I bought the pergola about a month ago and planned to put it together right away. Then we had snow! The pergola was safe in its boxes in garage. When we finally got to it; we counted all the pieces and inspected for damage/warping etc. We read reviews and hints from others extensively prior to buying. There was some issues, we called the number provided and were treated wonderfully! Replacement pieces came, we sealed each piece and were ready to build. Then ran into another problem with the hardware. Again called the service line and replacements were here within days. The pergola is now mostly build as we are having some landscaping done but looks fabulous as it awaits to be moved to it's final place. Please note the instructions could be better. A video would be awesome. No issues so far with alignment but we made sure it was square. (Read reviews). If you have issues the company is very helpful! If you are hiring someone to build it, you may want to find one the company recommends.

Very nice-looking pergola! Assembly was a little tricky, but was accomplished in about six hours. There were a few aspects that we felt could have been better designed to make assembly easier and make the final product look cleaner/neater, but overall we were very happy with how wonderful it makes our patio look!

We purchased this one as it was cedar and was the size we needed. As many others did, I stained it all before putting it together. The stain that is on it is not intended to be anything other than color. My wife and I put it together in about 5 hours. If your not mechanically inclined minimally or not all that strong, then a 3 rd person would help. We did it with two and just on a few occasions did it become tricky. My biggest complaint it that the barrel nuts that were sent were hard to screw onto the long bolts. About 4 of them we never got to work at all. We still put them in the holes but they are not tightened down. Also some of the 2x2's were slightly bowed which requires you having to pull them into square to attach. Bottom line: Not too bad for the money. If you want a bulkier hand made pergola, your going to spend around 4K to have it done. This one is good enough for now.

We looked at many different pergolas before deciding to go with this. It is absolutely perfect for our back yard. It is sturdy, and I have no doubt that it will be able to withstand all the weather elements. We did stain it before we put it together as was suggested. Family and friends have asked where they can buy one too! Shipping and delivery was easy, the delivery company that delivered the boxes were very nice and made sure it was away from the road.

I bought the 14X10 Pergola kit to add shade and structure to our pool area in our newly purchased home. Two big boxes arrived on Thursday and after 2 mornings of work, we were done! Very happy with the quality of the materials, however my helper and I could improve our reading and observation skills. Most everything was pre-drilled so no math or measuring needed (even though we did until we discovered the holes). Sealer and 8X10 shade cloth are next - necessary for Texas summer. Love it!

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.

We are very happy with this purchase except a couple small items. Instructions were very good. One thing I noticed is that the instructions from the BILT app are a little backwards compared to the printed instructions. One would have a board right side up and the other would have it right side down. Fine, as long as you stick to one set of directions. Everything lined up very nicely except for a couple corbels and most of the 2x2's on top. I would say that only 25% of the 2x2 holes lined up, but not sure if there is a way to improve that. Most of the lumber was surprisingly straight except for the 2x2s, especially the posts!

Received the pergola, checked boxes, everything seemed to be in order. Now the hard part, putting together. Well surprisingly easy, only drawback was the 93 plus degree heat we had to put up with, so we took it slow took 3 days because of heat. Otherwise all went smoothly and it looks very nice for the price. Yes it is a cedar out of China, and since we weren't sure how we were going to like it, the price was right!

My husband put it together by himeself. I love it. The only drawback is I bought it to have some shade over my patio furniture and it does not provide any shade. So now I have to buy some kind of cover to put in the top to get shade. Otherwise it's very well made and makes the backyard look so peaceful next to the pool.

We ordered the 16x12 and it arrived on time in several boxes. My husband put it together over a weekend. I will say that it’s a bit weird that the main posts are hollow and some of the pieces don’t seem to fit well together, almost looks like it’s a bit uneven in places but only if you have a critical eye like me. I’d say overall it has made a huge improvement to the look of our backyard. On it’s own, it does not provide nearly as much shade as I had hoped and we had to buy a separate cover to put on top. Again, for the price point, it was a great purchase.