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.

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.

This is a very good value if it is stocked at your local SAM's. The two long, heavy boxes fit into my mini-van with the seats taken out. In Southern California, the climate is very sunny all year around, so I was concerned about the stain finish's long-term durability, even with a protective clear sealer applied, as is recommended. Clear sealers may waterproof the substrate, but will provide very little UV light protection. I wanted this to last for years with easy maintenance, so I painted all the pieces with three coats of high-grade house paint before assembling it. Three coats were required to completely cover the silver color with a pure white. Also, the kit comes with very spaced out wood strips across the top, so there is almost no shade provided with the standard kit. I was able to place two additional strips between each pair - so now it is like a patio cover with noticeable shade. With the added strips being painted too, three gallons of paint were needed in total.

Bought in store for $799. Comes in two boxes, each about 215 pounds. My daughter and I (wife helped too) built this in under 4 hours, and that included time to move it into position. I do recommend reading the instructions first to get an idea of the process, and lay out the tools and hardware. You'll want to lay it down on the grass or blankets when assembling; if you lay it on the concrete it WILL get scratched up. It says it's cedar, but it's not really. Cedar is much harder than this wood. You will need two people for a few steps and a ladder for sure. Mine came with extra hardware; one piece of the wood has a small split, but I'm not worried about it. When most pergolas this size are $1300+, I am happy with this. Once the rain stops, I can finish adding the electrical box and string it up with lights. Overall, very happy with it. Good job, China.

We love it!

For starters, if you can find it in the club grab it. Our clubs were out of stock and I did not want to wait until September before I could enjoy my Pergola so I bit the bullet and paid the extra $500 (GULP)! My Husband and myself did the majority of the building and fortunately our adult son showed up as we were ready to attach the two sides. If your not afraid of the possibility of a small wind blowing your treasured Pergola down, have 3 people at this juncture as this is the most critical stage. The Pergola is absolutely fantastic. All parts were there and all pre drilled holes were in the wood where they were supposed to be. None of our parts were bowed as some of the other reviewers mentioned. We followed the BILT app as shown below. It was better then rifling through 20 pages of instructions. I would highly recommend this method. To the reviewer who mentioned both he and his wife are in their 60's and assembled this without issue, I have to wonder if both of you are offspring of the Incredible Hulk or Hercules as this was not only difficult and challenging but very heavy at times. Hats off to you! I guess I need to hit the gym more often. My husband loves it, my son loves it.. even my dog loves it - make sure you pick up a 6 pack at Sam's and have it handy. Trust me you will need it after you have completed the job. Ibuprofen isle 7...

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.

Nice addition to the side of the house where we had to get many trees cut due to pine beetles killing the trees! We NEEDED something in this space to take up the terrible empty spot created by the tree cutting. We weren't invested into hauling lumber ourselves and trying to figure out how to build the thing so when we saw the great price point of this product, especially as compared to having someone come in to build one, we figured we couldn't go wrong. Just my husband and I put it together (60 y/o couple) over two days about 4-5 hours each day. We did lay out and organize the parts in the garage first and applied a coat of wood sealer. The lumber is very light weight and wondering about the long term durability of it, but we are planning to keep it sealed and hope it lasts a long time.

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.

I bought this pergola which looks very nice, but the wood is heavily damaged after AIT WorldWide installation the company that installs these for Backyard Discovery. After several emails, I still have not resolution to who is going to fix the cap that fell off. Both companies are asking me to reach out to the other. A few pictures of the quality and installation attached.