Jessie and Ted's Excellent Adventure

How we fixed our Ikea wardrobe after the bar fell

2011-07-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Our apartment has no bedroom closet space. There are two coat closets and a linen closet all clustered in the same wall between the living room and office and near the bathroom, but there is no storage in the bedroom. So a while back, we bought three large Ikea wardrobes that fit nicely next to each other down one of the walls of our bedroom. This particular wardrobe model was one of Ikea's budget options (i.e., it was not one of their crazy customizable types; it basically came as a complete unit). The closet bar (shown here without the shelf that is usually above it) should attach to the closet using a plastic insert like this (click on the image for a larger and clearer version):

As you may be able to see, there is a large vertical scrape a few inches beneath the plastic insert. That scrape came into our lives when the plastic insert on the left side of the bar failed ("wardrobe malfunction"), which sent the awkward-shaped metal closet bar (and the clothes hanging on it) into the floor of the wardrobe. As you can see, there is a cantilever-type support jutting out from the plastic insert that sheared off (pretty clean cut, actually):

Ikea often keeps spare parts like this on hand that you can grab for free in bins from the store, but we didn't want to drive all the way to West Chester to look for them, and we were pretty sure these wardrobes were discontinued and these (likely specialized) parts were not available. So we went to Meijer instead (it was too late to go to a hardware store to find real closet accessories) to look for a way to hack together a good pre-fabricated furniture fix.

Just before we were about to give up, we found these corner braces that looked like the perfect size and shape for our problem. They were about $2.50 for a pack of 2 (in case any of the other supports ever break later).

So here's how we used a corner brace to support the closet bar:

As a bonus, the screws that came with the corner brace were short enough to not protrude out the side of the wardrobe. They were self-tapping screws, but I didn't trust them in the Ikea-style formica-covered particle board, and so I pre-drilled some small holes first, and that worked pretty well. We used a zip tie to fix the bar vertically; however, we also experimented with binder rings that we had stowed away in our office supplies. The binder rings actually provided a much tighter fit so that the bar didn't wiggle at all; however, as strange as it sounds, the zip ties were a little more discrete as they hugged the corner brace snugly.

[ I should note that I took off the shelf to get easier access to the closet. That meant pulling out the three small brads/nails attaching the masonite-ish backing. Because the area moment of inertia of that backing is very high, I think it provides significant support to the closet structure as a whole. So afterward, I pulled the closet out and put the nails back in a different spot. I probably could have left the shelf in through the whole fix. ]

I almost like the look of our fix better than the Ikea insert (which looks like it has a tenuous hold on the bar anyway).

[ You can also find this post at Ted's personal blog. ]

Well, we have a lot of catching up to do...

2011-07-09T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we've obviously failed at blogging as a couple...at least so far. Hopefully we'll do better in the future. We've definitely done some interesting things since 2009. To name a few:

We went to Panama together (I was very excited about all of the vaccines I had to get)
We got engaged
Our dog went through some crazy medical stuff
Jessie got accepted to ASU to work with some really neat people (and ants!)
...and more...

So someday, hopefully soon, we'll catch up. Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you.

Yule log 2009

2010-01-10T14:09:00.001-08:00

Freshly rolled with love

Jessie and the HP DV6-1230us prohibitively large battery

2009-10-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Jessie bought a laptop! After months of deliberation and study, Jessie decided on purchasing an HP laptop in a DV6 chassis with a T6500 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and at least a 250GB hard drive. Fortunately, OfficeMax not only has a great deal on one (a DV6-1230US), but there's a $50 rebate at PriceGrabber on the model! Fantastic, right?

Not exactly. We noticed that OfficeMax (and BestBuy) display the models in the store without a battery installed. We figured this had something to do with preventing anyone from stealing a battery, and it was nothing we should worry about. When we get to the checkout line, we notice that the side of the DV6-1230US box says "12-cell battery". We both wonder if that's a typo. 12? Really? Certainly they meant 6. Right? How could it be 12? That must be one fancy long-lasting battery, right?

Not exactly. It's just two 6 cell batteries shoved into the same package. Note that the DV6 chassis is designed for a 6 cell battery. As a consequence, it looks like your laptop is sitting on top of another battery to prop it up. Here's an image from the side (with laptop upside down to see the battery):

Here's an image from the back (again, with laptop upside down):

Check out the size of that wart! That's not portable! That's not going to fit in any laptop bag/pouch/etc!

We could purchase a 6-cell battery on-line for around $80, but for all we know the DV6-1230US needs the extra under-laptop space for ventilation. It's crazy upsetting. I guess it's not surprising that you get screwed when you ask for "service" from a company that goes by the name of "Huge Pecker."

We've landed!

2009-09-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

Two movers, a truck, three cars, a flight of stairs, and more trips to Meijer than you can count, and we're finally here.

Fritz has had the hardest time adjusting. Scratching has been particularly difficult on the wood floors; it's hard to scratch your ear with your back legs when your front legs keep slipping out from underneath you. Plus, just when he learned how to run on wood floors, we gave him a soft blanket to use on the hard kitchen floor; while chasing the ball, Fritz wasn't able to quickly recalibrate — he hit the blanket at top speed, slid, tried to turn, and fell sideways against the hard floor with a thump. Fortunately, the only lasting injury was to his pride.

Our 19th century shotgun apartment includes a huge bedroom and three closets. Unfortunately, the architect put the closets two rooms away in the office. So we visited IKEA to get three easy-to-assemble wardrobes. A long car ride and twelve hours later, two are in place and the third still sits in a box downstairs waiting for someone to build up the stamina to carry it piece-by-piece up the stairs. We had to use two pieces of plywood, two Quick Grips, a large C clamp, and a diamond-coated file to get the tracks pushed into the wood. IKEA probably has some great hinges, but they need some work on their sliding doors. Hopefully the purple bruises on Ted's hands will clear up by Winter Solstice.

All of that being said, it's nice to be within walking distance of coffee shops, a movie theatre, restaurants, grocery stores, and a dog-friendly ACE hardware (the C clamp was Fritz's idea). We've also been enjoying the beautiful park across the street; Fritz is waiting for the day we let him swim in the lake.

Updates will follow!