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Every kit we sell has been built at least once by someone here, and most of what follows was learned the slow way. Read it once before you open the box and your first build will go more smoothly than ours did.
Before you start
1. Clear a proper surface
You need a table you can leave alone for a few evenings, good light and a cutting mat or old chopping board. A book nook is not a kitchen-table-between-meals project; the small parts wander.
2. Read the whole manual first
Ten minutes now saves an hour later. You will see which parts come in which sheet, where the light wire has to run, and which walls need paper applied before they are glued in.
3. Sort the sheets, not the pieces
Leave parts in their sheets until you need them; the sheet number is the easiest way to find a piece. If you press everything out at once, you will spend the evening matching outlines.
4. Check nothing is missing
Count the sheets and bags against the parts list. If something is short or damaged, tell us and we'll send a replacement free, postage included, with nothing to send back. Details on Missing or Damaged Parts.
While you build
5. Press, don't pull
Push laser-cut pieces out from the back with your thumb, or cut the small tabs with a craft knife. Pulling from the front lifts the surface veneer.
6. Dry-fit everything
Assemble each stage without glue first. Once you know how it goes together, take it apart and glue it. It sounds slow; it is faster.
7. Use less glue than feels right
A thin line along the edge, not a bead. Excess glue squeezes onto printed surfaces and never quite disappears. Wipe any overspill immediately with a damp cotton bud.
8. Tweezers are not optional
Books the size of a grain of rice, bottles, cutlery, a cat: all easier with fine-tipped tweezers than fingers. A cocktail stick makes a good glue applicator for these.
9. Build the shell, then decorate
Finish and dry the floors, walls and roof before dressing the rooms. Furniture glued to a wall that then needs to bend into place will come off again.
The light
10. Test the LEDs before they go in
Fit batteries and touch the switch while the light set is still loose. It is far easier to swap a strip now than after it is routed through three floors.
11. Route the wire early, hide it late
Thread the wire through its channel as the structure goes up, but leave the battery box accessible until the very end. Batteries are not included with our kits; the type is listed on each product page.
Afterwards
12. Let it cure overnight
Glue that feels dry is not always set. Leave the finished nook flat for a night before sliding it onto a shelf, and give the roof a day before you rest anything on it.
Stuck on a step? Ask us on the contact page and someone who has built the same kit will reply within a working day. And when it is finished, share your chapter on the product page so the next builder can see how it turned out.
