News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Christmas is the season of joy, until you have to start putting your child’s gifts together.
Local Handyman Jesse Barnes said most times people make mistakes when they do not use the right tools or have clear directions. Barnes said more people have problems with putting things together now, compared to several years ago.
“They came with the assembly being a lot more simple than what it is nowadays and the materials nowadays are made a lot more cheaply whereas everything used to be real wood,” Barnes said. “A lot of stuff is now like manufactured particle board and stuff like that.”
Barnes said he recommends having a personal tool kit ahead of the Christmas holidays as usually, the tools provided with the item are cheap and hard to use. Barnes said one way to avoid the headache of putting something together is reading reviews on an item before purchasing it.
“I absolutely would suggest that I read the reviews,” Barnes said. “And I don’t read the five-star reviews either. I immediately go to the reviews and click on the one-star reviews and if I see that there are multiple negative reviews on a certain aspect of the product then I don’t buy it.”
Barnes said it’s best to take one step at a time and thoroughly read the instructions. Barnes said even though sometimes instructions are not very good people may have to critically think when putting an item together.
“Just slow down and try to follow the directions to the best of your ability,” Barnes said. “If you can’t figure it out by the directions then just kind of dry fit everything and put things together until you can figure it out.”
Barnes said he recommends being patient and composed when putting something together. Barnes said even as an experienced handyman himself he has had the embarrassment of taking days to put a crib together for his newborn child. Make sure you are prepared this Christmas season as the swingsets and playhouses can sometimes turn you into the Grinch with how frustrating they are to put together.
