Easy with a 5/16” drill bitBetsyAll the bad reviews re: assembly are spot on. I wouldn’t attempt without access to a drill with a 5/16” bit because literally every hole on the horizontal pieces is at least 1/16” off from the vertical holes and the dowels are nearly impossible to hammer in.
Once I recognized that and just drilled each one out after hammering the horizontal pieces in, it wasn’t all that bad. Still a ton of hammering but was down to 15min per assembly by my fourth one.
The extra work was worth it to me, I’d buy again.4
Not buying ever againJenniferI read these reviews when I was about to buy Ivar again. However, not only did Ikea obviously destroy this product, they discontinued the various sized heights which used to make this product line useful. On top of that, please, Ikea, don't ever respond to these reviews for Ivar again till you bring back the old line. It is obvious you are doing nothing to address your customers' wants. That is why I am not even trying this new line. I was so disappointed reading your non-answers to people, which basically says, yeah, we destroyed it, you are all upset, and we intend to make no response to you at all. I used to think Ikea was a customer-driven company. Not anymore. Awful.1
Bring IVAR Back!ChristinaWe have bought hundreds of these side units over the past many years for our businesses. Now they are just AWFUL to piece together and take forever! The quality has gone down so much, they aren't as straight and easy as they used to be. So many little pieces and holes and pegs and you have to hammer etc, when in the past, everything would just click into place. And now we are paying the same price for a product which isn't good, and takes so much more of our time, or we have to pay taskrabbit to assemble them, so they're worse quality for a lot more cost. Please bring IVAR back!!1
truly horrible -- used to be amazingKristinthere was a change in the design and now you have to assemble these yourself. these are extremely difficult to put together and once you do, they are not straight. my shelf looks hilariously lopsided -- so much so that my engineer dad burst out laughing. there is no way to fix. we have a whole wall of ivar shelves and this one is embarrassing to have alongside them. wish we could return but looking at the reviews, the replacements would be similar. such a shame to ruin an excellent product.1
Excellent valueEmilyI am a handmade business, and the IVR system is irreplaceable to my booth. It easily collapses and fits in my midsize SUV. It’s light enough for me to set up on my own. I’m 5 foot and 130 pounds. No, it is an heirloom furniture, but offers excellent value for the price.5
Takes some effort to assemble, but worth the priceBetsyI purchased a set of IVAR shelves for the first time last month that required four uprights assembled. The assembly took more force to hammer together than I expected, but using the included wooden block to get everything sitting nice and flush worked surprisingly well. The work is loud and best completed with two people to make sure all of the horizontal slats stay in alignment as you hammer everything together, but it's not complicated or difficult. It seems obvious to me that it is something one should do outside if there are people inside who would be disturbed by the noise. I think some of the holes did indeed not quite line up perfectly when I was driving in the pegs to keep each of the horizontal cross pieces in place, but it didn't matter in the end as the wood is soft and the pegs still were able to be hammered through flush on both ends. For such a low price, it was worth this one-time effort to me. I used an old blanket underneath to protect the wood while I worked.5
I guess I got lucky - assembly was pretty easyJudithI found the assembly to be relatively easy. You do need a good heavy hammer, as the parts are a tight fit. I was nervous using more strength than usual to fit them together, but all the parts held up fine. Make sure you use the wood piece they give you to avoid denting the shelf. The only tricky part was lining up the cross beams for the second side post, but that would've been much easier with a second person, as they recommend. The cross beams don't fit into the slots by hand at all, so you have to line them up carefully, then hammer to get them started. For the second side post, you need to tap each one in just a little bit to get them positioned, then make a few passes hammering each one in a little more so they stay even.
I could see that the peg holes didn't quite line up, but the wood is soft, so once you get them hammered through the hole in the side post you can force them in the rest of the way with a few strong taps. The extra effort was worth the cheap cost for me.5
Like many othersThembiI much prefer this system before the design change. Honestly I could get used to it but another result of the change is I can no longer find the shorter ends anymore and what was previously easily interchangeable is no longer.
I was just about to revamp my whole set up with the Ivar system but after getting this new setup, I’m rethinking the idea. I’d love to know if you ever go back. 2
shedBonnieworked well5
These used to be amazing. Now? Putting them together may not be worth it. AnnI’ve used ivar shelves for a while and in general, I’ve always found them great and convenient. About a year or so ago, they stopped carrying the shortest end pieces, but you could still get the two longer ones pre put together to assemble the full unit. This year they made the change to stop putting together the end pieces.
