Furniture assembly costs

When you’ve bought new furniture, or when you’re planning to move, you may want to use a service to disassemble and/or assemble your furniture. This has the advantage that you don’t have to worry about it yourself and that it’ll be done quickly and professionally. If you’re not the most technically gifted person out there, or if you simply want to put as little stress and effort in it as possible, you can use an assembly service.

The costs

If you are planning a move, most removal services offer the option of having someone dismantle your furniture for an additional fee and then reassemble it at its destination. These handymen can also do other small jobs in your old or new home, such as hanging paintings, connecting the water and installing lamps and hoods. If you’ve bought new furniture that needs to be assembled, there are special assembly services for this. This can be done by the supplier upon delivery, but you can also use a separate company for this. The following table gives an indication of the prices you can charge for this.

The cheapest option: The cheapest option is to assemble the furniture yourself. If you can’t, it’s always possible to ask family or friends to do this for you. You can make considerable savings; having your furniture assembled can amount to hundreds of euros.

An assembly service: in general, an assembly service is cheaper than assembly by the supplier. A disadvantage is that it’s not done when the furniture is delivered. For $95, you can have your sofa bed assembled, so that you don’t have to worry about it yourself.

Installation by the supplier: installation on delivery is usually the most expensive option. But you’ll have the advantage of being able to use your furniture right away, that it’s placed in the right place and that packaging materials will be removed as well. These assemblers also know how put the furniture together, allowing them to be assembled quickly without too much inconvenience. For a wardrobe with a width of 7 foot, this’ll cost about $175 for this.

The price structure

When assembling your furniture, no further material is required. This means that you pay almost exclusively for the labor costs. Some companies charge mileage fees. If you have the furniture assembled by the supplier, in addition to the prices mentioned above, you’ll often also pay a price for the transport of the furniture. The costs of a handyman during a removal are just the labor costs. If you want to save money on this job, it’s best to assemble the furniture yourself. This’ll save you practically all the money you would otherwise have spent on a handyman. Often it is not difficult to assemble, it can be done without tools and very clear instructions are usually provided. The following diagram shows this price structure once again.

Choices that influence the price

How much you’ll end up paying for the assembly service depends on several factors. There are also choices that you make yourself with which you can influence the total price. Here are a few of them.

The type of assembly service

For a handyman working during a move you usually pay a fixed amount per hour. He or she can do various jobs for you and the costs are determined by the time he or she needs to do them. If you have the furniture assembled by the supplier or an assembly service, you’ll often pay a fixed amount per piece of furniture or per 3 foot of width. The cost per 3 foot for an assembly service is half what you pay at the supplier.

The company

The costs may vary per company and some suppliers can offer you a good deal if you buy more than one piece of furniture from them. Sometimes it can be cheaper to hire a handyman from your area to assemble the furniture instead of a specialized company. It is best to list all the options and compare them in order to find the cheapest one.

Interesting savings tips

Having furniture assembled is not cheap. If you cannot or do not want to do this yourself, then it’s an investment on top of the cost of the furniture itself. Here are some tips on how to keep these costs down.

• Ask your friends and family for help: if you have handy family members or friends, you can ask them to put the furniture together. You can then, for example, provide an extensive lunch or offer a dinner in a restaurant as payment. This is considerably cheaper and more pleasant than hiring a company.
• Choose a handyman from your area: by finding a regional handyman you can keep the travel costs to a minimum or even avoid them. Often handymen are just as useful in setting up furniture and charge a lower rate than assembly services. Depending on his experience, they’ll charge between $16 and $35 per hour.
• Negotiate: if you have several pieces of furniture from the same supplier, you are in a good position to negotiate. Suppliers are open to this if you spend enough money on them. Often you can make a nice deal regarding the transport of your furniture or its assembly.

Compare quotations

You can use our Comparison Tool to find out exactly what you are paying for the assembly of your furniture. This service is free and without obligation. You fill in your details once and in soon after you’ll receive several quotations from handymen from your area. By comparing these with each other, you can make the best decision when it comes to assembling your furniture.