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Anecdotally I have had trouble reconciling this seemingly prevalent "you can't disassemble Ikea furniture" with my own experience. It's not made for it sure but

by belval 3y ago

Anecdotally I have had trouble reconciling this seemingly prevalent "you can't disassemble Ikea furniture" with my own experience. It's not made for it sure but bookshelves, bed frames and tables can all be reassembled reasonably well. Anything smaller you can just put in the truck when moving.

hef19898 3y ago
Again one of those impossible to kill memes, along with bad mounting instructions (they are on par with Lego, and way better than a lot of industry ones). Usually tells you more about the person making that point than about the point they try to make.
- gxs 3y ago
  Anyone who’s ever finished putting together a piece of IKEA furniture only to realize they missed a few parts knows you can take it apart and put it back together perfectly fine.
- watwut 3y ago
  IKEA instructions are the best instructions there exist, imo. You can consistently follow the steps. We had much worst experience with instructions feom other shops.
- Swizec 3y ago
  > along with bad mounting instructions (they are on par with Lego, and way better than a lot of industry ones After reading Visual Thinking, I think this is a different brains problem. Some people just aren’t able to object visualize and need written step by step instructions. We tested this with my girlfriend using a LEGO set. In the time I blazed through 5 bags of Lego, she barely managed to get 1 assembled. Because she just struggles with visual instruction and manipulating objects in her mind. The opposite happens with sequential written instructions. I struggle to follow simple recipes without pictures and have to re-read the same step multiple times to get what they’re saying, whereas she can blaze through no problem and doesn’t understand why I’m struggling.
- mejutoco 3y ago
  IMO Lego are the gold standard of instructions. From what a remember, IKEA also does labeled bags with a small subset of pieces. While I think IKEA instructions are clear enough, they feel frustrating at times, while Lego feels very satisfying. Maybe it is the full color of the Lego instructions, or that the consequences of a mistake are easier to undo? Or the lego units make it easier to count the distances. Or maybe my love of Lego is stronger than the often chore of assembling furniture, in a pavlovian way? :)
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Well, to me, the furniture quality is meh, and they're quite fragile, but instructions are indeed good enough - and miles better than competition. One thing I specifically appreciate about IKEA instructions is the attention to detail in the drawings. With almost every IKEA purchase, at some point I hit a moment where some elements can be mated in several orientations, and there isn't an obvious way to tell which is the correct one. Sometimes it's apparent if you look couple steps ahead, but I found that you can always find a clue somewhere in the drawing of the unclear step. It's usually something like one of the elements having asymmetrically sized or arranged holes, which translates to a difference of 0.25mm to 1mm between some dots on the paper drawing. It's tiny, but it's always there, corresponding precisely to the piece I have in front of me. Of course, this could've been done better in many ways, but at least they care about precision of their drawings. Of companies in this space I had experience with, no one else does.
mortenjorck 3y ago
I think a big reason for this reputation is that IKEA is one of the few furniture brands big enough to have a wider-than-normal range of product tiers. Most brands have only one or two that are typically close together, while IKEA has at least three covering a much broader range of manufacturing methods and materials. And while you can get lucky with products in the lowest tier (I have some 15-year-old seating that fits this mold), often you do need to step up to at least the mid-tier to get something that will make it unscathed through moves.
josephcsible 3y ago
For bookshelves in particular (and wardrobes which have it too), I've found that trying to remove the nailed-in particleboard from the back usually goes really poorly. For furniture that doesn't have that, I agree with you.
- ce4 3y ago
  The trick is to use screws from the start and throw away the nails. Also make notes on the back, to mark what part goes where and in what direction. And lastly, have a 90° gage to make sure all corners have right angles. This is very crucial. Sometimes floors are uneven and trick you into assembling the furniture askewed

by belval 3y ago

hef19898 3y ago

Again one of those impossible to kill memes, along with bad mounting instructions (they are on par with Lego, and way better than a lot of industry ones). Usually tells you more about the person making that point than about the point they try to make.

gxs 3y ago
Anyone who’s ever finished putting together a piece of IKEA furniture only to realize they missed a few parts knows you can take it apart and put it back together perfectly fine.
watwut 3y ago
IKEA instructions are the best instructions there exist, imo. You can consistently follow the steps. We had much worst experience with instructions feom other shops.
Swizec 3y ago
> along with bad mounting instructions (they are on par with Lego, and way better than a lot of industry ones After reading Visual Thinking, I think this is a different brains problem. Some people just aren’t able to object visualize and need written step by step instructions. We tested this with my girlfriend using a LEGO set. In the time I blazed through 5 bags of Lego, she barely managed to get 1 assembled. Because she just struggles with visual instruction and manipulating objects in her mind. The opposite happens with sequential written instructions. I struggle to follow simple recipes without pictures and have to re-read the same step multiple times to get what they’re saying, whereas she can blaze through no problem and doesn’t understand why I’m struggling.
mejutoco 3y ago
IMO Lego are the gold standard of instructions. From what a remember, IKEA also does labeled bags with a small subset of pieces. While I think IKEA instructions are clear enough, they feel frustrating at times, while Lego feels very satisfying. Maybe it is the full color of the Lego instructions, or that the consequences of a mistake are easier to undo? Or the lego units make it easier to count the distances. Or maybe my love of Lego is stronger than the often chore of assembling furniture, in a pavlovian way? :)
TeMPOraL 3y ago
Well, to me, the furniture quality is meh, and they're quite fragile, but instructions are indeed good enough - and miles better than competition. One thing I specifically appreciate about IKEA instructions is the attention to detail in the drawings. With almost every IKEA purchase, at some point I hit a moment where some elements can be mated in several orientations, and there isn't an obvious way to tell which is the correct one. Sometimes it's apparent if you look couple steps ahead, but I found that you can always find a clue somewhere in the drawing of the unclear step. It's usually something like one of the elements having asymmetrically sized or arranged holes, which translates to a difference of 0.25mm to 1mm between some dots on the paper drawing. It's tiny, but it's always there, corresponding precisely to the piece I have in front of me. Of course, this could've been done better in many ways, but at least they care about precision of their drawings. Of companies in this space I had experience with, no one else does.

mortenjorck 3y ago

I think a big reason for this reputation is that IKEA is one of the few furniture brands big enough to have a wider-than-normal range of product tiers. Most brands have only one or two that are typically close together, while IKEA has at least three covering a much broader range of manufacturing methods and materials. And while you can get lucky with products in the lowest tier (I have some 15-year-old seating that fits this mold), often you do need to step up to at least the mid-tier to get something that will make it unscathed through moves.

josephcsible 3y ago

For bookshelves in particular (and wardrobes which have it too), I've found that trying to remove the nailed-in particleboard from the back usually goes really poorly. For furniture that doesn't have that, I agree with you.

ce4 3y ago
The trick is to use screws from the start and throw away the nails. Also make notes on the back, to mark what part goes where and in what direction. And lastly, have a 90° gage to make sure all corners have right angles. This is very crucial. Sometimes floors are uneven and trick you into assembling the furniture askewed