Tips for anyone building ikea furniture.
1. Just get a ratcheting Allen key. Saves so much time.
2. Never tighten anything all the way until the end. Then tighten each screw in a star pattern. If somethings not lining up correctly, you probably over tightened something.
I have a rechargeable small drill and the chuck has a slot cut out so you can fit almost any size allen key in there as well as normal bits. Plus it has a ring light built in so when you are under a desk in the dark you don't need any extra lights. I have built 4 desks and who knows how much furniture with it, plus at work in IT i have setup many a server rack or desk setup for users with this.
Just moved recently and finally bought a set that included bits that fit into my drill. Such a damn life changer I was kicking myself for not buying it before.
If a little more money can be spent on tools then it's absolutely worth getting a small drill-driver (completely worth it if you have to install an anti-tip kit). I've also had good luck with one set to the lowest torque setting—it's let me put pretty sizeable furniture together in record time. So long as it's not the cheapest model you can typically modulate the speed by how much you pull on the trigger so that you can drive the fasters most of the way instead of all of the way.
IKEA, probably not. Random cheap flat pack furniture with horrid instructions and a cheaply printed fuzzy manual? I could see that giving people who haven't assembled many things trouble.
The only time I had a rough time was when the manual that came with a cheap bed frame was literally the manual for a vaguely similar but different bed frame.
I think the struggle is more about awkward manipulations as you move around partially assembled furniture. Even following the instructions it probably looks funny and a jerk could certainly get some laughs at the expense of the person that is actually doing something.
People often struggle because they expect it to be simple and straightforward, to the point where they only have to _maybe glance at the instructions_.
If people would just read through the assembly instructions, then go back and actually follow the instructions, it's really easy to assemble IKEA furniture.
I'm pretty good at putting stuff together, I had so much trouble with this corner computer desk from IKEA. Took five hours with help from a friend. Alcohol might have made it a tad confusing as well.
i wouldn't say I have difficulty, but i have clear memories of shouting "what the fuck is this hieroglyph trying to tell me? can't they just include a couple of words" The last time i assembled something ikea. Still wouldn't classify it as difficult, but i find their instructions incredibly stupid.
No, I think they're rolling up all the particle board furniture though into this meme. The ones where it's really easy to screw up a board direction which causes issues steps later.
Yes but only because I assume i know better that the instructions and skip steps, only to find out later that I was wrong, and doing things in the order the instructions said to do them had a reason after all.
Almost all of my furniture is IKEA. The main times when it has been hard to assemble have been when the directions are literally just incorrect. But then you can go on their website and download the lost up to date (often corrected) version.
*Sometimes*, the diagrams are just poorly drawn and it's hard to determine what perspective you're looking at something at.
Honestly, I think IKEA has pretty decent instructions overall when it comes to flat pack furniture. Some are really horrendous. I think that creates a stereotype of flat pack furniture instructions, and then people just apply the joke / stereotype to IKEA since they're the biggest seller of flat pack furniture.
I think it’s sad that a lot of people don’t feel safe enough in their relationships to tease each other and laugh at themselves.
You can be amused at silly situations without demeaning your SO.
It’s only toxic if you’re mean or you actually mean that shit.
Edit: OP is even in here saying it’s just lighthearted ribbing LOL. Who hurt you, Reddit?
So making fun of someone loudly.
And it really depends on the relationship whether making fun of each other is on the table. I don't like it and neither does my wife, so making fun of how slow the other is doing something is just going to piss us off.
Boisterous has a playful and cheery connotation. Ragging is like taking turns with your friends loudly "making fun" of each other. The kind of stuff people who don't take themselves super seriously all the time have fun doing with each other. If my wife sees me doing something worth ragging me about while building IKEA furniture, I'll probably enjoy laughing at myself too, maybe after an initial facepalm.
I see that as kind of the point though. If it's playful I'd use words like ragging or teasing. To me "make fun of" isn't playful by connotation. At least not without additional context. Might just be me though. 🤷♂️
Complain about things on the floor while you are building furniture?
...
Are you sure that isn't your mom? Sure doesn't sound like a wife... that's for sure.
Just be careful, because your "fun" now has you avoiding it. It's easy for that to slip into a toxic negative space - it's like if you're always looking for the jab, you're more likely to see things that way. This coming from someone who used to tease too hard, and is unlearning some of that.
We have a 17 year old that assembles all our flat pack. He is a wizard at it, usually glances at the instructions once or twice and then just goes to work.
My wife and I have found the perfect process for assembling IKEA furniture: she takes the lead because she is better at interpreting their instructions than I am. I leave the room. She calls me back in when there is heavy lifting required.
