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- Verified Buyer
I bought a Hodedah and had to return it for several reasons. I bought two, assembled one, and returned both with one unopened.In the past, I have found that Sauder products, although pretty cheap in quality (and price) for the money are fairly sturdy, have decent instructions, are fairly easy to put together, and are worthwhile. This cabinet, of which I bought two, is a little better than what I remember Sauder cabinets to be. It seems they have made some improvements over the years.I don't like the styrofoam in the packing, but it was packed well. Upon opening the carton the instructions were on top as was the bundle of parts, each part sealed in its labeled cell. Easy to do an inventory of pieces and parts. You get the exact number of parts needed in the instructions with the exception if 1" nails (tacks) for mounting the chipboard (cardboard) back of which you need 40, but they give you some extra. The only tools needed are a small hammer and a standard Phillips head screwdriver.The predrilled holes were all where they were supposed to be and in proper alignment. I put together one cabinet by myself and with the other I had help. It goes pretty quickly if you're doing it all by yourself, but much more quickly if you have another person working with you.The hardest part for one person alone is hanging the doors, but it's doable. You just position the top hinge and partially screw in the mounting screws. then you do the middle hinge, then the bottom hinge, all partially screwed in. Once all are on, then tighten all of the mounting screws. I think bottom to top on the tightening is best, but it doesn't really matter.With two people one holds the door in place while the other screws in the hinges. Much easier than holding the doors yourself while screwing them on, but it's not essential that you have help. For all of the rest of the busywork, it just goes twice as fast with two people doing it.It pays to also have some damp paper towels to wipe off the styrofoam dust that clings to the surfaces of all of the pieces. I like to wipe them down before assembly and touch it up afterward, but many people might not care.I would have preferred that the back of the cabinet was particle board like the rest of the cabinet rather than heavy chipboard and that the top was finished. It is made with the assumption that the top will not be visible, so that surface is unfinished. If, however, you have it in a room where you can look down on it at all the unfinished top will stand out and reveal that it is a cheap piece of furniture.The door hinges have three adjustments so you can get them positioned well once it is all assembled and in place. That is a bit of a chore, but not any more so for this cabinet as it is for any other piece of furniture of any quality that allows for door adjustment. The fact that it has the adjustment is a plus.So for a self-assembly cabinet in this class of furniture, Sauder is probably the best you're going to find. This goes for any other furniture they make. In the past, I have purchased and built various Sauder products and they are always equal to or better than the same/similar products manufactured by their competitors. That was my experience with this cabinet as well.The Sauder HomePlus Storage Cabinet is one of the best furniture kits I have ever purchased. It is a well-designed, intuitive package where the parts are easy to identify and assemble. Assembly instructions are clear and easy-to-read. The Sauder Twist-Lock Fasteners are a definite plus. All the hardware comes in one compartmented, clearly labeled package. Each compartment contains all the parts for an assembly process and is perforated for easy opening. Even the labels on the major parts are unique. They aren’t put on with “epoxy” and peal off easily like sticky notes. If you are looking for a sturdy, easy-to-assemble cabinet, this is it. To top it off, it’s Made in the USA.So far I am pleasantly surprised. It was a decent price, and it is nice looking. I needed a linen cabinet bigger than the usual ones, and this fit the bill. Assembly wasn't really hard, the doors were a little challenging but not hard. Since it is a nice size I can always use it in another room for something else if I want to. It is not cheap looking, and although I wouldn't store heavy things in it, I expect it to hold up to what I need it for.The Top is not finished. The 4 twist lock fasteners are located on the inside on the finished side and the unfinished side is on the outside of cabinet. Ot doesn't make any since, poor design. Everything else was good. Great Instructions. Amazon does not show the top view prior to customer purchase. Amazon should show that the top is not finished prior to all the work putting it together and should not assume that the Top is out of eye sight. I think the 4 hole side should be the unfinished side and the 2 hole should be