Assembly
Assembly in Vancouver
Flat-pack assembly is the job people most often start themselves and most often call about halfway through. There is no shame in it — the instructions are drawn for a world where every panel is square and every dowel fits.
What we assemble
Wardrobes, beds, desks, shelving, kitchen islands, office chairs, cribs, garden furniture, sheds, trampolines, exercise equipment and the large flat-pack storage systems that arrive in six cartons and take a weekend. The brand matters less than the size — a tall wardrobe is a different job from a bookcase whatever the label on the box says.
What we will not do is assemble something into an unsafe configuration because that is how it came. If a unit is missing hardware, has a damaged panel, or is specified for a wall type you do not have, we will tell you before it is half-built rather than after.
Timing and per-item rates
Assembly is charged by time at $145 an hour with the usual 2-hour minimum, because time is genuinely what a flat-pack consumes and per-item pricing would either overcharge you on the simple ones or undercharge us on the wardrobes. Most single items land between $120–$400 of labour.
A realistic guide: a bookcase or desk is well under an hour, a bed frame is around an hour, a large wardrobe with doors and internal fittings is two to three, and a shed or a large storage system is most of a day. Two or three items in one visit is the efficient way to book it.
Anchoring and stability
Tall furniture gets anchored to the wall. This is not an upsell and it is not optional in a home with children — tip-over incidents involving wardrobes and chests of drawers are the reason every manufacturer now includes a strap in the box, and it is the part most self-assemblers skip.
Anchoring is included in the job, not charged separately. The only variable is the wall: a timber stud takes a screw directly, concrete needs an anchor, and a hollow steel-stud partition needs a proper toggle. We find out which you have and fix accordingly rather than putting the supplied screw into plasterboard and hoping.
Assembly pricing
$145/hr · $290 minimum · most items $120–$400
Charged by time because that is what a flat-pack actually consumes. Wall anchoring of tall units is included, never an extra. All figures exclude GST. See the full rate card.
Common questions
How is assembly priced?
By time, at $145 an hour with a 2-hour minimum — most single items work out between $120–$400. Per-item pricing would overcharge you for a bookcase and undercharge us for a wardrobe, so we charge for what it actually takes and tell you the estimate first.
Do you remove the packaging?
We flatten and stack it neatly for your recycling as part of the job. We do not haul it away — a large wardrobe generates more cardboard than you would expect and taking it off site is a disposal service rather than an assembly one.
Can you collect the items?
Not currently — we assemble what is already at your address. If you are arranging delivery, check whether it includes bringing the boxes inside: kerbside delivery is common, and large wardrobe cartons are genuinely too heavy for one person to move alone.