No Assembly Required

Although not a parent myself, I have enough friends and cousins in that boat to know that the holiday season brings out the handyman in parents rushing to assemble bike parts, dollhouses and race car tracks in the late night hours when Santa is supposed to be visiting.

Last year, my mom and stepdad bought themselves a fun toy (although addressed to my siblings and I) and spent their New Year’s Eve assembling a pool table from a box. This year it was my turn; my Dad bought me a terrific wine rack that can be made to fit into nearly any space available. The catch? It has to be assembled entirely from scratch (pegs and slats with pre-drilled holes provided) before it can hold a single bottle of Shiraz.

USGlass/USGNN.com web assistant Kim recalls the toy car wash/gas station she received for Christmas one year. She was old enough to know the sad truth about Santa, so spent Christmas day helping her parents with the assembly of the intricate little pieces.

Wendy, online reporter for USGNN.com, said that there was no way she would be staying up this Christmas Eve putting together toys; the Laugh & Learn learning home she bought for her young son came already (mostly) assembled. Even the big plastic toy, however, had its share of tiny screws that Wendy rushed to attach before her curious toddler found them.

Can you blame Wendy for wanting everything already assembled? Who wouldn’t want their bikes and dollhouses and pool tables to come ready to go?

Well, what about those glazing contractors who want their curtainwall to come already assembled? In the February USGlass we’ll be revisiting a topic touched on in our August 2006 issue (CLICK HERE to read “Short Cuts”), the use of unitized curtainwall products. Who wouldn’t want to use these largely preassembled systems? No, that’s not a rhetorical question. We’re looking for information about the benefits, as well as the drawbacks, of these systems and why you have, or have not, turned to using them in your projects. Post your comments here, or send me an e-mail at mheadley@glass.com, to be included in this feature.

Or feel free to post here if you just want to share the fun no-assembly-required items you received this year for Christmas!