The instruction are incredible. Each step lists all items that are needed for that step. It all comes together like it should. We took our time and made it in less than three days. Enjoy the shade and being able to sit outside when it is raining.

We were looking for a Gazebo solution that could withstand our extreme winters and high snowfall and this one looks very sturdy. The parts were very well identified and packaged (each hardware pack had at least one extra piece so if you stripped or damaged one, you had a spare). The instructions are a dream to use (when I didn't understand a process, I watched the "BILT" video instructions and those had the extra details I needed). The steps are organised and thorough. Yes, there are steps where you definitely need 2 or 3 people, but these steps are identified so you can arrange help beforehand. We are very pleased with everything about this product and would highly recommend this to anyone. Everything about this gazebo, the packaging, instructions, precision and even the fact that there is an extra of every nut an bolt (for emergencies ;-)). I have constructed many items in my life, but this HAS to be the best and relatively easiest I've experienced. I'm a fan!

What a beautiful product! The wife and I had long talked about having a custom gazebo built to kick off our backyard beautification projects. We eventually considered a Backyard Discovery kit because of its apparent ease. I’m glad we went with Backyard Discovery! The wood and metal hardware all appear to be of excellent quality. I can’t attest to the ease of the assembly because we hired a crew to put it together. However, it did take a small crew of 3 men nearly all day to finish. the finished product is fantastic! The family loves it!

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Final product looks great. I purchased WITH installation but due to a hiccup in scheduling I chose to get a refund and tackle it ourselves. It did take us more hours than described, and more men to get the assembled roof on. Missing 1 screw and had to use several online assembly videos. Recently no problem holding up to 8” of snow.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] It was delivered in late Sept, but sat in my driveway until early Nov. because I couldn't find someone to help me assemble. So I had some time off and decided to try it alone, and I'm glad I did. Everything is well labeled, all the components, and multiple bags of connectors and other parts. I set up all my sawhorses to stack and organize the amazing smelling cedar components. I commandeered my picnic table to arrange all the connector bags by type and number. I downloaded Bilt, and between it and the printed instructions, I made good headway putting things together over a few days. Then it came time to raise the Gable ends, which definitely needs at least 2 people to do. I drafted my fiance to help after work, and in the dark, we got it standing up and put together. Then, a few more days of working alone assembling all of the roof panels on the ground. I found and hired a local handyman to help me with lifting the roof panels into place and securing them and I'm glad I did. This is the most difficult part of the assembly, and it was at times frustrating and left us scratching our heads. The holes for securing the upper facia to the ridge rafter are poorly located, where you cannot use a power tool to drive the bolts. Furthermore, you have to support the roof panel while simultaneously screwing the bolts in by hand with the torx wrench, or else the load of the panel on the bolt as you try to screw it in makes it impossible. Finally, the bolts are being received by T-nuts inside the ridge rafter, and a few of those came loose to the point that the bolts weren't screwing into anything. Very frustrating, but we got just enough of them in to hold the panels in place. The first four panels are "easy" to place before securing, but the last ones on each side are difficult to fit. We also found that the holes in the rafter truss' did not match up with the holes in the roof rafters. More head scratching, eventually drilling/securing the truss' in place when we made sure that everything was keeping its correct dimensions. It took 2 of us 6 hours to place the roof, but we got it done. With the ladder still up, I drove a few 2.5" deck screws through the upper fascia boards into the ridge rafter to make sure the panels were well secured. I had to then travel for a week of work, so I have yet to place the ridge cap and drip edges, and as can be seen in the photos, snow has come to Northern Michigan. My car is clean underneath, and, despite the challenges in assembly, I am VERY PLEASED with the finished product. It looks better than ANY of the other pergolas I considered, and 90% of the assembly experience was perfect and easy. I look forward to many years of shade and dryness under it, and I am so happy I spent my money on a Backyard Discovery product.

I looked for several weeks to find this product. Everyone seemed to be out of stock. I located it out of state and had it shipped to me. No major complaints. Fit and finish is excellent. all the parts are of very high quality. I added the bench swing and some LED string lights. This is a great addition to my backyard!

I purchased the Backyard Discovery - 16x12 Norwood Gazebo to replace a flimsy metal gazebo. I have had 2 different metal gazebos the last few years & I have had to replace the cloth canopies 3 times even though I removed them in the fall. It was getting quite expensive to keep fixing them. I am sooo glad I found this Norwood gazebo because it is extremely strong & sturdy and it looks great!! Although it is initially more expensive than the cheap gazebos I had been purchasing, my new Norwood gazebo should last a long time, and without having to mess around removing and reinstalling a canopy seasonally. Another great feature is the power distribution box. I am planning to put lights & a TV in it so this adds even more value. They have a website that shows how to easily assemble it & I would recommend to anyone purchasing one to refer to it. I am extremely happy with my purchase & would absolutely recommend it!