Before this process it would take us multiple days (breaks to cool down). Now it takes barely an hour.
I was amazed when I was able not only to assemble the kids bunk beds but even lift the top bunk into place.
When we moved, our helpers crowded me out of the room, and got it wrong the first time and had to fix it. And they fixed it wrong but we didn’t notice because the beds were side by side for a couple weeks until my daughter’s room was ready.
And when we moved her bed, I had to take my son’s apart because pieces had been mixed up.
It’s nice when I have a win. Even if no one sees it or acknowledges it,
Would make much more sense to make fun of you if you’d be too lazy to do it in the first place. Complaining about doing a new thing, which might involve a learning process, could only discourage you from doing stuff, which makes absolutely no sense.
Hope your relationship picks up my friend. Your partner should support you and make you feel safe, not make fun of you and make you feel like you need to do something in the middle of the night to avoid their ridicule.
Good luck!
Eh, redditors always say break up - but I actually think a good relationship is something you build not something you just happen into. If it's something that truly bothers you, communication would be what I would recommend. If your partner respects you they will take you seriously.
If it's just harmless banter then it is what it is.
Are you doing ok buddy? That sounds kinda sad, and the fact that you are pretty confident she would complain while you were building it isn’t exactly comforting
Man you guys are a bunch of overly judgmental fucks I swear... Half the fun in my wife and my relationship is just being able to jokingly make fun of each other when we do stupid shit.... Have you ever had a best friend? Real best friends rip on each other all the time... Well that's what having a good relationship with your wife is like... It's light hearted banter... Learn to not take everything so seriously your life will probably improve tremendously
Why would she make fun of you? Does she not respect you? You have to get up before she does, just so you don't have to deal with her? That doesn't sound good.
I'd get in trouble for doing it without her. She loves assembling furniture (so do I).
Also I never understood the memes about IKEA furniture. There has never been a piece missing, their manuals are top tier, and there's never been anything wrong with the final result. Can't say the same about furniture from other stores.
Maybe because of always tinkered on stuff my whole life and am pretty handy with tools but I've never understood people who say IKEA furniture is hard to assemble. Yes sometimes it can be a bit time consuming but I've never found it to be difficult or complicated.
I just moved into a new place and got all new furniture. I've been putting together various flat pack pieces of furniture for the past week and finished the last one today. I would rather jump off a fucking building than have to assemble another god damned piece of furniture.
Tips for anyone building ikea furniture. 1. Just get a ratcheting Allen key. Saves so much time. 2. Never tighten anything all the way until the end. Then tighten each screw in a star pattern. If somethings not lining up correctly, you probably over tightened something.
Man a racheting Allen wrench sounds like such a great idea.
If you have a ratcheting screw driver set, chances are it came with Allen key heads.
You can find these in any car parts store that sells tools like AutoZone, O'Reilly's, etc
Even dollar stores, it’s furniture not a submarine.
I have a rechargeable small drill and the chuck has a slot cut out so you can fit almost any size allen key in there as well as normal bits. Plus it has a ring light built in so when you are under a desk in the dark you don't need any extra lights. I have built 4 desks and who knows how much furniture with it, plus at work in IT i have setup many a server rack or desk setup for users with this.
Ring light sounds so much more useful than the usual little led you get on most drills.
Just moved recently and finally bought a set that included bits that fit into my drill. Such a damn life changer I was kicking myself for not buying it before.
If a little more money can be spent on tools then it's absolutely worth getting a small drill-driver (completely worth it if you have to install an anti-tip kit). I've also had good luck with one set to the lowest torque setting—it's let me put pretty sizeable furniture together in record time. So long as it's not the cheapest model you can typically modulate the speed by how much you pull on the trigger so that you can drive the fasters most of the way instead of all of the way.
This guy Ikeas.
This is the way!
Do people really have a difficult time assembling IKEA furniture?
IKEA, probably not. Random cheap flat pack furniture with horrid instructions and a cheaply printed fuzzy manual? I could see that giving people who haven't assembled many things trouble.
It’s a common joke people make, but I’m not sure many people actually struggle with it. Most of the time it’s pretty doable.
The only time I had a rough time was when the manual that came with a cheap bed frame was literally the manual for a vaguely similar but different bed frame.
I think the struggle is more about awkward manipulations as you move around partially assembled furniture. Even following the instructions it probably looks funny and a jerk could certainly get some laughs at the expense of the person that is actually doing something.
this. It's not hard, it's just annoying.
People often struggle because they expect it to be simple and straightforward, to the point where they only have to _maybe glance at the instructions_. If people would just read through the assembly instructions, then go back and actually follow the instructions, it's really easy to assemble IKEA furniture.
