Overall I feel this was a great value. A well designed pergola at a reasonable price. Assembly was straight forward with clear directions. Did it by my self over a couple of Saturdays could have done it in a 1/3 of the time if I had a helper. Very satisfied with finished product.

no special tricks here other than follow the directions! you will likely need to make some "on the fly" adjustments/re-calibrations, as the pieces do not always line up otherwise it took me about 6 hours total over 2 days. the need for a 2nd person really only comes into play when you go to make it stand upright...the rest of the assembly is a one person deal...maybe the helper can hand you supplies to help with efficiency but other than that...no real problems

I bought this a month ago and assembled it with very little help. My wife helped me with the tape measure laying out the post locations. I assembled the two narrow end sections then my wife and daughter helped holding them upright as I added the longer beams. I added the rafters myself. Took about a day to complete. The only drilling I needed to do was on the 2 x 2 runners on the very top. Many of the holes were predrilled in the wrong location. I installed this on a concrete patio and it is rock solid. I added a Coolaroo fabric sun shade on the top.

This is a nice, solid pergola. Not too hard to assemble. We had a handful of teenaged boys figure out the assembly with a little adult guidance. Took about 4 hours. We had created some concrete pedestals for anchoring in advance which worked well. It looks good and is quite nice for the price. The reasons for only 4 stars are the hardware and shipping, Some of the screws for the top pieces are a bit cheap and strip easily. We ended up replacing some with higher quality ones. For the shipping it took double the expected time and we received no advanced call about the curbside delivery as promised. I just happened to look out the window and see the truck. If I hadn't been home, they would have just left it on the curb unattended. Other than that, it's a solid item and would consider buying again.

Very good quality cedar wood and hardware with this kit. With moderate skills, you can assemble in one day. The pergola was delivered to my driveway in two long boxes. A nice looking product after assembly. If you are going to seal or add another coat of stain, doing so before assembly makes the project easier.

We are very pleased with the pergola! It was very easy to assemble; the instruction packet was great - very helpful. If not for lot's of GOOD interruptions (grandkids), we would have had the pergola built in a day. I really only needed a second person for about 2 hours of time; the rest was solo. Had fun building it!

The seller stated we would receive the pergola within 10 to 17 days from order date and we received it on the 10th day. The men who delivered it did a great job and actually carried it into our garage and I'm glad they did because the 2 boxes were quite heavy. The assembly instructions were good, but the hardware not so good. We had to spray WD-40 on the nuts and bolts or else they would bind. I'm not sure why they designed then top support beams in 2 pieces, it would have made more sense if it was 1 piece, and assembly would have gone a lot quicker. Overall it took 3 of us about 4 hours to assemble it and it looks very nice. We are very satisfied with our purchase.

Love the Pergola however the shipping company destroyed the bottom of the box and put a pallet on it so we would not see and refuse shipping. When the insolation guys came they turned the box over and showed all the destroyed pieces. When it was delivered they they handed me 5 loose parts and said they were extras. They were not extra they were from the box. The guys installing were able to call and get replacement parts. This is now going to take another month till it is finally delivered and installed. The Sam's Club customer service was not very helpful. The lady on the phone had no idea what to do and the supervisor was just as bad. Will never buy something from Sam's Club that requires shipping.

Assembly was not too bad. Will take more than two people for some parts of it it. You will need a ladder and a screw gun/driver, all other tools are in the box. The directions were pretty easy, but you have to pay attention, and put your carpentry/measuring skills to work. It will take the better part of an afternoon. All the hardware parts were there plus a few extra. I did not anchor mine to the ground, its free-standing on my patio. Makes plenty of shade, which is the point. I am very happy with the finished product.

Bought this on sale at terrific price. Husband put it together by himself in 3 evenings after work (so he could work in shade). Went up beautifully. Added a sun shade on top. I am practically living on my deck now. Only problem I had was it got a small chip in a post during shipping. And a mess up from shipper delivering my pergola to wrong address. But that doesn't take away from how satisfied I am with my shade!