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View Full Version : Assembling the Babystyle fridge and oven: My DD can't open the door!



peasprout
07-01-2005, 09:11 PM
First of all, thanks to the OP for posting this great deal!

Ok, has anyone assembled this yet? It took DH and I all night to assemble it,...the biggest problem being getting the bolt/screw thing to align with the round locking thing (sorry, I don't know what they're called!) The predrilled holes also weren't big enough and we were using a handheld screwdriver. Anyway, I don't know if we did something wrong, but my fridge door is a bit crooked on the bottom. The bottom scrapes against the board whenever we open it. And the top door is really tight. DD can't even open it although I can.
Anyone else have this problem or know what I did wrong? I don't want to return it (after all that work!) and it's still a great deal,...it's just the perfectionist in me that wants it to look AND work great! TIA!

JP

holliam
07-01-2005, 09:16 PM
Oh no! What a bummer. I hope someone has some tips. Ours hasn't arrived yet, and Babystyle says there is no return on these!

Holli

zen_bliss
07-02-2005, 11:38 PM
i don't have the babystyle kitchen, but generally when putting things together (including the kinderzeat), if you loosen all the screws a bit, stand it up until everything is dandy, then do a round of tighten the screws by alternating sides. if you need to, do two rounds: first getting it tight enough to not wiggle, then a second round that really sinks the screws firmly. that should help with things getting stuck from a slight misalignment.

home depot has a ryobi cordless drill for $8. it's usually stacked in one of the big displays out front rather than in the tool deparment. that plus a drill bit kit has been a great investment as a parent!

essnce629
07-03-2005, 02:33 AM
We got ours a few days ago, but don't plan on assembling it until Conner's birthday-- which isn't until August! Sorry I can't help, but hopefully someone else can.

***Latia
Conner 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif 22 months & counting! http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/9870.gif

andie16
07-11-2005, 01:34 PM
We had the same trouble assembling the stove-the bolt/screw things didn't align with the round locking screw that was already in the panels (the predrilled holes did seem big enough though). For those of you who still need to assemble, make sure that you look at each of those to make sure that they are ligned up properly. Two other problems with assembly. 1) the metal piece around the outside of the top part of the stove that came preassembled (the ppart that looks like it's maybe for hanging dish towels) was only partially in and one of the screws was stripped so it took forever to fix. 2) the panel with the knobs did not have predrilled holes for the wooden pegs and neither did the side panels so this made the whole top kind of rickety. DH drilled two holes into the top and we just put in some screws to keep it tight. You can see the screws, but it still looks really cute.

Our fridge still hasn't come, but hopefully it will be easier now that we did the stove.


Good luck,
Andrea

kathsmom
07-11-2005, 11:29 PM
Andrea,

Don't count on the fridge being easier to assemble than the stove. We have had a time trying to get it assembled. DH started at about 10:00 p.m. tonight and it's now 12:24 a.m. and we are still not finished. The holes don't line up, and we had to really work to get the back of the fridge to fit into the space. While DH was putting in some of the screws to hold up the interior shelves, one screw broke off that we had put on earlier.

I am afraid that the stove will be just as bad. We will attempt to put it together tomorrow night. I have seriously been tempted to email or call babystyle to ask if we could return these things due to the problems we have had.

Good luck to everyone putting this together!

ETA: We finally got it finished about 12:45 a.m. and DS woke up at about that time and was ready to play. He really liked the fridge, but he was able to easily tip it over and it fell on the French doors to the sunroom. Thank goodness the glass didn't break! Also, I had to tape paper over the magnet on the freezer part so that DS could open it, because it was so strong. We'll attempt to put the stove together tonight!

calv
07-12-2005, 11:53 AM
I hate the thought that such toys are so tough to put together. Has anyone written to babystyle? Maybe if we all write to them, something could be done about it. thoughts?

andie16
07-12-2005, 01:05 PM
Thanks for the warning re: putting together the fridge, but I don't have to worry about it because...UPS LOST MY FRIDGE!!! Actually, it came up as lost on the computer, but in reality they damaged the package and tossed it-ugh!

Babystyle said they would take back the stove and pay for return shipping since I said I ordered the pieces as a set and only wanted them as a set (they don't have any more fridges left). DH says we should keep the stove and figure out something else for a fridge since that's what we were going to do for the sink anyway.

Hope the stove assembly goes better. DD hasn't played with hers yet b/c I don't want her to see it until I know for sure we're keeping it. It doesn't seem to tippy. Can you bolt the pieces to the wall?

Andrea

kathsmom
07-13-2005, 10:07 AM
Andrea,

That's such a bummer that UPS threw out your fridge! That's great that Babystyle is willing to let you return the stove.

DS loves the fridge and has had a great time playing with it. I have the Melissa and Doug wooden food (the one "boxes" of food for the pantry/fridge/freezer) and he loves putting them in and taking them out.

As far as the tipping, we are going to put it against a wall in our sunroom, but there are windows all around and he has a lot of therapy stuff in there (he has autism and sensory integration dysfunction), so space is limited and there is no place to bolt it to the wall. I think everything will be OK once we have it in place with the stove.

calv
07-13-2005, 10:18 AM
OMG, ya know what, I think the EXACT same thing happened to me. I got the stove but still no FRIDGE! I'm so upset! Errrr, what the hell is up w/UPS. this is what their site says:

MERCHANDISE IS MISSING. UPS WILL NOTIFY THE SENDER WITH ADDITIONAL DETAILS.;ALL MERCHANDISE MISSING, EMPTY CARTON WAS DISCARDED. UPS WILL NOTIFY THE SENDER WITH DETAILS OF THE DAMAGE

andie16
07-13-2005, 01:58 PM
Call Babystyle-that's what I did and they called UPS and then called me back within just a few minutes. It took about a day for Babystyle to email me the return shipping label, but I still haven't decided what to do re: keeping the stove or sending it back.

Good luck! I hope yours turns up.

calv
07-13-2005, 02:01 PM
I am so upset and it's all because I can't get another fridge no matter how hard I try! Ughhh.

Babystyle said the same thing. They'll credit me for both and I've yet to receive the return label via email. It's so darn frusterating!!!!!!!!

kathsmom
07-21-2005, 11:53 AM
Well, I have an update on the fridge we put together last week. Last night, I had to move it a couple of feet and the front bottom white "kick plate" panel came off on one side. I looked at it and all I can do is put it back in place, but there is no way to reattach it (unless I can't see it. I will have to wait for DH to look at it).

We haven't assembled the stove yet, because we went on vacation last week.

I am sending an email to Babystyle today. I love the look of the fridge, but with the problems putting it together, the screw that broke off while we were assembling it, and now this panel coming off, I have to wonder about the quality of the whole thing. I also don't want to even attempt to put the stove together now.

Has anyone else had good luck with their fridge and/or stove?

ETA: I just turned the fridge over and realized that the reason the kick plate part is coming off is where the screw head broke off when we were putting the shelving in. I believe it broke off because of the misaligned screw holes and too much pressure being put on the screws and dowels. DH said he would look at it and see what he could do to fix it. I love the look of the fridge, but I am just concerned that there might be other issues.

calv
07-28-2005, 08:50 AM
I have the oven but no fridge since lovely UPS lost it. Anyone willing to part/sell a fridge? THNX!!!!!!!!