Comment by DashRattlesnake | Hacker News Reader

Comment by DashRattlesnake | Hacker News Reader

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DashRattlesnake

I think you're both a little bit correct. Ikea probably sells the best quality flat-pack furniture out there, but I think it's pretty fair to expect their stuff to fail in some way within 5 years of normal use. Keep in mind the failure may or may not be catastrophic, and the item may still be usable for some time. They're definitely a good value, but only if you're OK with eventually needing to buy replacements.

Some personal anecdotes:

Lack coffee tables: utter trash, fell apart quickly (in a way reminiscent of what the grandparent post described)

Galant desk: still going strong after 12 years and 3 moves.

Aneboda dresser(s): Got three, 100% track failure after a few years and no longer suitable for daily use.

Billy bookcase: re-shelving books pushed the backing loose, and the thing looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa until emergency repairs were undertaken. Will be junked in the next move.

> Lack coffee tables: utter trash, fall apart quickly

If you want something to last you aren't going to get it for $8 no matter where you buy it.

Six years ago I bought one of those longer Lacks for ~15EUR and heavily use it close to every day. The black top varnish seems to get pretty thin at the most used locations which is the only wear marks I can spot.

I use it for eating, writing, etc. Maybe others have other plans to use a coffee table in a way that requires tougher structures.

I think lateral stresses (from people's feet, etc) did mine in. The seams failed, and things quickly deteriorated after that. A lot of Ikea stuff is designed with zero redundancy or design margin, so if any part fails or weakens the whole structure is compromised.

> Lack coffee tables: utter trash, fall apart quickly

But perfect width between the legs to mount 19" rack gear.

From what I saw, they're made out of a tiny amount of laminated cardboard. I personally wouldn't trust it, but maybe it would work if all lateral stress was avoided.

That's why many people add extra wood when using a lack table as a rack :)

I consider the Lack tables to have a functional service life of two years - if its lightly used, much longer - but under daily use, just buy a new one every two years - even with that - after 10 years, money wise I'm still ahead of more durable furniture.

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