How Do You Buy Ready-To-Assemble (RTA) Furniture?
Ready-to-assemble, or RTA, furniture promises great value, but you may have heard horror stories about assembly or quality. Here are some ways to avoid frustration. Take vital measurements with you when you shop: lengths of walls, wall height under windows, width of stairwell and so forth. Look at the joinery on the floor samples. The pieces should fit together tightly, without wobbles. Check the floor samples for damage such as chipped veneer. This type of damage is difficult to impossible to repair, and if a floor sample shows signs of serious problems, it’s reasonable to expect that your furniture will experience the same fate. Choose pieces that are substantial and heavy. Flimsy pieces will be more easily damaged when moved and just won’t hold up as well when loaded with books or electronics. Ask about the instructions. Some foreign-made pieces have instructions that were badly translated into English, although some U.S. retailers are rewriting for clarity. Ask whether there’s a ma
