One often overlooked childproofing measure in our homes is securing furniture. You can anchor items to your wall so that they are less likely to move or fall over. Otherwise, they can be a serious danger.
WHY SHOULD YOU SECURE YOUR FURNITURE?
Anchoring furniture to your mobile home walls is a matter of safety. Loose standing items can be an accident waiting to happen, especially if you have children in the house.
Think, for example, how much your dresser weighs. The average four drawer dresser weighs 100 pounds. No one wants to imagine what will happen if that falls on you not to speak of your child or your pet.
It happens more often than you think. According to information published by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, one child dies every two weeks from a TV, piece of furniture or appliance falling on them. And there are three injuries per hour.
Accidents happen. The pieces can fall over when they are bumped from children playing, or climbing on them, etc.
The furniture most likely to tip over includes:
Dressers
Bookshelves
Wardrobes
TV’s
But it’s always better to be safe than sorry. That’s why you should anchor all larger pieces to your walls.
THE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Most manufacturers use drywall for mobile home interiors. So these are the walls that we are going to focus on.
SUPPLIES
To anchor your furniture, you will need the following items:
Tape measure
Drill
Pencil
Stud finder
Anchor kit also called furniture strap kits
If you can, buy a set whose straps are made from nylon webbing or steel cables. These are generally the sturdiest options. Never use the same kits that are used to hang light decor items like paintings.
Now for the steps.
1 – FIND THE STUD
You have to secure the straps and their brackets to the studs. So your first step is to find them. Use the finder to locate the ones behind the furniture piece. The studs are usually more or less 16 inches apart.
2 – MEASUREMENTS
Once you find it, mark the location of the stud with the pencil. And also make one to show the height of the piece of furniture.
Read the instructions that come with the strap kit. They should indicate what the correct position for the wall bracket should be. Using the above points measure out exactly where you need to place it.
3 – INSTALL WALL BRACKET
The kits usually include wood screws that you can use to secure the bracket.
Check their length and thickness. If the screws are less than two inches long, it can be better to replace them with longer ones. In the end, the anchor will be more secure thanks to this.
Mark exactly where you will need to drive the screws in. Drill holes there with a bit that is slightly thinner than the bolts so that they will fit snugly.
Now you can install the brackets that you need to mount on the wall.
4 – MARK THE FURNITURE
Next, you need to check where you have to attach the straps to the furniture. Align the piece with the wall. The manufacturers will likely give some recommendations on where you should place the brackets.
Measure it out and mark the spot on the back of the item. And move it away from the wall again to make it more manageable to work on.
You need to be wary of where you choose to install it. If you can, you should attach the brackets to solid wood. It’s usually better to place it high up on the piece. Don’t try to install it onto the thin piece of board at the back of furniture like dressers and wardrobes.
5 – ATTACH THE BRACKET TO THE FURNITURE
X marks the spot. Once again, use a thinner bit to drill holes into the wood. After this, you can secure the brackets to the furniture using wood screws. You also want to use bolts that are two inches or longer.
When it is in place, you can move the piece back to the wall. Attach the straps to the brackets on the wall and the ones on the furniture.
All that’s left to do is to test them out. Make sure that everything and everyone is safely out of the way. Then gently tip the furniture over. The straps should be able to stop it from falling without sustaining damage themselves.
MAKE YOUR HOME SAFE
Finally, you can have some extra peace of mind. You won’t have to worry again about your furniture falling over. We recommend that you repeat this by anchoring all the large pieces in your mobile home to the walls.
It’s all about making your house a better and safer place to live in for you and your family. In the process, you might need to take care of other problem areas. Check out our step-by-step guide to fixing holes in your mobile home walls.
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