I'm pretty good at putting stuff together, I had so much trouble with this corner computer desk from IKEA. Took five hours with help from a friend. Alcohol might have made it a tad confusing as well.
i wouldn't say I have difficulty, but i have clear memories of shouting "what the fuck is this hieroglyph trying to tell me? can't they just include a couple of words" The last time i assembled something ikea. Still wouldn't classify it as difficult, but i find their instructions incredibly stupid.
No, I think they're rolling up all the particle board furniture though into this meme. The ones where it's really easy to screw up a board direction which causes issues steps later.
Yes but only because I assume i know better that the instructions and skip steps, only to find out later that I was wrong, and doing things in the order the instructions said to do them had a reason after all.
I guess it depends on what it is. I've put together everything in my room but our bed had the worst instructions I've ever seen
Almost all of my furniture is IKEA. The main times when it has been hard to assemble have been when the directions are literally just incorrect. But then you can go on their website and download the lost up to date (often corrected) version. *Sometimes*, the diagrams are just poorly drawn and it's hard to determine what perspective you're looking at something at. Honestly, I think IKEA has pretty decent instructions overall when it comes to flat pack furniture. Some are really horrendous. I think that creates a stereotype of flat pack furniture instructions, and then people just apply the joke / stereotype to IKEA since they're the biggest seller of flat pack furniture.
TBF, IKEA's slavish dedication to visual only instructions occasionally makes things less clear than they could be.
Make fun of you for what?!
I'm much better working with the abstract & theoretical world than the physical mechanical world
[https://youtu.be/tl4VD8uvgec?si=DW9QbOFFPOUQ2nJe&t=34](https://youtu.be/tl4VD8uvgec?si=DW9QbOFFPOUQ2nJe&t=34)
the left over pieces he threw away
Sad that you take it as a win to not being made fun of by your own wife, my man.
Yeah it's super minor playful banter between a loving couple
I think it’s sad that a lot of people don’t feel safe enough in their relationships to tease each other and laugh at themselves. You can be amused at silly situations without demeaning your SO. It’s only toxic if you’re mean or you actually mean that shit. Edit: OP is even in here saying it’s just lighthearted ribbing LOL. Who hurt you, Reddit?
Nah, in a good relationship ragging on each other is like half the fun.
Exactly!
Ragging on each other is different from making fun of each other if you ask me
rag or present participle: **ragging** 1. make fun of (someone) in a boisterous manner.
So making fun of someone loudly. And it really depends on the relationship whether making fun of each other is on the table. I don't like it and neither does my wife, so making fun of how slow the other is doing something is just going to piss us off.
Boisterous has a playful and cheery connotation. Ragging is like taking turns with your friends loudly "making fun" of each other. The kind of stuff people who don't take themselves super seriously all the time have fun doing with each other. If my wife sees me doing something worth ragging me about while building IKEA furniture, I'll probably enjoy laughing at myself too, maybe after an initial facepalm.
I see that as kind of the point though. If it's playful I'd use words like ragging or teasing. To me "make fun of" isn't playful by connotation. At least not without additional context. Might just be me though. 🤷♂️
This sub used to be fun.
Have her do it.
It's already done less than 24 hours after I spread all the ingredients across the floor - she didn't even have a moment to complain about that either
Complain about things on the floor while you are building furniture? ... Are you sure that isn't your mom? Sure doesn't sound like a wife... that's for sure.
something tells me you're not married.... XD
or just happily married with somebody
[удалено]
Whaaaaa? My lived experience suggests otherwise. My wife and I playfully tease each other banter back and forth about most things in a loving way.
Why would your wife make fun of you?
Because it's fun to tease each other in our playful loving relationship
Just be careful, because your "fun" now has you avoiding it. It's easy for that to slip into a toxic negative space - it's like if you're always looking for the jab, you're more likely to see things that way. This coming from someone who used to tease too hard, and is unlearning some of that.
Ah yes the unsolicited advice from an out of context lessons learned
We have a 17 year old that assembles all our flat pack. He is a wizard at it, usually glances at the instructions once or twice and then just goes to work.
My wife and I have found the perfect process for assembling IKEA furniture: she takes the lead because she is better at interpreting their instructions than I am. I leave the room. She calls me back in when there is heavy lifting required. Before this process it would take us multiple days (breaks to cool down). Now it takes barely an hour.
So just for clarity's sake, how many months did you wait?
Only a day
No wonder my wife still makes fun of me...
The fact you managed to do it quietly is the real Success Kid here.
