This holiday weekend found me heading to Marin to install an ISS shelving system for Matt and Ki -- neighbors of Michael and Iris.
I was greeted by a tidy palette and a few boxes tucked into the garage and in short order, had it unpacked and splayed out. One of the things that didn't greet us was a detailed set of instructions. A low-res PDF was emailed but the photos in the instructions were so poorly shot and so low res (and the instructions so generic) that they really weren't much help. Fortunately, I've a black-belt in cabinet assembly after our kitchen and tehse things are pretty standard. However, the unlabeled parts in the palette -- coupled with the lack of decent instruction added at least 4 hours to the install (maybe six) as we had to test fit, twirl around and -- in most cases -- re-assemble the parts to get the correct configuration.
The system is pretty tricked-out and -- at least the aluminum parts -- are well manufactured. The system itself is almost 100% identitcal to the Rakks system we installed in our own office (from a materials, and bracket design standpoint) and this pole-mounted system went into the same location -- against the office wall adjacent to the sliding door.
The tension poles are fairly easy to install even with one person. Some leveling and math is involved to get them just right -- again, something that better instructions would have helped, but it wasn't too hard to figure out. They come threaded on each end with screw feet that tighten to create a solid hold. Fortunately, our floor was concrete and the cieling was wood, so they're pretty tight. I'd be hesitant to install them with a drywall cieling given the tension created in an area the size of a half-dollar.
