Let me state for the record that I am a professional piano technician. So generally speaking, if you need a mechanically inclined person to assemble something with a zillion parts and two zillion screws, I am your guy.
This crib, however, is the only reason I regret having children.
My Gripes:
-Some screws are 1/2" shorter than others for no reason. Really. No reason. Why not just use 3" screws for all the joints?
-The holes for the nuts are routed too deep so that the nuts go in too far and the screws won't seat. Then the only way to get the nut out and start over is to turn the piece over and tap it to make the nut fall out, having to disassemble what you've already completed. You can't get them out with a magnet because the nuts are aluminum. Why? Presumably to avoid stripping the screws, but the risk is only there because the nut holes are routed too deep, which increases the risk of misalignment and stripping.
-Because of the pretty french curves of the corner posts and the deeply-recessed screw holes, you can't easily screw in the screws with the provided allen wrench. You have to do a half or quarter turn and then take the wrench out and replace it. Pain! Why do the screws need to be recessed so far into the surface? Beats me. It's awkward and look bad.
-When installing the wire mattress rack in the lowest hole, which is eventually necessary for every child, you can't use the allen wrench on the short end because it hits the bottom rail, and you can't use the long end because it hits the slat. Again, this requires a zillion half or quarter turns. Meanwhile, there's no place for you to stand while you're doing this for the holes on the tall side, unless you can somehow reach your (hopefully) slender wrist through the slats from the other side. Very awkward. The same is true for all the screws on the bottom when you're putting the sides together at the corners.
-Heaven forbid you fail to put the bottom skirt rail in before the front side, and the instructions don't tell you this.
-The instructions are poorly written, confusing and incomplete. But don't loose them because you'll need to remember where to use the four screws that are 1/2" shorter for no reason at all.
-The ends of the front top sleigh rail have recessed screw receivers fixed into the wood, instead of the usual business of inserting the nuts into the holes and hope they're aligned right. Why didn't they use this for all the screw connections? Who knows? It would have made things a lot easier.
It would be one thing if this crib were not meant to ever come apart. But this product is intended to be modular, so that you can change it into a toddler bed and then a twin. We bought the extra pieces so we could do just that and have one bed that would grow with our daughter until she is a teenager. So not only do they expect you to deal with the frustrations of putting this thing together in the first place, they expect you to do so three or more times.
So who do they think will be putting this thing together? It requires someone who is smart enough to figure out what the instructions don't tell you, but too dumb to realize there are better ways of building something. It requires a person with small hands and wrists (to fit in between the slats) but long arms to reach around and in between. It requires a person with patience enough to spend an hour and a half building a bed that should take ten minutes.
This crib is a nice piece of furniture once you get it together, but when it was designed I guess all the good engineers were busy.Get more detail about
Chelsea 4-in-1 Convertible Baby Crib in Mocha by Nursery Smart.