Not only do the slats take a decent amount of mallet use to try to fit into the pre cut spots, but getting the holes to align for pegging them into place is almost impossible. Additionally, the pegs are on opposite sides of the shelf for each side making it impossible to “hide” them.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, they were so impossible, in trying to get the pegs in with a mallet and the tiny terrible piece of wood they say should work, I pinched myself so bad the entire area is purple/blue/red.
If these had been like this before, I would not have completed them and would have returned them. Now? I won’t purchase or recommend them unless this changes back. 1
Disappointed by design changeAnonymous reviewerI have been buying and using Ivar shelves since at least 2006. The various shelf design changes were unfortunate but understandable. The design change for the uprights is extremely disappointing. Assembly has gone from a shelf you can quickly throw together, to something you need to fully assemble. The holes where the parts fit together are poorly cut and not always aligned. On each upright, I had at least one dowel that would not fully seat in the hole, and one that was misaligned by ~3mm. So now I need a flush cut saw and need to sand down each joint. Another had a massive knot at the connection point. Because the parts are not mirrored, you will always see the pegs on one side. Even worse, the customer service replies to all the complaints are extremely dismissive, demonstrating that Ikea no longer cares about their reputation or product quality. 2
What happened to original IVAR?PatriciaThe main reason to buy IVAR in the past was its simplicity with preassembled side frames. It was a breeze. Now it's become a major headache to put together. I've never understood why companies (hear me Southwest?) take an extremely successful product and then change all the things about it that made it successful. Dumb.2
Nightmare to AssembleSin-YiThis shelf used to come preassembled, which made the IVAR system easy and convenient to set up. Unfortunately, the new version is a disaster. You now have to hammer the tiny wood supports in with extreme force, making a ridiculous amount of noise — it’s stressful, frustrating, and poorly designed. The parts don’t fit easily at all. I honestly can’t believe this change passed quality control. Please bring back the old preassembled version. I’ll be warning anyone interested in IVAR to stay far away from this updated design — it’s simply not worth the time, effort, or hassle.1
Horrible revampMaryI'd rather pay extra money than have to deal with ever having to assemble one of these again. I've been buying Ivar pieces for years, and have had very little issues, but this new design is a fail. Same issues here with assembly as the other reviews, so I won' t go into detail. Hopefully you take the customer reviews seriously and bring back the old preassembled design. 2
Used to be greatAlexThey killed a perfect simple product. The assembly process is horrible but I’m glad they were able to save on shipping costs1
Loved the preassembled; hate the revampLonsI have IVAR in all of my closets. The first 3 were the old, preassembled version and they were so convenient and easy. The last 1 was the revamp where you assemble it yourself. Like everyone else on here, I hate the revamp. You need 5x the space, it takes 5x as long, and it is deafening to assemble. I'm not buying IKEA products because I want to hammer away, but you have to now with IVAR.
Also: the concept that the little piece of soft wood provided would effectively hammer in the snug dowel is laughable. What actually happens is that the scrap wood is annihilated by the hammer on one side and the dowel on the other.2
Horrible Assembly ProcessAbnerI never leave a review but this was so bad and made my new neighbor hate me. I had to go outside and assemble it in the parking lot, and then one of the dowels went flying and was lost. Whoever designed this thing should be punished by having to assemble 20 of them with their bare hands.1
Well built but now tricky to assemble. RyanGot nervous seeing other reviews since Ikea started selling them in pieces rather than pre-built. It actually fits together with a good, tight mortise and tenon joint. If you have experience in woodworking it's a strong joint but it's not what most Ikea buyers expect or are ready for. Ideally you'd use 3-5 good clamps to put even pressure on all the connections to tighten them all down at the same time. If you use brute force, like a hammer as instructed, it's very easy to break one or two or have them go in angled or uneven. It's like going to the store for Lego and coming out with a Revell model kit. I got mine together just fine and they came out great but I'm sure a lot of people who expect the typical, easy screwdriver assembly from Ikea will struggle with this. It should have a warning that special skills or tools are strongly recommended for these now...or just go back to selling them pre-built.4
Drill holes in incorrect location ChrisIvar sides holes on the wrong sides, I’ve flipped them over around upside down downside up and the result was the same, can’t lineup because the holes are on the opposite side of the opposing Ivar side.1
Terrible new designAnonymousMine went together with minimal fuss, but I'm still not a fan of the new design. I ordered two uprights; one came with six of the small attachment pieces and the other only had two. What's up with your QC, Ikea? Also most of them were barely sanded on the edges. The block of wood provided for hammering needs to be larger; it left indentations in the uprights. The uprights are also poor quality; in my old set they're one long piece of lumber whereas the new ones have joins that make me worry about their stability. I'm just going to use them until I can find a pre-owned quality set on Craigslist. I don't think these will hold up like the old ones.1