Jocoevol
Assembly & Care
Nearly everything we make is flat-pack. Done in the right order it is straightforward; done in the wrong order it is an afternoon lost.
Flat-pack furniture has a reputation, most of it earned by instructions rather than by hardware. Our sheets are illustrated, parts are labelled on the panels themselves, and the fixings come sorted in a blister pack rather than loose in a bag. What follows is the part the sheet never says out loud.
Set up before you start
- Work in the room the piece will live in. An assembled queen bed does not travel through a standard doorway. Neither does a 55-inch dresser.
- Put the carton down flat and open it face up. Panels are stacked in assembly order; tipping the box out shuffles them and costs you twenty minutes of sorting.
- Lay a blanket down. Most surface damage happens during assembly, not shipping.
- Count the hardware first. Against the parts list, before the first screw. Missing fixings are rare and easy to replace — but only if you find out at minute five rather than minute ninety.
Tools
The Allen key in the box does the whole job on most pieces. Add a #2 Phillips screwdriver, and for anything with more than eight cam locks a cordless driver set to its lowest clutch setting. Full torque on a cam screw strips the board every time; the clutch exists for exactly this.
Realistic times
| Piece | People | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Nightstand, small cabinet | 1 | 20–30 min |
| Dining chair (each) | 1 | 10–15 min |
| 5 or 6 drawer dresser | 1–2 | 60–90 min |
| Upholstered storage bed | 2 | 90–150 min |
| Bunk or loft frame | 2 | 2–3 h |
| Patio sofa or dining set | 2 | 1–2 h |
| Resin shed, carport | 2 | 4–6 h |
These are honest numbers for a first build, not showroom numbers.
The rule that saves the most builds
Leave every fixing finger-tight until the whole frame is standing. A case assembled tight one joint at a time will fight you on the last panel, because tolerances stack. Bring it all together loose, square it against the floor and the back panel, then go round and tighten. Squareness is set by the back panel — if the back sits flush in its groove on all four sides, the case is square.
Living with it
Case goods and wood finishes
Damp cloth, dry cloth after. No all-purpose spray and nothing with ammonia — both haze a laminate over time. Coasters under anything cold or wet. Re-check the cam locks after the first month; a new case settles and a quarter turn then buys years.
Upholstery
Vacuum the seams monthly with the brush head. Blot spills, never rub. Rotate seat cushions so one end of the sofa does not do all the work.
Metal frames
Bunk and loft beds want their bolts checked twice a year. Slats do the same work as a box spring only while the hardware is tight.
Outdoor pieces
Rinse powder-coated frames when pollen or salt builds up. Bring cushions in or bag them for winter — fabric outlives frames only if it is dry. Store the cover for a fire pit table on the table, not in the shed where it will be forgotten.
Artificial trees and greenery
Dust with a hairdryer on cool, not with water. Bend the branches outward and slightly downward when they come out of the box; a tree that looks sparse almost always just needs its foliage fanned.