IKEA – DIY

After the flood in our house, we had to refurbish the bedroom. I first bought a grey bed, but it was a problem to find matching dresser/drawers. So I find something suitable at IKEA, a HAUGA model with 6 drawers. The price was good but this meant I had to put it together and it is not top quality. I am not a handyman like my late father was so I expected a challenge here. When I arrived home with boxes I left them aside until Saturday to have enough time and I could work in peace without pressure.

So after 5 hours, with a lunch and many cigarette breaks, I managed to finish assembly. A few days later I bought another HAUGA piece with 3 drawers and a few shelves and finished in just 2 hours. So the learning curve is steep and the next piece I would probably do in an hour. From this experience, I got my perfect list of steps on how to finish assembling IKEA furniture with the least trouble.

Steps

• Prereqisits – Before you buy IKEA piece of furniture first measure space at home if it will fit. Check online that they have it on stock. Of course money needed is necessity. But most important is that you will need to spend some time where your craftmenship skill will be needed. You should have this in mind before purchase.
• Prepare space – To be able to assemble your choseen piece of furniture you will need space to do it and additional space to store piecess before theybecame part of that assemble. you will need at least surface of size of biggest furniture piece + minimum 50 % more so you can get around it. Put on the floor rug or box it is left after unboxing and clear it from all debrie, so surfaces will not get scratched or edges will not get ruined.
• Unbox – Lay down boxes on floor on largest side and open them with stanly knife but be careful not to cut to deep and scratch any parts. Check al the pices if they are in right color and undamaged.
• Check out manual – Before you start your work it is best to plan and prepare. First you should count if all pieces, dowels, screws, hooks, and plastic sachets are there. Sometimes smaller pieces can hide inside biger pieces. If something is missing or damaged contact IKEA.
• Layout pieces – In manual you will see order of assembly. This will tell you have to layout your pieces that it will be convenient to reach them easily when needed.
• Prepare tools – Also, manual will tell you what tools are needed. Some basic tools can be provide. But you should have your level (you will know if things are level), hammer (best wooden or rubber tip not to damage furniture), and a charged cordless power drill (it will save you manual work and time).
• Assemble – Finally, you go to fun part. Before each step refer to manual to be sure of the next step. Be concentrated on details (zoom-in and arrows in manual), which side is up, what is left and right, where the holes are positioned … You can easily make mistake, and this furniture is not made to re-assemble many times. When tightening screws do it completly but don’t use excesive force, because it can break one of pieces. If some action needs two person don’t do it by yourself, call someone to help. If you are tired or nervous take a break, before you do some damage. For easier progress you can watch online video on Yourtube or if you get stuck contact IKEA. You can even pay IKEA to deliver and assemble furniture for fee.

Summary

IKEA furniture has a nice, clean look. Price is competitive. On the downside, your work is needed and the quality of furniture doesn’t allow re-assembling it. I would suggest buying at IKEA if you at least have a basic manual skill and you take it as a project and not a burden. I have to stress again, checking the manual each step of the way is essential. But if I managed you could do it as well.