The Pros and Cons of Assemble Yourself Furniture
Unassembled furniture comes in a really long and thin box. It looks deceptively small and light, but be prepared to bring an extra person with you or a store clerk to help you lift the box into your cart. The furniture parts are packed compactly and carry a lot of weight. However, the packages are also put together smart. Styrofoam inserts prevent furniture parts from sliding around to prevent damage and scratching while being moved, nail and screw packages are wrapped together in one large bag, and, as I found out, glass windows are placed in the middle of the package so boards on each side can protect it from being cracked by being laid down incorrectly. I recommend not dropping the boxes though. The parts are packed tightly, but are still vulnerable to gravity and a hard surface. Also, when purchasing a box of furniture avoid packages placed on the top and whose corners are wrinkled. These are usually good indications that someone had dropped the unassembled furniture when moving it.
The pieces of furniture themselves are made cheaply but sturdy. The sides are made of particle boards with a brown or black painted finish, depending on which style you buy, pre-drilled holes make screws go in easily without damage to the boards, and very little plastic is used to assemble the parts.
Wal-Mart offers the service of assembling the furniture for you, but unless it is small, you would do better to bring it home and assemble it yourself. There is less possibility of damaging it during travel and, if you are driving a car, you can actually bring the furniture home without having to arrange getting it delivered.
Assembling the furniture yourself requires a minimum of a large flat work area, a pointed screwdriver, a straight-edge screwdriver, and a hammer. Having another person there allows the process to go more smoothly, but it is possible to construct the furniture neatly by yourself. The instruction manual is excellent, the best I’ve ever seen. All the parts are labeled on the furniture, either with a sticker or marked on the unfinished portion of the board, and the labels match those in the manual. The manual takes you step by step through the construction with easy to understand images and clear written instructions at the bottom to clear up any confusion.
The down side to boxed furniture is it built for responsible use. Cabinets with height have a wall attachment to keep it from falling forward. I have never used it because I don’t have children, but it is something to beware of if the cabinet is over-balanced. Believe the warning about the weight limit per shelf. The particle board and screws have a tested weight-limit and will split overtime if not immediately. Also, there is a compact, cardboard backing nailed to the backside of the shelves or cabinets to keep the structure from leaning to one side or the other. Since I don’t like nailing anything to my particle board, I have to buy extra wooden straps, drill holes, and screw extra support structures to the back in order to keep the structure from leaning.
Boxed furniture may not be as sturdy and durable as finished pieces sold in furniture stores, but you can save thousands of dollars by assembling and responsibly using boxed furniture.
