It’s never as easy as they make it seem is it? One of my featured services is furniture assembly, both indoor and outdoor. Putting together furniture can be frustrating to say the least. I have found that time to assemble furniture is about one and half to a twice as long as the manufacturer suggests. I would honestly like to see a video from the manufacturer, showing a typical home owner putting together their furniture in the estimated time with hand tools. Their time estimates are almost as bad as the estimated MPG numbers on new cars!
If you decide to put furniture together yourself here are some tips to make it as painless as possible.
Successful Furniture Assembly Starts With Organization
Naturally I am a neat freak. The last 3 years of my employment as an engineer, our company started implementing the 5S standards. Don’t know what 5S is? Check out this video for a simple explanation, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gKJ3_Hm3dM. I will have a post in the future explaining the 5S process and how to implement in your own home. 5S can be summed up in one sentence, “A place for everything, and everything in its place”
What does this have to do with furniture assembly, everything! Keeping track of all the parts will make assembly much easier. The first step is to remove everything from the packages and lay them out on the floor. Put like fasteners together, or if the fastener bags are labeled with letters/symbols leave them in the bag. Typically the furniture pieces are also labeled with stickers. Put pieces with the same letter together. If you do not have carpet to lay pieces on I typically place them on the cardboard box the parts came in to prevent them from being scratched or damaged.
Yes, You NEED To Read The Assembly Instructions
Next, READ THE ASSEMBLY DIRECTIONS! Yes, even an engineer and skilled handyman reads the instructions before starting. Why? The order of operation is crucial when putting furniture together. Some parts have to go together before installing others. When you read through the instructions you get a big picture view of what this thing is going to look like. Also, if you have a photo of the completed project it will help you along the way. It is not wise to just say “I’ll figure it out as I go”, this will lead to unhealthy levels of stress, frustration and possibly tool throwing!
Have The Proper Tools For Assembling Your Furniture
After reading through the instructions begin assembling your furniture. Most pieces of furniture can be put together with simple hand tools. If a special tool is required it is usually provided by the manufacturer. Using a drill or impact driver will speed up the process of putting everything together. I have found that a lot of furniture now uses allen head type fasteners. Using the provided allen wrench in the box is usually frustrating because it is so small. Purchasing a set of allen wrenches will be well worth your money.
The Last, Often Forgotten, Tip For Furniture Assembly
Last but not least, enjoy putting the puzzle together! If you are assembling multiples of the same item you will learn what works best on each one as you put them together. By the time you get to the last one you should be able to assemble it in the time the manufacturer gave to start with.