the finished side or both sides finished.This is a great cabinet! It’s wonderful to have all this extra storage space and hide all my clutter behind doors. The cabinet is very sturdy for the price. My sister and I put it together in less than an hour. However, I would warn you that it requires a Phillips screwdriver with a long shaft to complete the base. None of our screwdrivers were long enough, so I had to go borrow one from a neighbor. I bought one of these and liked it so much I immediately ordered a second.Arrived quickly. Easy to follow assembly instructions. I was able to get it put together by myself in about 2 hours and I am not the most building inclined person. The hardest part was attaching the doors without someone to hold them but I was able to manage that after a little trial and error. I needed this for my dining room turned office space to hide some of the clutter that was in an open bookshelf. Everything that we had on there fit in here and then some. Very sleek. Very sturdy. The color was exactly as I expected.Overall it's just what I needed in my small apartment. Took me about an hour to put together but I was going slow to make sure I had everything in the right place. I put the back piece on the wrong side and it's too late to change now. I wish the back pieces weren't cardboard. That's the biggest complaint I have with furniture you have to assemble. I could have easily turned it around if it was the same material as the rest of the cabinet. You can't take this backing off without ripping it to shreds. It would have to be replaced. Sauder, can you help me out here?We needed something to store household detergents and odd-an-ends (bin liners, etc.). The cupboard was relatively easy to put together. It took around two hours (I work slowly and carefully) to assemble. It's not very sturdy, it has some play, but reinforcing the back will work. We did not reinforce it as it's perfect for storing items, and we generally don't hang on cupboards or sit on top of them...I'm giving it 4 stars due to the price. There are hardly any other cupboards in this size on Amazon, so I can understand the "supply & demand" price approach, but it's annoying that other colors of the exact same cupboard costs a lot less.It was very easy to assemble; I did it by myself. I love that it's tall, but narrow, so that it gives you a lot of storage space without taking up too much space in the room. (I used to have a different brand that was shorter but wider, and this one is so much better!) I also like that you can adjust each of the feet individually; my floor is a bit crooked, so I just adjusted one foot, and the cabinet is level and doesn't wobble. It's quite sturdy. I wish it had one more shelf, but that's a minor thing, and the manufacturer's website has an order form where you can order extra shelves.These cabinets are in my book somewhere between generic Chinese and IKEA. The finish quality is good, but most IKEA furniture has better finish. The build quality is also good. At the maximum height the doors still rub against the lower panel, but at least they align well.The construction is however on the flimsy side. I wish it has better joints for the upper and lower panels (see below), and perhaps another structural panel in the middle (like many other cabinets). I also wish the back was made out of something else than the usual cardboard.My main complaint (sturdiness, or rather lack thereof) is caused by the horrible Sauder Twist-lock joints. They are easy to assemble but will most likely pull out at the slightest load. More solid joints are available, cheap, and in my opinion should have been used. Easy to assemble (which is done once) should never trump utility (sturdiness). With the Twist-lock joints the upper board is not load bearing (it barely holds itself), which also impacts negatively the sturdiness of the whole cabinet.Finally, it should be noted that the cabinet costs $200 direct from Sauder (that's about $260 Canadian), which is about $100 less than the price on Amazon.ca.Overall i like the cabinet and I do not regret my purchase. Next time however I will head straight to IKEA instead.I absolutely love this storage unit. I used it as a pantry cabinet in my kitchen. The oak colour matches the colour of my kitchen cabinets. This unit is a good value for your money. Also it was easy to assemble, the instructions for the installation was very clear. It took both my son and I two hours to put it together. My only complaint is that when completed there is a gap between the doors. Other than that I am satisfied with this unit, It's functional and serves the purpose for what I needed it for.I have ordered 3 of these. We did have damaged parts from shipping and the service from Sauder was fantastic. Sent replacement parts immediately no hassles no questions.Easy to assemble. The step by step instructions are clear and precise.I assembled the unit by myself without any problems.
