ᐅ How can I safely transport IKEA Hemnes furniture?

Created on: 1 Feb 2021 08:23
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Pano51
Good morning everyone,

I am facing the challenge of safely transporting some IKEA Hemnes furniture from my current apartment to my new one. Specifically, these are Hemnes dressers and a Hemnes desk.

My question is: How can I transport IKEA Hemnes furniture securely so that nothing gets damaged, both while carrying it and during transport in the vehicle? I am thinking about disassembling, packaging, protection against scratches, and preventing breakage of the relatively thin wooden parts.

Are there proven techniques or materials for this? Do I need to completely take the furniture apart, or can some parts safely remain assembled? Also, I am interested in how to minimize the risk of the furniture wobbling or sliding around during transport. I appreciate any tips and experiences!
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Pano51
1 Feb 2021 12:08
WARREN schrieb:
It’s best to completely disassemble all Hemnes furniture. Collect screws in small bags and attach them. Protect the furniture parts with blankets or bubble wrap. Secure everything stably in the car and fasten with tie-down straps.

Thanks for your advice. Completely disassembling sounds sensible, but what is the best way to store the small parts to avoid losing anything during reassembly? Do you have tips for labeling?
Lilygla schrieb:
I’ll expand on this in more detail: Hemnes furniture is made of solid pine wood with lacquer coatings, which means superficial scratches and dents become visible quickly. Therefore, it’s really important to cover all surfaces well—using furniture blankets or thick woolen blankets, for example. Bubble wrap can help here, but wrapping the pieces directly with it can damage the lacquer if the protective layer underneath isn’t thick enough.

Regarding disassembly:
- Hemnes dressers can mostly be fully taken apart, which greatly simplifies handling.
- It’s best to attach screws and small parts with masking tape to the respective furniture parts or put them in small, clear zip bags and stick these to the corresponding pieces.

When transporting in a vehicle, make sure nothing slides against each other. Tie-down straps or non-slip mats in the trunk or van are useful for this. Furniture parts should lie as flat as possible to avoid twisting and edge stress.

One last tip: keep elements with glass or mirrors on the furniture separately and carefully, possibly in their own padded package.

Very helpful details, I will keep them in mind.
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Devin
1 Feb 2021 14:54
A small practical tip when disassembling: take photos of the furniture and each step beforehand. When packing, don’t just put the screws in bags, but also label them clearly, for example, "dresser back panel, screw A." This will save a lot of searching later on.
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zartra
1 Feb 2021 15:20
Disassemble, label all small parts, and pack them in opaque bags. To prevent them from getting lost, we taped the bags onto the corresponding furniture pieces using adhesive tape. Avoid using bubble wrap directly on lacquered Hemnes fronts, as it can damage the finish.
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LIELCHEN
2 Feb 2021 08:13
theota schrieb:
It’s interesting that everyone immediately recommends taking the furniture completely apart. I believe IKEA designed the Hemnes series so that some parts are sturdy enough to be transported at least partially assembled.

That idea is not wrong, but “sturdy enough” is relative. Although Hemnes is made of solid wood, the connection points in IKEA furniture are often weak spots. During transport, vibrations and shocks are unavoidable – this can cause screwed joints that are fixed but not fully stable to get damaged. Anyone wanting to minimize the risk should really disassemble the furniture completely.

In addition, disassembling often makes storage easier and helps optimize space usage. This is often an advantage not to be underestimated during a move.
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WARREN
2 Feb 2021 09:02
One more point about transporting items in the car: lay furniture flat whenever possible to ensure the weight is evenly distributed and nothing bends. Stack items only if there is enough padding between them.
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Pano51
2 Feb 2021 09:48
Lilygla schrieb:
For disassembly:
- Hemnes dressers can usually be completely taken apart, which makes handling much easier.

I have a Hemnes dresser with glass doors. How would you best protect the glass parts? Simply wrapping the doors in blankets with the glass side facing inward?

And one more question about the order: Should you remove the larger parts first and then take out the glass pieces, or the other way around? Thanks in advance.