A U-shaped wardrobe looks simple on a drawing: three runs of cabinetry meeting at two corners, one of them the room's own corner walls. On site it is the layout where measurement errors show up fastest, because every run depends on the two beside it. A door that clears on one wall can bind at the return. A hanging rail that works in theory can be blocked by the return carcass in practice. The difference between a clean handover and a snag list is almost always the installation plan prepared before production starts.

Below is the plan structure we work to on U Shaped Corner Wardrobes projects, from first survey to final handover.

1. A survey record, not a set of room dimensions

A U shape is made-to-measure work, so the survey has to capture more than length, width and height. Record the following for each of the three runs:

• Wall-to-wall distance at the top, middle and bottom of each run — plastered walls are rarely parallel.
• Out-of-plumb and out-of-square readings at both corners, so scribe and filler widths are decided before drawings are issued.
• Floor level across the U, including any threshold, skirting removal line or existing tile edge that the carcasses will sit on.
• Ceiling condition: flat slab, plasterboard with a cornice, exposed beam, or a bulkhead that one run has to stop short of.
• Positions of sockets, switches, light points, air conditioning outlets, downlights and sprinkler heads, measured from a fixed corner.
• Door opening line, swing direction, and the clearance in front of each of the three runs.

Assemble these into one survey sheet with a sketch showing both corners numbered. Every later decision — carcass depth, door type, where the bridging unit sits — is taken from that sheet. Where a wall is out of plumb, note the direction and the size of the deviation; guessing at scribe widths during installation is what produces visible gaps at the corner.

2. A circulation check before the layout is fixed

Three runs in a U leave one aisle to walk in and out of. That aisle has to carry a person, and in most cases a person holding folded laundry or a suitcase. Before choosing carcass depths, mark the finished face line of each run on the floor plan and measure the clear aisle left between them. Then test the door you intend to use:

• Hinged doors need the full arc of the leaf kept clear of the opposite run and of the room door.
• Sliding doors need track depth and an unobstructed travel length, but no swing clearance — often the practical answer where the aisle is tight.
• Open or glass-fronted runs need the sightlines and the cleaning access thought through, not just the storage volume.

Our corner range is offered in hinged, sliding, open and glass-fronted versions for exactly this reason: the same corner footprint can be resolved several ways, and the aisle width decides which one survives on site.

3. Interior zoning drawn run by run

The plan should show what each run is for, not only where it stands. A workable split for a U layout:

• Back run — the longest and most accessible. Long-hang for coats and dresses, with shelves above and drawers below.
• Two return runs — shorter shelves, drawer stacks, and the deeper storage that a person can reach while standing in the aisle.
• The two corner junctions — bridging units, corner shelves or a rotated rail, decided by which items you are willing to reach on your knees and which you are not.

Decide hanging heights against the tallest garment and the height of the shortest user, then check that a rail on one run does not collide with the carcass side of the return. This is the detail most often left to the installer, and the one most often corrected afterwards. Drawings should show rail heights, shelf spans, drawer stack positions and the loading rated for each shelf, confirmed against the specification chosen for the project.

4. Materials, finishes and the specification sheet

The installation plan is incomplete without the specification it is built on. For a made-to-measure project, confirm and sign off:

• Carcase and door material, edge treatment and finish — for example melamine, lacquer, acrylic, veneer or a glass-fronted door in an aluminium frame.
• Colour and grain direction, with a physical sample approved before cutting — grain takes one direction on the back run and another on each return, so a sample checked flat on the drawing does not show what the corner will look like.
• Hardware: hinges, slides, handles, soft-close specification, and the hardware brand or model reference.
• Internal fittings — rails, trays, shoe shelves, lighting — and how they are wired and switched.
• Kickboard, plinth, scribe and cornice details, and whether the unit returns to a full-height finish at both corners.

One sheet, one signature. Where a finish or a dimension is still open, the plan is not ready for production.

5. Services, lighting and the interface with other trades

Built-in wardrobes cover up services and then depend on them. The plan should state, in writing, who does what and in which sequence:

• Electrical: downlights inside the runs, vertical wiring channels, socket relocation, and the position of the transformer or driver for internal lighting.
• Air conditioning: grilles and returns kept clear, with no run built over an existing outlet.
• Flooring: whether the carpet, tile or timber continues under the carcasses or stops at the finished face line.
• Walls: making good behind the scribes after installation, and paint touch-in on the returns.

Give each of these an owner and a date. A wardrobe installation that arrives before the electrician has moved a spur will simply stop.

6. Sequencing, access and the installation day

Write the order of work into the plan:

• Site protection of floors and the route from the lift or entrance to the room.
• Delivery and on-site inspection of panels against the packing list before the trades leave.
• Dry layout of the carcasses, checking the aisle and both corners before any fixing.
• Fixing sequence: corner units first, then the back run, then the returns, so the two corners set the line.
• Doors and drawers hung, adjusted and aligned; internal fittings fitted; lighting connected and tested.
• Snag walk with the client, with the confirmed dimensions and the signed specification sheet at hand.

Also confirm the practical constraints early: panel sizes against lift and stair dimensions, parking and unloading time, and working hours for the building. These are not wardrobe decisions, but they decide whether the day runs to plan.

7. Handover documents and aftercare

Close the job with a short pack: as-installed dimensions and drawings, the approved specification and hardware references, a spare-parts list with the model references used, and the care instructions for the selected finish. Keep the spare-parts reference with the project file; a replacement door or drawer front ordered years later without it is a guessing game.

How SANTERSON works with these plans

Our wardrobes are made-to-measure: layout, dimensions, material and finish are specified for each project rather than chosen from a fixed catalogue size. As a China-based manufacturer and one-stop supplier of furniture and building materials, we support the full sequence around the joinery — design and space planning, custom and OEM production, packing and door-to-door delivery, and installation and after-sales support. That means the wardrobe carcasses, U Shaped Walk in Wardrobes, wall panelling, doors, flooring and bathroom fixtures for the same floor can be produced, packed and shipped on one schedule, with one set of drawings to coordinate against. For enquiries, share the survey sheet and the room drawings and we will return a layout, a specification and a quotation for review.

A U-shaped corner wardrobe is not judged by the number of shelves it holds. It is judged ten months later, when the doors still hang straight, the corner is still reachable, and nothing in the plan had to be improvised on site.