BRIMNES storage bed + headboard, Queen $549 + 320 min labor = $709 (delta: +$160 / +29%)
HEMNES 8-drawer dresser $380 + 236 min labor = $498 (delta: +$118 / +31%)
STORKLINTA 6-drawer dresser $250 + 224 min labor = $362 (delta: +$112 / +45%)
SLÄKT storage bed, Twin $450 + 212 min labor = $556 (delta: +$106 / +24%)
BRIMNES 3-door wardrobe $250 + 189 min labor = $344.50 (delta: +$94.50 / +38%)
ALEX drawer unit: $95 + 96 min labor = $143 (delta: +$48 / +51%)
BRIMNES cabinet with doors: $99 + 75 min labor = $136.50 (delta: +$37.50 / +38%)
KALLAX 2x4 shelf unit: $65 + 39 min labor = $84.50 (delta: +$19.50 / +30%)
Formula: effective price = sticker price + (estimated assembly minutes / 60 * hourly value of time).
I was surprised by how similar the % diff is across the board.
Everything that has come in box from a store like IKEA (or assembled in the back from a box and presented as non-flat-pack) has lasted me less than a decade. I've got a bedroom set that was built out of proper materials and it's almost a century old.
The thing that pushes consumers toward ikea is the consistency and convenience. Most things you can load and cart home by yourself same day. Moving around furniture built by the Amish is a serious logistical challenge by comparison. Maybe you could solo it with a hand truck and some experience, but it's genuinely dangerous to move some things without help. If you aren't moving frequently, the appeal of disposable furniture begins to fade quickly.
I bought and assembled a TUFFING Bunk Bed years ago, and even though the complexity of assembly is reported as 4644 on this web site (which is also suspiciously low), as far as I can tell the only way to disassemble it is to use an angle grinder.
I do use wood glue on all dowel pins, so most stuff is assembly once only. Unless the furniture provides metal inserts for machine screws, I do not consider it disassembly material. It's likely to exhibit the spontaneous disassembly on its right own otherwise (or squeak soon enough)
I did not do sentiment analysis on the comments (to modify my fudge factor mentioned elsewhere - which is the bulk of my complexity rating computation), but that could be a good next step..!
[1]: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/trotten-cabinet-with-doors-whit...
Whoever made this, please make a "proportion" column somehow!
I would like to know which has the most complexity per total volume or weight (it's less surprising that huge items have high complexity).
3h of fun for a mere $140.
I've seen more expensive hobbies.
Same with shopping at IKEA. I know all the shortcuts in our local IKEA so that I can exit the store as quickly as possible.
PDF for assembly is still up on the website: https://www.ikea.com/nl/nl/assembly_instructions/sultan-laxe...
IKEA in general is piss easy to assemble except for leveling stuff where you'd need a laser and often times another person. Some of provided tools (the famous L 6mm hex key made of cheese) and hardware (nails) tend to be very poor... and sometimes it'd need a visit to buy extra hardware - e.g. low-profile head, non-counter sunk screws to attach to the wall.
Repairing furniture or addressing mistakes tend to be fixable by a mix of wood shavings/dust and epoxy in most cases.
So the assembly would depend on previous experience, available tools, and free space.
Sure, it’s not hard, but if there are a lot of steps it’s still going to take longer.
A fully specced up pax double wardrobe with drawers, sliding doors, and lighting is made up of hundreds of parts, so does take a good amount of time to put together even though it’s not difficult per se.
It’s also made up of many different SKUs so you get dozens of boxes turn up and it takes a little while to figure out what everything is and get organised. Again, it’s not difficult, but it takes a little time.
Hinges need more time in general as well.
I adjusted the formula by researching online what people reported as the time it took them to build some of the items. ie there’s a linear regression “fudge” factor - but it’s still an extremely simplified “model”, if you can call it that.
Not a good idea on modern Ikea furniture that's basically engineered wood and cardboard. Way too easy to strip out the threads.
>Way too easy to strip out the threads.
An "assembly driver" or "installation driver" is meant to describe low-torque powered screwdrivers. They don't strip threads especially when used on the lowest torque settings that can barely turn a screw before the clutch-release mechanism clicks. On the other hand, the high-torque powered screwdrivers that can turn drywall and deck screws and the impact drivers that can spin the lugs on car wheels are a different beast.
The bigger risk with IKEA furniture is hammering in the metal dowel pins (that interlock with the rotating cams) at a perpendicular angle to the flat board. You have to gently tap them with a hammer because it's too easy to puncture through the particle board.
Actually, the majority of "screws" to turn in a lot of IKEA furniture (e.g. bookshelves) are the cams instead of typical threaded screws. The cams only rotate 180 degrees so there's no time savings in trying to use a powered screwdriver.
Are there many hammer-in versions around then? I've assembled a fair amount of IKEA bookcases, wardrobes, kitchen cupboards etc (in the UK), and those cam dowel pins have always been screw-in.
These days I wouldn't recommend Ikea to anybody with the prices and build quality, Jysk is a good and cheap alternative in germany.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/TaskRabbit/comments/13dm7lu/comment...
What are the missing products?