Why is restraint furniture sent flat-pack?

A four-poster bed in steel is a large object. Assembled, it's a tall frame with a footprint the size of the mattress it holds. Getting one up a narrow staircase, round a tight landing and through a bedroom door would be difficult at best. In parts, it's a different proposition.

That's the simplest reason every piece we make is sent flat-pack, with printed assembly instructions. It isn't the only one, and flat-pack asks a few things of you in return.

The route into the room

The hardest part of delivering a large piece of furniture is the last few metres: the front door, the hallway, the stairs, the landing and the door of the room it's going into. A flat-packed piece travels as a set of parts, each of which can be carried through spaces an assembled frame couldn't pass.

Even so, every route has a narrowest point. Before you order, measure the narrowest door, stair and turn on the way to the room, and send them to us. We'll check them against your piece. Our guide to measuring a room for restraint furniture explains what to measure.

Delivery that suits the furniture

Flat-pack also makes the piece easier to pack well and to deliver discreetly. Parts can be wrapped and packed securely. We deliver to the UK, US and EU, in discreet packaging, and your card statement shows SanDom. Our guide to how discreet delivery is covers this in full.

What arrives

Your piece arrives as a set of steel parts, packed and wrapped, with its fixings and the printed assembly instructions. Before you open anything, move the boxes to the room where the piece will live; it saves carrying loose parts through the house.

Preparing for delivery day

• Clear the route from the front door to the room, including hallway furniture and rugs that could slip.
• Clear the room itself, and decide exactly where the piece will go.
• Lay down blankets or rugs to protect the floor.
• Arrange enough people for carrying and assembly, at a time when nobody is in a hurry.
• Have somewhere ready for the flattened packaging afterwards.

What flat-pack asks of you

Flat-pack means assembly at home, and a steel frame deserves care.

• Plan for enough people to handle the parts comfortably. Ask us before delivery how many people and which tools your piece needs.
• Assemble the piece in the room it will live in, close to its final position.
• Check every part against the printed instructions before you start, and contact us before going further if anything is missing or marked.
• Follow the printed instructions in order, one step at a time.
• Re-tighten every fixing before first use, and whenever the piece has been moved.

Our guide to assembling a flat-pack steel bed frame goes through the day itself.

Crosses and cages

The same approach applies to a cross or a cage, with a little extra thought. A cross is assembled close to where it will sit, with enough people to handle the frame comfortably as it comes together. A cage's door needs checking once assembly is complete: open and close it, and make sure it moves as it should before the cage is used.

Flat-pack and furniture quality

For a steel restraint piece, flat-pack describes how it travels. Our frames are S235 steel in 80 × 80 mm square tube, with welded D-rings and a coated finish in the colour you choose; the headboards on our beds are 3 mm laser-cut steel panels. The parts arrive separately and are assembled at home with fixings, following the printed instructions.

Because the parts are joined with fixings, those fixings are part of your checks. Before each use, check the frame and its fixings, and if anything has moved, loosened or chipped through to the steel, stop using the piece and contact us before it's used again. Our guide to checking your furniture before each scene sets out the routine.

Things you shouldn't do

• Don't drill, cut, weld or add fittings to any part. If you need something the standard piece doesn't offer, ask us about bespoke.
• Don't leave a piece partly assembled and use it.
• Don't fix anything to a wall or floor without a qualified tradesperson assessing it first.

Moving it later

Furniture moves: to a new room, a new house, a different corner. If you need to move a piece, take it apart following the printed instructions, with enough people for its weight, keep every fixing together, and protect the finish as you go. When it's back in place, re-tighten every fixing before it's used again. If you've lost the printed instructions, ask us for another copy.

Flat-pack and bespoke pieces

Bespoke pieces ship flat-packed too, with printed assembly instructions written for that piece. When we draw a commission, the route into your room is part of the brief: we ask for the size of every door, stair and landing on the way in, and confirm every measurement before drawing begins.

The packaging afterwards

Flatten the packaging once everything is unpacked, and use it to protect the floor during assembly before you recycle it. Keep the printed instructions somewhere private but easy to find.

Questions about flat-pack

Can I pay someone to assemble it?

Yes. Whoever assembles it, give them the printed instructions, and check the piece yourself before its first use.

How long does assembly take?

It depends on the piece and the people. Ask us before delivery, and choose a time when nobody is in a hurry.

What if a part doesn't fit?

Stop, check the previous step, and if it still doesn't fit, contact us. Never push a part into place.

Every piece in our BDSM beds, St Andrew's crosses and BDSM cages collections ships flat-packed, made to order with a current lead time of 8–14 weeks.