IKEA bookcase almost causes divorce
Has anybody else tried assembling complicated IKEA items with their significant other before? I almost blew a gasket today trying to line up those little *insert swearword here* wooden peg things and get the stupid thing to fit together and stand up on its own. My husband had fire coming out of his ears.
this little emoticon :x barely touches the surface of how annoying it was.
Maybe there should be a warning on the packaging?
many, many, many swearwords,
Poh.
this little emoticon :x barely touches the surface of how annoying it was.
Maybe there should be a warning on the packaging?
many, many, many swearwords,
Poh.
Comments
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You should have gone the Gothic cabinet route. It's a known fact that Gothic Cabinet bookcases not only strengthens marraiges the stores are also a great place to meet chicks.
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best exit now, how a simple project like a ikea book case get you guys this fired up. think about when real life things come up you guys will be killing each other!!! run!!!!
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In my experience, Gothic Cabinet Craft is much, much worse than Ikea. But the Cabinet Shop (which has a similar name, but is actually just run by one guy, rather than being a chain selling lots of imported stuff/crap) has several fans on this board. Just for future reference.
http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=466 (scroll down a little) -
Well, you know, I was sort of just kidding
about the divorce.. just trying to emphasize the annoyingness of such assembly procedures. But it has made me wonder.
I had more respect for ikea stuff before going through this. The hassle of it was phenomenal. Anybody else feel this way about ikea?
Or am I just an impatient new mom with a short fuse?? (I admit, that could be it) -
poh wrote: I had more respect for ikea stuff before going through this. The hassle of it was phenomenal. Anybody else feel this way about ikea?
Some of their stuff is more difficult than others... It seems like the newer stuff is in the better/less difficult category.
Or am I just an impatient new mom with a short fuse?? (I admit, that could be it)
I don't think that I've ever had a problem with any of their stuff, though- the assembly method is similar to that of a lot of other makers. Once you've put together a couple of things, they're a breeze. -
Six years ago, I spent my second day in New York at Ikea. I had this grand plan of getting everything I needed for my new bedroom (since I'd sold pretty much everything I owned before moving here) in one fell swoop, and my roommate and I naively made our first-ever trip to an Ikea store on a Saturday afternoon. We were there for HOURS, but I came home with a bed, a bookshelf, a dresserish clothing storage thingy, a desk, an office chair, and two small tables. I didn't have that much trouble with most of it, although finding the space to put it all together in my teensy bedroom was problematic, but the bed came without all the required connecting parts and they were a real pain in the ass about sending them to me. Three weeks later I finally got the missing parts and it took another four teary, headscratching, occasionally screaming days to figure out how the hell to put the thing together. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I feel your pain, Poh!
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If you have a drill with screwdriver bits, Ikea stuff is really quick and easy to assemble, especially once you've put together a few of their things before.
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Carnivore wrote: If you have a drill with screwdriver bits, Ikea stuff is really quick and easy to assemble, especially once you've put together a few of their things before.
The little hex/allen bits come in handy, too... -
poh wrote:
We bought a lot of furniture from them about ten years ago and it is definitely showing its age. Their stuff is not built to last. We bought other things from Gothic that have held up much better. There was one chair we bought from Ikea that was basically impossible to assemble. I couldn't face the trip back to Ikea and ended up throwing the thing away.
I had more respect for ikea stuff before going through this. The hassle of it was phenomenal. Anybody else feel this way about ikea?
Or am I just an impatient new mom with a short fuse?? (I admit, that could be it) -
that's just it! you go to the trouble of lugging it back from New Jersey - in our case, even having rented a truck - who is going to turn around and carry something back there? if you haven't got a car? on the shuttle bus? puh-leeeeze.
the bookcase might well be assembled, but it sways ominously from side to side.
ah well. one day when we're rich, we won't need to shop there. Or we'll hire pee-ons to do it. -
Ikea assembly is as good a test of a relationship as anything.
I'm pretty good at it, so we now have Ikea-related zen master status chez moi
(after completion of a padded bed frame with moving arms like an airplane seat that they wisely took off the market.
It's cool, but was The Worst Task Ever, with tricky counterintuitive moves required, AND a trip back to the store to replace a crushed particle board corner)
I think Ikea should warn you with assembly degree of difficulty
+ Wash'n'Go
+ Breathe Deep, All The Parts ARE Here And This Will Be A Snap Next Time
+ Pre-existing Sense of Spacial Relationships Required
+ You Must Have Done This Before Zen Master
note: most of the dudes on this board are telling you it's eeeasy
That's just a guy thing. Like your husband, they suffer too. -
IKEA is a four-letter word in our house and I, acting patriarchially, have declared a 2-year moratorium on going to that goddam hellhole in Elizabeth.
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metulj wrote: ...and I, acting patriarchially, have declared a 2-year moratorium on going to that goddam hellhole in Elizabeth.
Hellhole? But they have Swedish meatballs... :? -
Carnivore wrote: Hellhole? But they have Swedish meatballs... :?
Mmmmm... meatballs....
Their breakfast is crap... gives high school cafeterias a run for the money... -
Carnivore wrote: [quote=metulj]...and I, acting patriarchially, have declared a 2-year moratorium on going to that goddam hellhole in Elizabeth.
Hellhole? But they have Swedish meatballs... :?
