Furniture assembly, especially as a beginner, is no easy feat, and we’re not going to sugarcoat it for you. It’s actually probably one of the hardest things you’d find yourself doing, apart from maintaining a good credit score.
But like most things in life, you’ll find that you’ll learn a thing or two by having a go at it yourself. Yes, you’ll mostly do them wrong at first, but it’s part of the learning curve. Without further ado, here’s a step-by-step guide on home furniture assembly in NYC.
What to Do Before You Open The Box?
This is where most people go wrong. They see the box sitting there in their apartment, and they just dive right in. Don’t do that, you’ll end up complicating things for yourself.
Read the Instructions
Reading instructions feels like admitting defeat. But in reality, instruction manuals are created for people exactly like you. Go through it thoroughly and make sure you’ve understood everything from top to bottom.
If you’re a little clumsy and tend to misplace screws and parts, take a photo of the parts page. This way, you’ll know exactly what you’re looking for if you lose a piece.
Measure Your Space
Before you assemble anything, measure:
- The space where the furniture will ultimately sit
- The doorways it needs to fit through
- The elevator dimensions
- The ceiling height
Nothing quite matches the sinking feeling of fully assembling a bed frame in a bedroom, only to realize the door is too narrow for you to actually get it out again.
Clear Your Working Space
As a rule of thumb, it’s always a good idea to clear at least a 6×6-foot area. This is more than enough room to lay out all the pieces and have the instructions laid out in front of you.
Step-by-Step Guide for Assembly
Step 1: Do Not Start Haphazardly
Open the packaging methodically. Remove one section of packaging at a time and lay all parts out in an organized fashion in front of you.
A good system to work with is leaning large panels against the wall in the order you need them, piling up smaller parts and finally, having the hardware bag ready at hand.
Step 2: Tighten Loosely First, Then Fully Later
This is perhaps the single most important thing you’ll take away from this guide.
Leave everything finger-tight at first. This gives you wiggle room to adjust pieces, fix alignment issues, and generally make corrections before you’re ready to finalize the piece.
Step 3: Check That You’re Using the Right Piece
Mistakes can happen to the best of us, which is why, always double-check every single piece against the instructions manual before you commit. A little bit of diligence goes a long way when setting up your furniture.
Step 4: Use the Right Tools
For home furniture assembly in NYC, you’ll need to ditch the tools you get with your furniture and instead invest in some good-quality, handy tools. These include power drills, screwdrivers in multiple sizes, rubber mallets, levels and wrenches.
Cheap tools don’t save you money. They cost you time and energy you could be putting into better things.
When to Accept Defeat and Call the Professionals?
As much as you’d get a real adrenaline rush by assembling your furniture on your own, we’re here to tell you to that there’s no shame in hiring someone for home furniture assembly in NYC.
You should consider calling us over if:
- The instruction manual simply doesn’t make sense
- You don’t have the right tools and don’t want to invest a hefty sum in tools you’ll only use once
- You value your time a lot more than you value the service cost
- You’ve already started, but quickly realized you’re in over your head
- You’re between houses, and you need someone to help you with disassembly and assembly
Also Read: How to Choose the Best Furniture Assembly Company in NYC?
DIY Furniture Assembly Isn’t for Everyone
Furniture assembly is learnable. In fact, someone out there is probably assembling a piece of furniture right now without any special training. However, is it easy? The answer depends on the complexity of the project, how much time you’ve got on your hands and whether or not you’ve got the right tools.
After thousands of assemblies, the tips we’ve laid out here will make the process significantly smoother. However, if you’re still not 100% sure in your skills, Setup NYC has got you covered. We’ve handling all sorts of furniture pieces and can save you from an overwhelming project any time, any day.
Give us a call, we promise we won’t judge your previous assembly attempts.
