The ease of pursuing countless photos, effortlessly comparing reviews and price tags – all without ever leaving your home makes online furniture shopping a breeze. This is until a surprisingly heavy and compact box arrives on your doorstep and you’re left with the dreaded task of furniture assembly.
Why Furniture Assembly Is Harder Than It Looks
Most people underestimate just how difficult furniture assembly can be, but putting together furniture can be time-consuming and trying. It often requires specialized tools and knowledge. But struggling to properly assemble furniture you bought online isn’t just frustrating, it can lead to wobbly tables, crooked shelves, a reduction in a product’s lifespan, a void in the warranty, or even be a safety risk. So why is furniture assembly so much harder than it looks?
Furniture Assembly Instructions are Confusing
We’ve all unbacked the furniture box to find way too many pieces, a bunch of screws and bolts that all look alike and a single piece of paper filled with cryptic diagrams, tiny text and steps that seem to skip essential details. Sometimes there are no words at all, just arrows and abstract images. But one of the most important steps in furniture assembly is reading (and understanding) the instructions. Unfortunately, sometimes they are just too confusing, and you end up missing steps, putting pieces in backwards or using the wrong fasteners.
You Don’t Have the Right Tools
Not everyone has a full set of screwdrivers and Allen wrenches and it’s possible that you won’t have all the tools you need on hand to assemble your furniture. Sometimes your online ordered desk, table or bedframe will say it comes with all the tools you need for assembly, but those tools are far from the best quality and although they may work, they may be inefficient leading to stripped screws, damaged surfaces and poorly assembled furniture. Using the wrong tools, poorly made tools or trying to make do with whatever you have lying around only makes assembling furniture harder.
You Are Inexperienced
While you shouldn’t need to be a certified craftsman to put together a new bookcase or kitchen table, some basic tool and assembly knowledge does make it easier. Not having this experience can lead to simple errors. One of the most common ones is over-tightening screws. Seems logical that you would want all the screws as tight as possible, but that can actually cause materials to crack, weaken the structural integrity of your piece of furniture and make disassembly nearly impossible.
You Don’t Have Enough Space
Another thing that can make assembly online furniture so much more difficult than anticipated is setting up in room that doesn’t give you enough room to work. Now you can’t spread out all your parts or don’t have a solid surface to work on, and you keep losing tools and fasteners seem to disappear before your very eyes. Or maybe you anticipated this, so you set up where you would have enough room but now can’t lift the assembled item or maybe it won’t fit through the doorway, and your fancy new desk is suck smack dab in the middle of your living room.
Furniture Assembly Survival Tips
Furniture assembly looks way easier than it actually is, but there are a few things you can do to help the task go a little smoother.
- Read through the instructions completely before starting
- Set up your workspace before unboxing
- Organize all hardware and tools before assembling
- Take breaks if you start to get frustrated
- Ask for help or call in a professional
Make Furniture Assembly Simple with a Couple More Guys™
Skip the frustration of confusing instructions, disappearing hardware and heavy lifting. Whether you ordered from Amazon or Wayfair, a Couple More Guys™ can transform your flat boxes to finished pieces. Our two-person, insured furniture assembly crews are experienced at putting together all kinds of furniture from tables and chairs to bed frames, desks, couches and credenzas, and they have all the tools they’ll need to make sure everything is put together properly and ready for use. Schedule a professional, insured furniture assembly crew online.