What a great IKEA! Handyman makes a living building flatpack furniture at £30 an hour for those who don't know their nuts from their bolts

  • Denver Thornton helps those who struggle with flatpack furniture
  • He studied cabinet making at university and now co-owns Unflatpack.com
  • He began his interest at 10 before working as a cabinet maker after school

By James Rush

Published: | Updated:


It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea and can cause those not used to DIY hours of agonising over missing screws and parts that don't fit as they become increasingly frustrated while putting up their flatpack furniture.

But one handyman has now come to their aid after becoming a full time professional flatpacker.

Denver Thornton, 36, who studied cabinet making at university, relishes the challenge of piecing together the household goods and says he regularly gets called out by those in a spot of bother.

Denver Thornton makes a living by building flatpack furniture for those who struggle with DIY

Denver Thornton makes a living by building flatpack furniture for those who struggle with DIY

Mr Thornton, of Beckenham, south east London, said: 'Not everyone has the energy, patience, skills or tools to put together furniture.

'I’ve been trained to do this and I absolutely love it - it’s like playing around with wooden lego.

'People go to IKEA and buy all their furniture, but when they get it home they haven’t the faintest idea of what to do with all the pieces.

'It makes sense for a professional to do it for you - flatpacks are only in a box to get them through your front door, cars start in bits but you wouldn’t try and put one together on your own.

'I get called out by people all the time who are in the middle of building something and it’s about to fall on top of them.'

Mr Thornton, who co-owns the furniture assembling company Unflatpack.com with business partner John Griffin, says no job is too big for his expertise.

Mr Thornton studied cabinet making at university and says he regularly gets called out by DIY novices

Mr Thornton studied cabinet making at university and says he regularly gets called out by DIY novices

Mr Thornton, of Beckenham, south east London, said: 'Not everyone has the energy, patience, skills or tools to put together furniture'

Mr Thornton, of Beckenham, south east London, said: 'Not everyone has the energy, patience, skills or tools to put together furniture'

He said: 'Sometimes you’ll walk into a room where someone has tried to assemble the furniture and it’s just a big mess.

'I’ve even had men ask me to finish the job extra quick as they’ve lied to their wives that they’ll assemble it by the time they get home, and they want to take the credit.

'The most difficult piece of furniture to assemble has got to be the IKEA Hemnes day bed - it can be quite tricky as it has lots of components.

'The piece I hate doing the most is the Billy book case.

Mr Thornton, who co-owns the furniture assembling company Unflatpack.com with business partner John Griffin, says no job is too big for his expertise

Mr Thornton, who co-owns the furniture assembling company Unflatpack.com with business partner John Griffin, says no job is too big for his expertise

'It’s just so easy and monotonous, I prefer a challenge.

'There’s only been one time when I wondered if I was ever going to finish a job - a customer had brought a media unit that was huge - 12 by 8 foot and weighed about a quarter of a ton.

'It must have taken about five of us to lift and put together.'

Mr Thornton began his interest at the age of ten and started working as a cabinet maker when he left school before going on to study the subject at university.

He said: 'I passed with a distinction but I wasn’t sure what to do next so I went to the job centre.

'The lady there told me there was such a job as a flatpack assembler.

Mr Thornton began his interest at the age of ten and started working as a cabinet maker when he left school before going on to study the subject at university
The finished product

Mr Thornton began his interest at the age of ten and started working as a cabinet maker when he left school before going on to study the subject at university

'When I tell people what I do for a living I get one of three reactions.

'The first is shock as they never even knew the service existed, the second is that it sounds like a great business idea, and the third is that they wouldn’t need to hire me as they could do it themselves - they’re usually wrong.'

Since Mr Griffin started Unflatpack.com in 2005, the company has gone from strength to strength, and it now works in partnership with some of the biggest homeware brands in the UK.

Mr Thornton, who charges £30 an hour for his flatpacking services, said: 'We’re now the official assembly partners for The Range and in talks with other big brands.

'We have a national presence now and have about 150 fitters that cover the whole of the UK.'


 

Most watched News videos