Isn't one going in Red Hook? That's a quick bus ride away.... -
i (girl, thank you very much) find that most stuff from ikea works out fine. it is helpful to have your own tools -- my own allen wrench sets fit nicer in the hand than the ones they include, and their wrenches are awful.
i would, however, like to add a caveat about the construction of ikea beds, in case anyone reading this is thinking of getting one and stumbles into the same problem we had.
our bed (the "malm", which is nice looking at has done fine for the past couple years), included a set of anchor bolts -- imagine the threaded part of a bolt and the threaded part of a screw stuck end to end, so that there is no "head" to the bolt or screw. anchor bolts are used by putting the screw end into something like, say, the wood of a foot board, and then sliding the bolt end through a hole in, say the side rails, and putting a nut on the end of that bolt to hold the pieces together.
with me so far?
okay, the directions said to first put a nut onto the bolt end, then use a wrench on the nut to give yourself a way to turn the screw end into the foot board. which works like a dream. the only trouble is that the nut gets jammed against the screw threads and will never come off again. which means no bed, you sleeping on your matress on the floor surrounded by ikea parts.
if you buy this (very nice) bed, here is what to do instead: put TWO nuts on the bolt. use a wrench on the TOP nut to turn the screw end into the footboard. the bottom nut will stop the top nut's progressiong down the bolt, and once the screw is into the footboard, you can be on your merry way.
this message brought to you by citizens for furniture on a student budget. -
Carnivore wrote: [quote=metulj]...and I, acting patriarchially, have declared a 2-year moratorium on going to that goddam hellhole in Elizabeth.
Hellhole? But they have Swedish meatballs... :?
Paramus is better run than Elizabeth, and easy to get to from the GW Bridge. It's totally worth going a little farther for a store with less chaos.
Does everybody know you can look up their stock online by location to be sure they have what you are renting a car to pick up?
I enthusiastically wait for the RedHook store, even as some smart and presumably reasonable community activists tell me it won't be good for the neighborhood. I go to the city pool in Red Hook, and I think they need more development there, as well as access to reasonably priced good-looking merch.
Carnivore,
The meatballs smell like dog food to me, but the sliced egg and tiny shrimps sandwich is pretty great if you dress it with a mix of mustard and mayo and black pepper.
sweet tea,
you rock! -
Has anyone ever used their delivery service? When I moved to NYC 7 years ago, I also did a big buy-everything trip to Ikea. At the time, the one in Elizabeth had a flat delivery fee (~$85?) for up to ten items. So I was planning to buy a bed frame, but bought a mattress and nightstand and shelf, too, because the delivery wouldn't cost more. The downside was that I would have had to wait a long time for a weekend delivery slot, so I had to stay home on a Tuesday to receive the stuff.
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EmilyM wrote: Has anyone ever used their delivery service? When I moved to NYC 7 years ago, I also did a big buy-everything trip to Ikea. At the time, the one in Elizabeth had a flat delivery fee (~$85?) for up to ten items. So I was planning to buy a bed frame, but bought a mattress and nightstand and shelf, too, because the delivery wouldn't cost more. The downside was that I would have had to wait a long time for a weekend delivery slot, so I had to stay home on a Tuesday to receive the stuff.
I called to see how much it would be to have something delivered - 1 or 2 years ago - and it was more like $150 just for that item. I didn't ask about a flat fee. -
I'm still on the "looking-for-better-furniture-than-the-last-furniture-I-found-on-the-side-walk" Budget. at least I don't have to put it together and none of it matches. :oops: :roll:
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Ikea is just about the only furniture I can afford - so I don't have much choice about where I shop. I used to go to the store in Elizabeth, but in the last year or two I have been going to the one on Long Island and it has made the whole process much more pleasant.
The one weird thing about the L.I. store though, is that it seems that it's become a chill spot for the pre-teen set. It's kind of surreal ... they come in groups and lay around in the fake bedrooms and put their skateboards and stuff in the fake closets and hang out all day. It's actually kind of postmodern. -
cough cough shameless self plug. i take folks to ikea to buy furniture and back! flat rate and van is huge!
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EmilyM wrote: Has anyone ever used their delivery service? When I moved to NYC 7 years ago, I also did a big buy-everything trip to Ikea. At the time, the one in Elizabeth had a flat delivery fee (~$85?) for up to ten items. So I was planning to buy a bed frame, but bought a mattress and nightstand and shelf, too, because the delivery wouldn't cost more. The downside was that I would have had to wait a long time for a weekend delivery slot, so I had to stay home on a Tuesday to receive the stuff.
That reminds me. I once mail-ordered (from the catalogue) a cool looking glass lamp from them. It arrived in a million pieces. This was years ago, actually - maybe by now they've thought to add extra bubble wrap and a 'fragile' label? :shock: I was pretty stunned at that. It was literally packed in one layer of thin cardboard. If I recall correctly, I was too lazy to return it and ended up buying another lampshade and using the lamp part.
pffft! :roll: -
Carnivore wrote: If you have a drill with screwdriver bits, Ikea stuff is really quick and easy to assemble, especially once you've put together a few of their things before.
quick and easy? ikea almost broke up a marriage last night at my apartment. -
RAH wrote: [quote=Carnivore]If you have a drill with screwdriver bits, Ikea stuff is really quick and easy to assemble, especially once you've put together a few of their things before.
quick and easy? ikea almost broke up a marriage last night at my apartment.i could see the next book or title for a movie. ikea destory my marriage
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