In our Pros and Cons series, we weigh the advantages and disadvantages of important decisions that apartment dwellers are making every day.
Whether you’re moving into a new apartment or simply redecorating, finding the perfect bed frame or couch for your space can be exciting. However, assembling furniture can be a tedious or challenging process, but for some people, doing it yourself is rewarding and comes with a rush of instant gratification. On the other hand, some apartment dwellers find furniture assembly overwhelming enough to hire experts for help.
The choice between doing it yourself and hiring an expert depends on numerous factors. Below, consider the pros and cons of assembling your furniture yourself or seeking extra help.
Pros of assembling furniture yourself instead of paying for assembly
It’s cheaper
Assembling your furniture in your apartment may seem stressful, but if you want to save money, then assembling your furniture is the way to go. If you struggle with assembling your furniture, then spend ample time with the assembly instructions. Eventually, you may be able to make sense of the tasks in front of you. It’s okay if you have to reread the instructions several times – although some instructions may not be clear, the money you save doing it yourself might be worth the time spent making sense of these directions.
You don’t need to schedule an appointment
When assembling your furniture yourself, you won’t need to schedule an appointment with a furniture assembly expert. If you have a busy schedule, self-assembly can be especially helpful for avoiding phone waiting times. It also means no determining where your availability overlaps with that of the assembly expert or waiting for the appointment before your furniture is usable.
You can do it whenever
When you assemble your furniture, you can do so on your schedule, not that of an assembly expert. As such, you can either assemble your furniture immediately or take your time. When you avoid scheduling an appointment and do it yourself, you don’t have to wait on someone else to get your furniture together.
Cons of assembling furniture yourself instead of paying for assembly
It costs more
Although an expert can efficiently assemble your furniture for you, hiring an assembler is an additional expense. Some stores offer their assemblers directly to customers, and you can also find more affordable furniture assemblers online. In either case, furniture assembly can cost anywhere from $50 to $100 an hour.
You need to find time for an appointment
If your schedule is busy or unconventional, finding the time for an assembly expert to visit your apartment can be stressful. Additionally, if you work from home, scheduling an appointment and inviting an assembler in can feel like a disruption to your workday.
You cede control of furniture assembly to someone else
Although many assemblers are experienced, furniture assembly is complicated and thus always comes with risks. If your assembler makes a mistake, your furniture could become damaged or even rendered unusable through no fault of your own. That said, assembling tall and bulky pieces like wall cabinets and wardrobes can still be dangerous enough that the best person to handle it with the utmost care just might be an expert.
When you have new furniture to assemble, do you set up your furniture by yourself or hire a furniture assembly expert? Share your thoughts in the comments!
