Schreiber - The Same But Different

You might remember Schreiber furniture from the seventies or earlier - I certainly do - and my memories are of solid teak tables and chairs and ready-made (and heavy) bedroom furniture. I don't know if Schreiber did flat pack furniture as well back then or if it's a recent innovation but the flat pack wardrobes I assembled last week carried the Schreiber brand.

I've said before that most manufacturers now use similar construction methods and these wardrobes were at first sight very similar to Ikea furniture.

There are a few important differences, though:

• Firstly, the Schreiber units seem to use a higher-density (but slightly thinner) board for the carcasses.
• Secondly, the 'pegs' that are used to join the main pieces together are a push-fit rather than a screw-fit
• Thirdly, there was more work involved to produce the final result - drilling for handles, cutting decorative end panels and the plinth - which virtually doubled the time needed to build it.

The last is something to bear in mind if you need to factor in assembly time or cost when you choose your furniture. In this case a three to four hour job (quoted at the 3-hour/half day rate) turned into a full day job at the day rate - still a bargain at £150 instead of £240 plus.

Being higher density, the Schreiber pieces also seemed more fragile while being assembled and heavier and more difficult to manouvre than similar-sized Ikea units. The push-fit pegs grip ingeniously once they're tightened but the initial impression is that the furniture as a whole is less substantial until everything is pulled together. Two nice features to finish with are the door hinges that simply click together (I only had to adjust one door out of five) and the soft closers that add a touch of class.

The final result, then, is very pleasing, solid and well-finished, and the customers are more than happy with their new Schreiber wardrobes.