The flatpack shelving kit arrived, and I unpacked it eagerly. Laying out the pieces neatly, I checked them off against the
provided, and found two more screws than seemed to be needed. And one of the upright
had an extra set of holes when compared to the diagram. I hoped their purpose would become clear during construction.
Then the real fun started. Of course, I needed a
with a thinner
than the only one on hand, so borrowed one from a neigbour. This proved to have a
that was so long we couldn't get it to fit at the right angle, and had to call a friend, who drove over to offer advice (while having a cold beer and a good laugh at our incompetence). When one screw bent before it was properly in place, I resorted to using a
to bash it in the last millimetre. It ended up with the head on a bit of an angle, but at least it seemed to be sitting firmly.
The
across the front didn't sit quite on the level at first, until we drilled a new hole for the left
. Of course, that meant calling another friend, who came across with their electric
. Unfortunately, I had misled them about the size of the
I needed, so they went back home to fetch a bit the right size.
My growing audience thought they were there to observe, but when it came time to fit the
backing sheet into place, I needed their help. After I spread the glue that was provided on the backs of the shelving frame, two of them held the frame
(because it clearly didn't want to stay that way on its own), while I lowered the backing sheet into place. To make sure things stayed in place, we decided I should
the backing in place, so the neighbour ducked home to collect some suitable small
. My hammer came into play again, this time being used for its proper purpose.
We still haven't worked out what those two extra screws were for, and the mystery
hardly show up now that the shelf is filled with books.
