Found this gem on TB

[dulcemariamar]

community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/66345702.aspx

So this girl posted on 3rd Trimester that when she bought the furniture, she also paid for them to come to her house and set it up for her. She wasn't home when they came over but her DH was there and they scratched up her new hardwood floors. She is angry about the situation and is wondering what to do about it.

Then all these posters tell her that it is ridiculous that she hired somebody to put the furniture together when she has a DH at home and that their DHs consider putting together the baby furniture together as a rite of passage.

[anna7602]

Um, the people from the furniture store put together DD's crib. Never mind that she came a little early and was born before the crib actually arrived. We had already arranged for them to put it together when we thought the crib was coming at least 1 week before her birth.

DH and I put together DD's IKEA bed together and it was an experience that practically led to divorce. I would hire furniture "putter-togethers" again in a heartbeat.

[popcorn]

Dude, neither DH or I is very handy so when we buy stuff from Ikea (which, sadly, is where pretty much all our furniture is from!) we get a lot at once and have them come put it together.

WTF is this a big deal? Also, new dads might have other things to focus on/that they want to do other than put together furniture.

How dumb!

[americaninoz]

Lol you gotta love tb, geez who cares who put it together?? Lol my duh found it frustrating rather than a rite of passage

[mouseinlux]

Jun 4, 2012 5:56:45 GMT -5 americaninoz said:

Lol you gotta love tb, geez who cares who put it together??

YES!!
DH and I put together all of DD's furniture but that's because we LIKE doing that stuff! I guess we're strange like that! If we didn't like it I'd hire someone in a heart beat...and to be honest some people don't even have the tools to do it, if you're not sure it's best to get a pro, I mean it is your baby who's sleeping in there, you want to make sure it's correctly put together

[Deleted]

Rite of passage? Who wouldn't want to have others put furniture together if they could afford it.

[clogged]

Not to mention if I have professionals in my house, I would expect my house to not be jacked up.

[crimsonandclover]

Jun 4, 2012 6:37:27 GMT -5 mouseinlux said:

Jun 4, 2012 5:56:45 GMT -5 americaninoz said:

Lol you gotta love tb, geez who cares who put it together??

YES!!
DH and I put together all of DD's furniture but that's because we LIKE doing that stuff! I guess we're strange like that! If we didn't like it I'd hire someone in a heart beat...and to be honest some people don't even have the tools to do it, if you're not sure it's best to get a pro, I mean it is your baby who's sleeping in there, you want to make sure it's correctly put together

We like to do it, too, but if we didn't have time and could afford it, you bet we would hire someone! Luckily we had already put DD's crib together when she came 6 weeks early, but DH had to assemble the other stuff while I was in the hospital. He didn't mind doing it, though, or else we would have figured out something else.

And I totally agree that if you do hire professionals, then they are responsible for not ruining your floors.

[GilliC]

I haven't read the original TB post, but am I the only one who finds this terribly sexist? Why should DH be the one to assemble the furniture? Maybe the mom is usually the one to tackle handy fix-it tasks around their house.

[clogged]

Jun 4, 2012 8:06:06 GMT -5 GilliC said:

I haven't read the original TB post, but am I the only one who finds this terribly sexist? Why should DH be the one to assemble the furniture? Maybe the mom is usually the one to tackle handy fix-it tasks around their house.

I completely missed that. In my head I put a "we" did it not just the husband did it. You are right! It is sexist.

[clickerish]

I fail to understand why people are not allowed to dislike putting things together while others are totally allowed to dislike, say, car maintenance. We all have our gifts! While I have had no issues with putting together Ikea for myself, that little gender-neutral creature who is supposed to explain things is useless rather often, and I could see that being stressful.

[GilliC]

I guess those Bumpies just haven't heard the International board's assortment of knee-slapping jaw-dropping flat-pack furniture assembly mishaps.

And clickerish, haven't you ever noticed that the gender-neutral assembly thing always phones the Ikea hotline for help? Just sayin'!

[elenetxu]

Oh man. These girls would call my DH a wimp even though he probably grows a beard ten times faster than their husbands - he's terrible with building and/or maintenance! I love him dearly but realized just how city he is when he didn't know how to check the oil on the lawnmower.

I feel for the poor girl. Hope she gets her floors back in shape!

[Cheesecake]

Ugh, in our house we share assembling duties. Sometimes I build, sometimes DH does, sometimes we hire someone, and sometimes we buy something pre-assembled and then hire someone to remove windows so we can actually get it into the house (sofa, last year, don't ask).

I fail to understand why those bumpies won't just sympathize with the couple who's floor is now ruined, instead of being all judgey-mc-judgerson about who is supposed to assemble furniture.

[Wanderista]

It wasn't that board, but the board I left for this one was totally like that. Really unnecessary judging of people. I'm really glad that this board is so positive and welcoming in comparison.

[GilliC]

When I got home, I was able to view the original post. Why is it that the first comments are all, "And you have real wood floors?! Oh boo hoo! Wish I could feel sorry for you!" Wow. I really hope I just don't understand the dynamic on the board and that they're not really that selfish and insensitive.

[bail229]

I haven't read the bump post but who cares who put the furniture together? I'm very lucky that DH is very good at putting things together and fixing things but if he wasn't I wouldn't hesitate to hire someone to do it.

[clogged]

speaking of flat pack instructions.... www.retronaut.co/2011/02/ikea-stonehenge/

[allibally]

Jun 5, 2012 3:34:16 GMT -5 clogged said:

speaking of flat pack instructions.... www.retronaut.co/2011/02/ikea-stonehenge/

:Y:

Love it.

[anna7602]

Jun 4, 2012 17:13:32 GMT -5 GilliC said:

When I got home, I was able to view the original post. Why is it that the first comments are all, "And you have real wood floors?! Oh boo hoo! Wish I could feel sorry for you!" Wow. I really hope I just don't understand the dynamic on the board and that they're not really that selfish and insensitive.

Weird. I wonder if perhaps this is a poster who people just don't like for some reason? Or they're just idiots. Could be a combination of both.

[anna7602]

Ok. Based on Gillic's extract, I went to the actual post. My mind is about to explode in rage at the assumptions all these women are/were making. (Mind you, I am PMSing, as I stated in my new post today.)

Since when does being home= having a shitton of time and, more importantly, DESIRE, to put together some furniture?

Also, equating what the handyman did to what her future child is going to do to their place is just stupid. My daughter has never done any kind of damage that wasn't easy to fix. Coloring on the wall can be removed by a Mr. Clean Eraser Pad. A scratched hardwood floor is a bitch to fix and a real eyesore. And you don't need to be rich or entitled to live somewhere with real hardwood floors. I feel like nearly every NYC apartment I've ever been in (including the ones where I've lived) have them.

[bugabean]

Yeah, the luxury of hardwood floors can definitely be regional. I've lived where everyone has them and also where they're a big deal. But even if she would rather pay someone to assemble furniture while she swims in a money pile instead, good for her. We all make decisions with our money, and different stuff is worth different things to different people.