ᐅ After tightening the screws, my KALLAX unit is now wobbling more – any ideas?

Hello everyone,

I recently tightened the screws on my IKEA KALLAX shelves because they had become a bit loose. However, since then, I feel that the shelf is somewhat wobblier in several spots than before. All the screws have been securely tightened again, and I even checked for any misalignment or dents in the wood but couldn’t find anything unusual.

Does anyone have an idea why tightening the screws might have caused more movement? I’m quite sure I didn’t overtighten them. Could it be that the fasteners inside the shelf have loosened, or that the wood was damaged from tightening?

I appreciate any helpful insights – thanks in advance!

If the shelf wobbles afterward, you may have over-tightened a screw and caused the wood to split. Check if the wood around the screw has cracks. Otherwise, the wall plugs might be loose.

ju_ren schrieb:
The wood spread apart

can indeed lead to less stability.

My advice: Carefully disassemble the shelf and check the anchoring of the shelves. Especially with KALLAX, the connectors tend to loosen a bit if they were tightened too much. A careful replacement or additional screw locking might help.

ju_ren schrieb:
Check if the wood around the screw has developed any cracks

I didn’t find any visible cracks; everything really looks intact.

BOSULE schrieb:
Carefully disassemble and inspect the fastenings

Sounds reasonable. I will take a closer look at the back side. Are there typical areas that are usually affected, or should I inspect all sides thoroughly?

I can understand that it’s frustrating when you wanted to make the shelf more stable, but now it’s wobbling.

Maybe it will help if you systematically loosen all the screws and then tighten them again in the correct order. This way, you can check step by step where the wobbling occurs. This method helped me once when I had a similar issue with my KALLAX.

Hello Nuti51,

To solve the problem effectively, it is important to understand the construction of the KALLAX shelving unit. The connection between the side panels and the shelves is usually secured with dowels, screws, and metal brackets. If screws are tightened too much, the wood can develop internal cracks that are difficult to see from the outside. Additionally, the dowels can loosen easily if pressure points occur.

I recommend carefully disassembling the shelf and reinforcing the joints with a little wood glue. Then tighten all screws evenly, but not too tightly. You can also strengthen the metal brackets with small screws if needed—this will increase stability.

This is what has worked well for me personally, and the KALLAX is now rock solid again. 🙂