First experiences assembling some IKEA furniture

Should you try to assemble IKEA furniture? The answer to that depends on your skills, your psychology and frankly, how much time you have got. Although some of their products such as the Kallax shelving are fairly straightforward and quick, assembling a Pax wardrobe or a Hemnes bed is much more challenging.

Tiny details matter!

You need to be something of a detective with a focus on details. Here's an example from the Hasvik sliding doors. The instructions (that contain no words) show you a picture like this:

Looks simple, you need screw in a screw number 110438 but none of the screws or their packaging are so labelled but you do have some medium sized screws like these two:

With both screws side by side, it's obvious that the one on the right has a ledge around the circumference of the head which makes it more like the drawing than the one on the left. Of course, initially, you might only find the screws like on the left and start using them as they look close enough.

Here's another example from the Hemnes bed. This diagram tells you to screw in some threaded bar into exactly the right holes in the headboard.

However, an equally important detail is the small holes I've circled in red. They don't go all the way through the wood but it's perfectly possible to complete this step with the holes facing downwards. Nine steps further on, you would discover your error and have to disassemble and reassemble correctly. The IKEA instructions don't explicitly warn you - they expect you to notice such details.

There are no missing parts!

If you can't find a part or the only part you can find doesn't look exactly like the diagram, it's probably because you need to look harder for the right part - it may be packed inside another part, or in another package entirely. You might start wondering if IKEA forgot to include the part? Almost certainly not - I've thought it myself lots of times but eventually, I've found the required parts after a very thorough search - never throw the packaging away until you have triple-checked for a packet of small parts hidden in a crevice somewhere. Another cause of not having enough of a particular part can be that you've misidentified something - so if you need 2 allen screws but you only have one, start looking for a pair of subtly different allen screws.

The only real error I found in my IKEA delivery was that while I ordered and paid for one "Valet Hook", they sent me a sealed box of twenty. There were also some extra small parts. This may be because different configurations would have needed more parts. Another possibility is that it's easier for IKEA include a few extra cheap and easily lost or damaged items.

Time saving tips

If you've read this far, you'll be thinking that assembling IKEA stuff can be a long job - and you'd be right, here's a tip. If you've got multiple identical items, (EG: I had 4 drawers in my Pax wardrobe) assemble one of them, check it carefully and then immediately do the other identical items. You should be much, much faster because once you know what you are doing, assembly is fairly simple.

Consider investing in an electric screwdriver - there are lots of screws to screw up. 

Finally, the IKEA website has links to the assembly instructions on each product page.  Check these out before you buy - sometimes it's really easy like for this mattress

Other times, you will discover (as I should have) that your wardrobe involves hammering in 96 small nails.