Putting furniture together

[Miss Chicken]

I was looking at this video

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ottPhn0QU[/yt]


and I thought I would ask people if they have ever put any IKEA/flatpack furniture together and if you have, did you find it easy or frustrating? Have you, or would you, ever paid anyone to do it for you?

I have put simple bookcases together both for myself and for my mother but for anything more difficult I hand the task over to my son. This is my son who only has an IQ of 65 but seems to have more patience than me when it comes to putting this furniture together. I think, like the man in the video, he understands diagrams quite well.

However when I bought a very large wardrobe for my room I had to end up hiring a handyman to help my son because it was a two man job. The man charged $60 an hour (minimum of one hour) and they completed the wardrobe in 45 minutes so I then got them to put my new bed together.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I've put together an innumerable sequence of IKEA furniture, from wardrobes to beds to shelves, and I actually found it quite fun and easy: the instructions were clear and concise. But on the other hand, I've always been quite methodical, so that kind of procedure comes easily to me.

The only stuff I never did by myself was kitchen furniture because I know nothing about plumbing and wiring, so I bought them in a store and had they building team putting them together for me.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I paid my kid to put an IKEA pantry together. It took him hours, days even. When he was finished he had put the doors on inside out or backwards or something, it was unusable. He started to cry.. I am never buying that shit again. I will just go back to my usual furniture buying method which is stalking the Salvos and paying them 25 dollars for delivery.

I can hear someone saying "why didn't you build it yourself teacake, are you stupid?!" Yes.

 

[Mary Ann]

I'm a Flat Pack Furniture Queen, but that's because I've assembled a lot of furniture over the years, not because I have any natural talent for it. The first piece I ever helped to assemble was a wall unit, and my brother and I got almost everything wrong. Over twenty-five years later I've assembled so many bits of furniture that nothing Ikea-like phases me any more. I've made so many mistakes over the years that I'm an expert at what not to do.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I've put all sorts of Ikea furniture together. The only one I needed help with was the largest, a dining room table.

 

[Pondwater]

I bought a couch from them last year. It took me and a friend about 30 mins or so to put it together.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

That's right make me feel bad with all you instruction following prowess!

 

[Miss Chicken]

A collage of some of the furniture my son, Adam, has put together.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I assembled some flat pack bookcases for my kids. That was pretty easy.

What was not easy was assembling their bunk bed. The whole frame was steel, and it came completely disassembled. I thought, "this will take maybe 90 minutes." No, it took more like 5 hours, because everything had to be lined up just so or things wouldn't join correctly. That meant lots of loosening and tightening of various screws while I wiggled things around and tried to figure out what was out of alignment.

Whenever I have to move that thing, I'm only partially disassembling it, because fuck ever doing that again.

 

[Timewalker]

I was looking at this video

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7ottPhn0QU[/yt]


and I thought I would ask people if they have ever put any IKEA/flatpack furniture together and if you have, did you find it easy or frustrating? Have you, or would you, ever paid anyone to do it for you?

I have put simple bookcases together both for myself and for my mother but for anything more difficult I hand the task over to my son. This is my son who only has an IQ of 65 but seems to have more patience than me when it comes to putting this furniture together. I think, like the man in the video, he understands diagrams quite well.

However when I bought a very large wardrobe for my room I had to end up hiring a handyman to help my son because it was a two man job. The man charged $60 an hour (minimum of one hour) and they completed the wardrobe in 45 minutes so I then got them to put my new bed together.

The white cabinet in the video looks very much like the ones I have in my kitchen (only difference is mine aren't white). It took two of us a little while to put them together (not sure how long). The only problem I have with stuff like that is that it's heavy, and I can never find my screwdriver and hammer when I need them.

I've never paid anyone to put furniture together for me, but if it was something I really couldn't wait until a friend could help, I suppose I might. It would have to be something extremely important, though.

The only stuff I never did by myself was kitchen furniture because I know nothing about plumbing and wiring, so I bought them in a store and had they building team putting them together for me.

Your kitchen table and chairs are part of the plumbing and wiring?

I paid my kid to put an IKEA pantry together. It took him hours, days even. When he was finished he had put the doors on inside out or backwards or something, it was unusable. He started to cry.. I am never buying that shit again. I will just go back to my usual furniture buying method which is stalking the Salvos and paying them 25 dollars for delivery.

I can hear someone saying "why didn't you build it yourself teacake, are you stupid?!" Yes.

My dad once tried to put together a computer desk for me. It took a very long time because he misread the diagram and insisted a piece was missing. I took a look and pointed out the piece that wasn't actually missing - but it had been poorly-rendered in the diagram itself.

But when my dad was putting together furniture he designed and built himself, he had no problem whatsoever. He made some really nice cupboards and shelves, and designed/built one heckuva nice rug hooking/quilting frame for me.

 

[Kestra]

I LOVE assembling things, IKEA furniture or otherwise. I remember when my cousin was born and my parents bought some baby contraption I begged to be the one to put it together. Thank god it didn't collapse in on him or something. I always read the directions and I've never been unable to assemble something.

 

[Emher]

I'm Swedish, I can assemble IKEA things in my sleep.

Nah, not really, but it comes naturally to me. Then again I work as a handyman so I know some stuff about putting things together. I made a toilet roll holder the other week for our new workplace by using left over parts from an IKEA shelf and a broom handle!

 

[iguana_tonante]

The only stuff I never did by myself was kitchen furniture because I know nothing about plumbing and wiring, so I bought them in a store and had they building team putting them together for me.

Your kitchen table and chairs are part of the plumbing and wiring?

Well, obviously I was talking about sink and appliance cabinets, overhead lights, etc. I though that was obvious.

 

[Sephiroth]

I put together cheap office furniture one summer when I was a teen, each one of those cheap 90's office desks came with a little screwdriver and a pair of hex keys, I still have them, ALL of them

 

[bbailey861]

We have a lot of Ikea furniture in the house, the last 4 pieces only purchased a few weeks ago. Their instructions are excellent and I've enjoyed assembling it all. I have had to have help flipping a few of the pieces around to prevent damage. The big pieces only.

 

[RoJoHen]

I LOVE assembling things, IKEA furniture or otherwise. I remember when my cousin was born and my parents bought some baby contraption I begged to be the one to put it together. Thank god it didn't collapse in on him or something. I always read the directions and I've never been unable to assemble something.

It's like LEGOs for grownups!

 

[iguana_tonante]

Well, LEGO is LEGO for grownups.

 

[Kestra]

Well I do still like Legos (that's right I said Legos, I don't care what you say!) so your theory makes perfect sense.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well I do still like Legos (that's right I said Legos, I don't care what you say!) so your theory makes perfect sense.

Legos. Legos. One Lego is a Lego. Two or more Legos are Legos. I'm right there with you, Kestra!!!

 

[iguana_tonante]

One LEGO brick. Many LEGO bricks.