Overall, it looks great in our backyard. The directions could’ve been better. For example, it would’ve been nice for them to tell us how far apart the marking should be for the roof slats.

Happy as a clam with our pergola, got it up in one day with help from a friend. Did my homework on the "Chinese Cedar" (C. Lanceolata) and which settled my concerns about longevity compared to western red cedar. Granted, I wouldn't mind having the wrc but wanted a kit and, quite frankly, those were w-a-y more expensive. And yes, there are cons, but not enough to offset my overall elation with the look. Pros: • Looks great! Absolutely love the color of the stain! • Lightweight pieces, very easy to handle • Installation not too terribly difficult and for 'most part' was hiccup-free • The electrical is rather nifty; not high tech, but nifty nonetheless. Cons: • Not at all a fan of the post bases, not enough meat to make me feel comfortable with anything more than a breeze. Recommend purchasing stronger ones, such as Ozco 54208 Laredo (Amazon) or similar from Simpson. • Very high # of pcs, made pre-sealing a real pain. I get why they do it that way but, still a pain. • Instructions were okay but could have been a little more spelled out. Found a couple of vids online but none showed the level of detail I wanted and omitted some very important aspects. We actually messed up and installed our posts facing wrong direction, but with some crazy ingenious luck, I was able to make it work so you'd never know it. • Yes, a number of the perlins and 1-2 of the beams were bowed but pulled out when fastening, for the most part at least. • The touchup pen was a joke – don't use it, will actually look worse. Instead, ask mfr to send you a small can of matching stain (they'll do for free) right after you purchase and before you get – you're going to need it. Tips/Suggestions: • As much of a pain as it was with the really high number of pieces, I still very much recommend sealing in the comfort of your garage. We put a min of 3 coats on every surface, 4-5 coats on the up-facing pieces. We brushed on Polycrylic satin and are very happy with the results. Sawhorses for finishing, and various 2x4's (or similar) on the concrete for drying. • Take your time during installation and pay attention, as you surely don't want to get that puppy standing only then to find out you did something wrong. Voice of experience ; ) • Purchase decorative, structural post bases as mentioned above. We are also crazy happy with the decorative screens we purchased – they really "made" the whole thing! (Freedom Sprig from Lowes) • See the nifty brace I installed – and stained to match : ) – from which to hang my plug-in outdoor ceiling fan (Lowes). I also put a small piece of plywood atop the center to hopefully prevent melting of the shade cover (purchased elsewhere) due to heat rising from our fire pit table. • Contractor's coming next week to install code-approved electrical since you're not supposed to bury extension cords, nor are you supposed to leave them plugged in for long durations. Am still going to leave what came with the pergola on there for greater flexibility though.

It is sturdy, comes with all the parts, does not have good assembly instruction, in fact, they are not useful at all. They give you a link to scan, you have to add an app to get it to work and it still is not much help. We went to Sam's and shot close up pictures and went from those. The wood is soft as cedar can be and there are several damaged areas from packing that we needed to touch up (paint stick or stain not included) The box wasn't damaged so it had to be during packing. Not all the holes line up so have a drill ready. They say it is a two person set up but that must be their guys with experience. The last steps are impossible for 2, even 4 people. After assembled you are supposed to lift it, put it in its mounting feet, draw around that, drill holes, set with screws and then lift it back in place. I believe the delivery guys said it weighed 900 lbs and it is at least that. IMPOSSIBLE for two people to lift. Ours isn't secure until; we can get a bunch of people to help. However, once assembled it is beautiful, sturdy and just like the pictures. It needs better instructions written and a video. I would buy another if we ever needed it now that we know how to assemble.

My wife and I just began fixing our new backyard up. This Pergola has been a great addition and we can't wait to see it with plants and other furniture around. Wood seems solid and well put together. I sealed with a clear sealer so didn't lose color.

The manufacturer added a plastic cap at the top of the 4 posts, but didn't lengthen the bolts. The caps are affixed with nail gun staples and must be removed for the bolts to fit through the width of the post and top crossbeams. Unfortunately you find this out (if you figure it out) right the most critical and dangerous part of the assembly. Normally this would only subtract a couple of stars, but my wife insisted on holding it while I went for a tool and we had a bad crash as she shifted on the ladder. She's okay, but the pergola had a piece broken. Also they had packed before the stain dried and pieces had styrofoam glued to the beam. Taking it off required solvent that removed stain as well.

Overall, the finished pergola was very satisfactory. The pieces all fit, the directions were clear and concise, and assembly was pretty straightforward. One issue that cost us time and money was the 7 1/4" bolts used for the first steps were not threaded far enough to allow them to tighten the initial cross pieces. They would bottom out in the barrel nut with nearly a half inch to go. We had to purchase stainless steel nuts to use instead of the supplied barrel nuts. Despite this frustrating start to our assembly, the rest went fairly well and we're satisfied with the finished product. However, I'm sure that a less experienced builder would have major issues with this quality control issue.

Bought about a month ago and finally got around to assembling it; took two people five hours.Tip: We laid out all the pieces on the concrete porch and labeled them with blue tape and a sharpee. Some pieces were scratched- we touched up with Valspar exterior solid stain in the color classic mahagony. Then used a water based spar urethane in clear satin (varathane indoor/ outdoor) to seal the finish. P.S. After construction, we decided to add a pitched roof (metal) and attached to house- will add lights later.

Took a while to find one in stock at my local Sam's club, but jumped on it when it came in. Took it home, and immediately applied waterproofing to all of the boards prior to assembly. The next day, after everything was dry I assembled the whole pergola on my back deck in about 4 hours, then moved it into position and used some different brackets to secure it down. It has transformed my back deck and we will be spending a lot more time outside because of it.

If you're thinking about buying this pergola, think again. Poorly made. Very unstable after put together. If I have it a good shove I'm sure it'll all come down. Also a lot of the top pieces, the purlins, don't match up. Some are cut too short so there are gaps. I was thinking about building my own but saw this in sale and thought it be great but was wrong.

We are very happy with this pergola. Although it was a little tricky to do over a pond, we got it done. We had no problems putting together, instructions were clear as well as numbered pieces. We did have a problem with a side board peeling, but called CS and another is being sent out.