Why It’s Important to Level Your Plinth-Based Solid Pine Furniture
Why It’s Important to Level Your Plinth-Based Solid Pine Furniture
A simple step that can make a big difference
When you purchase a large, solid pine cupboard of plinth-based furniture, it is important that it is sitting level and evenly supported on your floor.
This is particularly important with large, handmade solid wood furniture because even a very small variation in the floor can affect how the cabinet sits, how the doors align and how they open and close.
Your floor may not be as level as it looks
It is easy to assume that a floor is completely flat because it looks flat to the eye. However, the majority of floors have some degree of unevenness.
This applies to:
● Wooden and laminate floors
● Tiled floors
● Lino and vinyl flooring
● Carpets and carpet underlay
● Older floors and newer floors alike
Small differences of just a few millimetres are extremely common. With a large piece of furniture, however, those small differences can become much more noticeable.
Why does this matter with a plinth-based cabinet?
Our cabinets are constructed on flat workshop benches and carefully checked to ensure they are square and level before leaving our workshop.
A plinth-based cabinet does not sit on its entire base. Instead, the edges of the plinth are the points that support the weight of the cabinet and transfer it to the floor.
If one part of the floor is slightly higher or lower than another, the plinth may not be supported evenly.
This can cause the cabinet to:
● Rock or move slightly
● Sit fractionally out of level
● Have doors that appear slightly out of alignment
● Cause one door to catch or rub
● Create uneven gaps around the doors
● Change slightly once the cabinet is filled with its contents
This does not necessarily mean there is a problem with the cabinet. It can simply mean that the cabinet needs a small adjustment to suit the floor it is standing on.
How can I level my cabinet?
Fortunately, this is usually a very simple adjustment and does not require your floor to be altered.
A small furniture wedge, levelling wedge or suitable furniture shim can be placed discreetly underneath the appropriate part of the plinth to compensate for the unevenness in the floor.
These are inexpensive and are available from ourselves and from most DIY stores and online retailers.
The principle is simple: the shim fills the tiny gap between the plinth and the floor, allowing the cabinet to sit firmly and evenly.
Once the cabinet is properly supported and level, the doors should sit correctly within the frame.
Why use a furniture shim rather than level the floor?
Having a floor professionally levelled can be a significant and unnecessary expense when the issue is only a very small variation underneath one piece of furniture.
A small furniture shim can often resolve the problem in minutes and at a fraction of the cost of having someone come into your home to level the floor.
It is also a much less disruptive solution - particularly when the floor itself is perfectly satisfactory for everyday use.
A simple check before you call us
If you notice that your cabinet is rocking slightly or that a door is catching, we recommend checking that the cabinet is sitting firmly and evenly on the floor first.
Gently press against the top of the cabinet. If you can feel even a small amount of movement, this can indicate that the plinth is not sitting evenly.
A suitable furniture shim can then be carefully positioned underneath the plinth until the cabinet is completely stable.
Please remember: the adjustment only needs to be very small. You should never need to force the cabinet or use excessive packing material.
Solid wood naturally responds to its surroundings
Our furniture is made from genuine solid pine rather than manufactured board. Solid timber is a natural material and, like all natural wood, it can respond to changes in its environment.
For this reason, ensuring your furniture is correctly positioned, level and evenly supported is particularly important for large solid wood cabinets.
We take great care to build every cabinet square and level in our workshop. Once it arrives at your home, however, it is standing on a completely different surface — your floor — and that floor is rarely as perfectly level as a workshop bench.
Our advice
Before assuming there is a fault with your furniture, always check that the cabinet is sitting level and firmly supported on the floor.
A small furniture wedge or shim is often all that is needed to compensate for an uneven floor and ensure your beautiful handmade furniture sits exactly as it should.
It is a simple, inexpensive and non-disruptive solution that can save the considerable cost of having your floor professionally levelled.
If you are unsure how to level your cabinet, please contact us and we will be happy to advise you.