Based on the reviews I read before purchasing I expected to be very pleased with the product and overall experience - including the assembly process. I can say that this expectation was met! The product was packaged well and arrived completely undamaged. The assembly instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. That said - preparing and assembling this item is a BIG job... We decided to stain all of our wood pieces before assembling, which in hindsight I'm very glad we went this route. I did most of the work on my own, but there are several steps where several people are definitely needed. Getting the roof panels on, squared and attached was a bit of a challenge, but we got it all in place after some trial and error. The entire process took several weekends to complete. It's been up for couple of weeks now and has already been through several rain storms and a couple of thunderstorms. Happy to say it's held up w/o any issues!

Bought 3 weeks ago to add permanent durable shelter over existing spa. Very easy or order. Good price (eligible for military discount…Thank you!) Shipping was very smooth. They sent tracking number and I followed transit. Arrived one day early and we are at 4300 ft altitude on side of mountain. It ships as Several large boxes on pallet. Two boxes are plywood lined. Everything arrived intact. No damage. We unboxed systematically onto covered deck and organized all pieces according to steps of construction. We made sure we organized hardware very carefully in several bowls. Build tip! Keep the plastic bags for all hardware under each set of bolts and screws. Each screw bag has the item number printed on it that corresponds to the instruction manual. My wife helped move big assembled pieces and helped with heavy lifting but I did all construction by myself. YOU NEED AT LEAST 2 STRONG PEOPLE CAPABLE OF LIFTING AT LEAST 50 LBS OVERHEAD TO BUILD THIS SAFELY. Instruction manual is pretty good. The diagrams get a little bit complicated on several steps and I believe it could be broken down into several smaller additional steps that would help prevent confusion and provide more detail to the builder.The videos online are pretty good, but even they don’t show some of the detail necessary. I would recommend a color build manual with photos of critical steps to backyard discovery. Some of the orientation of some parts are hard to identify from the diagrams and videos. I got at least three pieces backward and had to disassemble and reassemble correctly despite being extremely careful and taking my time. Everything fit very precisely. The cedar post and beams are all pre-drilled high-quality so if there’s no hole at a location, or a bolt doesn’t fit through completely, its wrong. The framing went very smoothly, but it was difficult for my wife and I to move the two large end frames sections into position safely and attach them together square on our pre-prepared footings. Note: I prepared 4 concrete footings according to the PDF file of the instruction manual on Backyard discovery website a week in advance to spec. If you already have a level concrete slab that’s even easier. The post and cornice framing portion went very smoothly with hardly any problems. It took me approximately six hours to complete by myself. The second stage for the roofing was quite difficult. It took an additional six hours by itself. The roof framing is very flimsy in my opinion and had to be force fit working overhead. I squared the framing and squared the roofing before I placed roof and it still didn’t quite fit right. It was too flexible and bendable and would get off Square when you are trying to push it up over the framing. It was very challenging to get right. I found this part to be most difficult and I have significant experience in construction. Build note: The blue protective film on the steel corrugated sheets and roofing is terrible. It is tightly adherent to the pieces and extremely difficult to remove. We tried to use hair dryers, nope. We left the pieces out in the sun, nope. Last we tried to use some lubricating solvents nope. it took us over two hours alone to remove the film one inch st a time. Backyard discovery needs to find a different solution for this. It’s unnecessarily difficult. (This is the only reason that I give this product four stars instead of five stars!!) Note: i’m not sure why there is no flashing between the corrugated steel roofing sheets and the end cornice framing? If built exactly according to the manual, it results in 1/4 inch gap that would result in roof leak inside the frame at both ends? I was able to take some steel sheeting and cut it to create additional flashing to cover this gap. I did this entirely by hand on site. (This is another issue that backyard discovery should address with this particular model) If you have good weather and a level site with prepared footings or slab I would recommend at least two full days. 2-very strong or 3 less strong people. Otherwise, it could take much more time… Overall, it’s very beautiful and extremely strong once completed. I weigh almost 200 pounds and I hung from the frames at both ends to ensure that they were completely seated and stable before finishing the roof. I would recommend this product to anyone with professional tools and some building experience, but I would probably recommend professional help if you don’t have any construction or finish carpentry experience. One thing that was extremely nice, was all the additional hardware that came with it including all the necessary drill bits and a small torx wrench for some hard to reach corners where a battery operated drill would not fit. I set up two professional battery operated drills with 4 rotating batteries to make the process go much quicker so that I didn’t have to change bits and wait to charge batteries. I burned through at least two batteries on each drill with all the bolts and screws. Especially the roofing. Great product. Very well made. Good luck!

My husband and I are 70 and 72. We decided to challenge ourselves and build the gazebo. This kit is absolutely beautiful! The wood is smooth and holes are pre drilled! All the hardware is included, packages are marked and of great quality. Love the black iron accents! The video is easy to follow and so much easier than reading the instructions. We constructed the entire gazebo but had to get help lifting the roof on. We are very proud of ourselves and it was possible with this excellent kit!?