What's the best way to stack two Ikea Engan dressers?

January 31, 2011 7:48 AM

What are some things I should know about stacking two Engan dressers?

We're looking to double our storage space by stacking two Engan dressers on top of one another. (We already have one.) Has anyone done this, or something similar?

Our plan is to just not attach the legs on the top one, strap it to the wall for safety, and put some bumpers on the bottom so the drawers will open. Is there anything in particular we should use to separate the top one from the bottom? We were thinking felt discs, but not sure. Should we actually try and bolt them together somehow, and if so, how would we best do that?

(I checked Ikeahacker but it looks like no one's done this yet.)

posted by juniperesque to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

From the pic, it looks like you'll need a spacer between them to prevent the top drawer of the bottom unit from catching the bottom drawer of the top unit. The thickness of the spacer whould ideally be similar to the gaps between the drawers. The spacers should be positioned as close to the right and left ends of the cabinets as possible. It looks like the surface area of the bottoms of the legs is rather small, so you might want to put something under the bottom unit to protect the floor. I'd also be concerned about the ability of those plastic legs to support the extra weight; if one breaks, the whole edifice might topple (and rip holes in the wall besides).
posted by jon1270 at 7:58 AM on January 31, 2011

Response by poster: jon1270: The legs are metal - but do you have an idea on how to reinforce them? You're right, the surface area of the legs are not that big. What's the best way to reinforce something like this? (I never would have thought of this! I love AskMefi.)
posted by juniperesque at 8:10 AM on January 31, 2011

Take the legs off the second unit, and attach them somewhere on the bottom, maybe towards the middle, where they won't show?
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:21 AM on January 31, 2011

I think a full piece of felt between the two would be a good idea, sized and placed to mimic the gap between the drawers. I also think you should pick up some metal straps and run those between the two pieces on the back side. Run them at an angle so the drawers don't shift laterally.

I don't trust the legs either. I think I would consider replacing them entirely and with something shorter to reduce the overall height. Like paint black some wooden rounds as short as a 1-2 inches.
posted by amanda at 8:32 AM on January 31, 2011

Modifying StickyCarpet's suggestion slightly, I might put 2 of the extra legs off-center to the right, under the vertical divider that's between the drawers. That said, I'm less concerned knowing that they're steel. I skimmed the description and saw "Foot: ABS Plastic" and thought they were referring to the whole leg.
posted by jon1270 at 8:35 AM on January 31, 2011

Something like bun feet is what I'm thinking. You could probably find unfinished and even more minimal ones for less.
posted by amanda at 8:35 AM on January 31, 2011

You could build a wooden box to put under the bottom unit, to maintain the aesthetics of having the bottom one up on legs, but still provide sturdy support. It'd be inset a few inches on three sides, painted a dark color [maybe matching the floor?]. Bonus: no longer have to vacuum under it.

Between the two you could use a sheet of masonite. Cut it to fit [maybe 1/8" small] and poly the edges and it'll pretty much disappear while allowing enough clearance.
posted by chazlarson at 8:47 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

My thoughts would be something like a piece of 1/8" fiberboard cut to about 1" smaller than the top surface all the way around as a spacer. I'd be worried that felt spacers would make it prone to slippage. I'd also be inclined to screw on something like a piece of 1x3 along the back seam between the top and bottom units to make sure they don't slide around.
posted by SomeTrickPony at 10:01 AM on January 31, 2011

Instead of felt pads, I'd go with rubber feet - same idea as using felt (having a spacer, not marring the surface of the bottom unit) but increasing the friction to make the top unit more secure. And definitely use metal brackets to screw the two together in back if possible.
posted by aimedwander at 11:55 AM on January 31, 2011