We are in arizona so its great for the yard plus gives us some shade when we put corrugated metal sheets over the top that look and work great. Two smaller pieces of wood were slightly damaged but the company sent them straight out to us with no argument so that was good. have to say it really makes the yard look brilliant plus it came with the power unit so we can run electricity to it and from there we have things running like a small sound bar for relaxing to. Its pretty easy to put together, we found assembling the main rafters first helped as we could do it indoors, the only thing is you need two people to help put it together outside with the posts. Also like the plastic bases for the posts to sit on so the water from when it rains doesn't rot the bottoms of them. FYI when they deliver it they just leave it on the driveway, you have to move it yourself and it comes in two boxes.

For the convenience of buying this pergola with all the pieces cut and pretty sanded already for a DIY assembly, as well as it being nice cedar, it truly does hit all the marks. The ambiance is quite beautiful and it is a great addition to our yard. It is pretty easy to assemble with two people. Of course, read your instructions and plan your assembly. It can be easy to confuse your pieces and the perspective in the diagrams so be careful. It took one day to assemble everything. There are a few extra hardware screws and washers included, which is great. You also might need a step ladder to hold up a key piece with a two person team to make it easier to bolt down. As I learned from another reviewer, order a can of matching stain free from Backyard Discovery for the inevitable touchups. I also had a couple of pieces with a chunk broken out or a smash, which were thankfully easy to get replaced and shipped out for free from Backyard Discovery. Also, I found it quite worth it to use a good exterior varnish to protect the pergola. I used the "M" name brand that ends in ""X" of their Spar Urethane Clear Gloss varnish (but make sure it is the oil based version if you use it, as the water based version is not good). Another reviewer said to varnish before assembly, which I realized rather fast that it takes forever, drips everywhere, sticks, creates skin, etc. So I varnished after assembly of all the lower sections except the numerous thin perlin slats that go on top, and got at least one coat on before the pergola spent too long in the sun and rain. I am going to finish two more spar urethane coats this season. Also, I ordered this pergola from Sam's club and it was easy to get service from BD afterwards. For those who might ask, is it worth it? I would say after staging everything around the pergola, such as potted plants and chairs for our yard, it is quite well worth the purchase. I think our photos prove that point. Btw, it did not really need the purlins installed to complete a good look and is perfectly functional without them. Also, we thought at first... would the dark walnut color work? And we soon realized, yes indeed. Enjoy!

We recently installed this pergola. It was quite a project - it took 4 people about 5 hours to stain it (we though stain would help protect the wood in our shore environment), and 4 people about 5.5 hours to put it together. The instructions are decent and it is not hard to assemble (other than the attaching the top rails to thee top post which was a bear). However, there are a lot of pieces, many steps, and it takes some time. We definitely needed 4 people to move it once it was assembled. We really like the finished product. The pergola creates a sense of space and makes the area under it feel like a room. The quality is good and the delivery process was flawless. We would definitely recommend this pergola.

I bought this last summer and got it set up right away. It is a good size and great price. I do wish it had more coverage from the sun, but I was able to put a sail over it and it works great. I moved it a couple of times, and although it's heavy, it didn't break.

From the great instructions to the final result, this pergola is exactly the thing I was hoping for. It has added a whole new dimension to my yard and expanded the living space. We have delighted in sitting under it in the morning with coffee and the evening with homemade wine. Thank you for a beautiful structure! (My husband is talking about adding one to our vacation home as well.)

We purchased this unit last summer. It comes in extremely heavy containers. We removed the items, and laid them out by number on the garage floor to make sure all the parts were there. Due to shipping damage to the box, one set of screws was missing, and one small 2 x 2 rafter board was broken. I called Sams customer service, and they had replacement items shipped right away. This unit is nice quality, and comes with an easy to read assembly instructions. You need to seal this pergola, so we decided to seal all the boards before they were assembled....easier than painting on a ladder.. We used Thompsons water seal, clear, and our unit still looks brand new. I would recommend that if you are not young and very strong, that you hire someone to assemble it...the contractor said the instructions were easy to follow and that all necessary hardware is included . We are very happy with our purchase ..

Life changing! Backyard Discovery makes such a great product that one pergola was not enough! We bought two! We feel like we have added on an entire room to our home! We have already created so many memories here and plan for many more. Have I mentioned how well made both pergolas were? Not one issue, just perfect!

We love our pergola and it is very sturdy and functions really well in our backyard. The power outlets are a huge plus! Great quality and my husband assembled it completely alone (I wouldn’t recommend that but he’s stubborn and wanted to prove a point). 2-3 people is probably ideal to complete it efficiently. It also holds a 50 ft rope of string lights nicely.

Great Pergola. Pretty solid. putting it together wasn't difficult. The provided paper instructions in my opinion was confusing but the app was excellent on instruction guidance. The slotted joist pre-drilled screw holes did not match the other predrilled holes to mount on. Some wood pieces were little warped but that's expected of wood. Overall I would recommend this Pergola. Would be nice to know what the finished sealer is so I can do some touch ups.

We purchased this pergola this summer. 2 months later Hurricane Laura (category 4 150mph sustained winds) visited our area. Many roofs were tore off of homes (ours sustained major shingle damage). We were expected to find the pergola half a mile away, but there it stood, in the same spot on our back patio. This picture was taken 1 month after the storm hit, there is still massive damage in the area. Lake Charles, Louisiana.