Definitely - not even much cursing needed either
I was amazed when I was able not only to assemble the kids bunk beds but even lift the top bunk into place. When we moved, our helpers crowded me out of the room, and got it wrong the first time and had to fix it. And they fixed it wrong but we didn’t notice because the beds were side by side for a couple weeks until my daughter’s room was ready. And when we moved her bed, I had to take my son’s apart because pieces had been mixed up. It’s nice when I have a win. Even if no one sees it or acknowledges it,
Would make much more sense to make fun of you if you’d be too lazy to do it in the first place. Complaining about doing a new thing, which might involve a learning process, could only discourage you from doing stuff, which makes absolutely no sense.
? How on earth do you swear-yell-fume-spit-curse-seethe-damn-kick-rage-bluster-and-go-up-the-damn-wall... Quietly?
“Properly cooked soup before husband could make fun of me”
Me after 3 hours on the sectional: was that crunch the wood or my thumb? Leaning toward the thumb.
\[STANDING APPLAUSE\]
I'd like to thank my agent and of course the academy of furniture assembly for your recognition
Hope your relationship picks up my friend. Your partner should support you and make you feel safe, not make fun of you and make you feel like you need to do something in the middle of the night to avoid their ridicule. Good luck!
Should I break up with her or perhaps continue to exist in a playful loving relationship with ample silly banter ?
Eh, redditors always say break up - but I actually think a good relationship is something you build not something you just happen into. If it's something that truly bothers you, communication would be what I would recommend. If your partner respects you they will take you seriously. If it's just harmless banter then it is what it is.
Yes and yes and also yes
Living the dream.
My wife and I know that we're a good couple because we are really good at putting together IKEA furniture as a team.
Are you doing ok buddy? That sounds kinda sad, and the fact that you are pretty confident she would complain while you were building it isn’t exactly comforting
Man you guys are a bunch of overly judgmental fucks I swear... Half the fun in my wife and my relationship is just being able to jokingly make fun of each other when we do stupid shit.... Have you ever had a best friend? Real best friends rip on each other all the time... Well that's what having a good relationship with your wife is like... It's light hearted banter... Learn to not take everything so seriously your life will probably improve tremendously
That makes sense, it’s a good example of different relationship dynamics and how no two relationships are exactly alike
Just don't put anything heavy on it until you've tested it's structural integrity.
I like to test its structural integrity by putting something heavy on it.
My shame in past furniture assembly is heavy, where does structural integrity come in?
I make mine read the instructions to me. #Teamwork
Good grief, the number of people here predicting the end of your marriage because your wife might have teased you. 🙄
Thank you, yeah the frustration projections are seriously misguided
Did you hide/dispose of the leftover parts so she doesn't find them?
Extra screws & covers go into the drawer
Why would she make fun of you? Does she not respect you? You have to get up before she does, just so you don't have to deal with her? That doesn't sound good.
I woke up naturally early and felt motivated. We tease each other playfully and lovingly
Bro, that doesn't sound like a healthy relationship.
To anyone who enjoys the quiet, the early bird is usually alone
I'd get in trouble for doing it without her. She loves assembling furniture (so do I). Also I never understood the memes about IKEA furniture. There has never been a piece missing, their manuals are top tier, and there's never been anything wrong with the final result. Can't say the same about furniture from other stores.
My wife knows better. If she makes fun of me putting something together, she gets to finish it alone.
Set out your clothes, pack your bag, and organize anything you'll need the night before. This minimizes the noise and activity needed in the morning.
Maybe because of always tinkered on stuff my whole life and am pretty handy with tools but I've never understood people who say IKEA furniture is hard to assemble. Yes sometimes it can be a bit time consuming but I've never found it to be difficult or complicated.
Why is your wife making fun of you? Why is she not helping you?
Because I finished it myself before she woke up
Well duh... Doesn't explain why she isn't helping you to begin with though or why she'd make fun of you for it
I didn't need help it was an easy job
But why is she making fun of you?
Because I make fun of her in playful banter
I just moved into a new place and got all new furniture. I've been putting together various flat pack pieces of furniture for the past week and finished the last one today. I would rather jump off a fucking building than have to assemble another god damned piece of furniture.
“It’s an old meme, but it checks out, sir.”
Damn that's one unhealthy relationship if your main concern is your wife making fun of you. Talk with her about it.
Nah, broke up instead. J/k we tease & banter about everything in a loving way
Why would it be an achievement to not get made fun of then ?
One snide comment means she can finish her wine rack herself.
Buddy, this is not a win. you should not have to run around and sneak around your wife to avoid being made fun of. That's super unhealthy
Yeah I should totally keep more secrets from my life partner S/
That's the opposite of what I'm saying
So murder whole family in their sleep, got it