
Remove the mattress and bag it. Take out the slats and tape them into a bundle. Unscrew the side rails from the headboard and footboard, and put the long bolts and any centre support legs in the bed's bag.
Storage beds with a lifting base
These have gas struts that hold the base up, and the base can drop or spring when you work on it. Remove the mattress first, keep the base down, and have a second person hold it if you need to release the struts. Follow the maker's instructions for the lift mechanism.
Bunk beds and loft beds
Take the top bunk off before anything else, with two people. Remove the ladder and guard rails, then the top frame, then the bottom. These pieces carry children's weight, so every bolt must go back in the same hole, tightened fully, and checked again a few days after the move.
How do you take apart tables, sofas and TV units?
Dining tables
Turn the table upside down on a blanket and unscrew the legs. Extending tables often have a hidden leaf and locking clips. Lock the leaf in the closed position before moving it.
Corner and sectional sofas
Sections are usually joined by metal brackets underneath. Lift and slide the sections apart, and unscrew the feet. Recliners with motors need the power cable unplugged and stowed.
TV units and wall shelving
Take the TV off first. Remove glass shelves and doors, then the frame. If the unit or shelving was fixed to the wall, the holes stay behind, and filling and painting them may be part of your handover. Fitting it at the new home is a job for a handyman service, especially on gypsum walls, which need the right anchors.
How do you put furniture back together after a move?
- Build in the room it belongs in: a reassembled wardrobe may not fit through the door again.
- Follow your photos and labels: panel A1 first, in reverse order of how it came apart.
- Hand-tighten the final turn: stop when the screw is snug. Overtightening strips particle board.
- Check it is square: measure both diagonals of the frame. If they match, the piece is square.
- Level it: use the adjustable feet, or pack under the base, so doors hang straight.
- Adjust the doors: hinge screws move the door up, down and sideways until the gaps are even.
- Anchor it to the wall: tall wardrobes and bookcases need wall fixing at the new home to stop them tipping.
If a screw hole is stripped, a little wood glue and a wooden dowel or matchsticks pushed into the hole, left to dry, will usually give the screw something to grip again.
Most full-service movers and packers include dismantling and reassembly, and it is included when our crew moves your furniture. You can see how it works for single pieces and full rooms on our page for furniture movers in Abu Dhabi.
Dismantling and reassembly questions
Do I need to take my wardrobe apart before moving?
Usually, yes. Most wardrobes are too tall or too heavy to pass through doors, lifts and stairs in one piece without straining the joints. Take off the doors, shelves and back panel, then release the cam locks.
Can IKEA furniture be taken apart and reassembled?
Yes. IKEA furniture is designed to come apart, and the instructions for each product are on its IKEA product page. Particle board weakens a little with each move, so tighten screws by hand and do not overtighten.
How do I keep track of screws when taking furniture apart?
Use one zip bag per piece of furniture, labelled with the piece's letter, and tape the bag to that piece. Never put screws from different pieces in one box.
What do I do if a screw hole is stripped?
Fill the hole with wood glue and a wooden dowel or matchsticks, let it dry, then put the screw back in by hand. For a cam lock hole that has broken out, the panel may need replacing.
Is it safe to take apart a storage bed with gas struts?
Yes, with care. Remove the mattress first, keep the base down, and have a second person hold it when the struts are released. Follow the maker's instructions for the lift mechanism.
Should tall furniture be fixed to the wall at the new home?
Yes. Tall wardrobes and bookcases can tip forward, especially with drawers open. Fix them to the wall with the right anchor for the wall type, as gypsum walls need different fixings from block walls.
Do movers take apart and reassemble furniture?
Most full-service movers do, but check it is in the quote. With us, dismantling and reassembly of wardrobes, beds and tables is part of the furniture move.
Written by the team at Expert Furniture Movers, an Abu Dhabi moving company whose crews take apart and reassemble wardrobes, beds and tables on most moves.
Taken apart, moved and put back
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