I am really happy with this purchase. Package arrived in a card board box with foam padding. Much to my surprise there was no damage to the product even though the box looked like it had been through a war. The package is about 50 lbs so I had no problems bringing it in off the porch where it was delivered. It took me about 2 hours to put this together by myself. Please understand that I was going very slow deliberately to make sure I got the assembly right the first time. You can do this by yourself but I recommend laying all the parts and screws out in an open area and grouping like items together before getting started. You will want to be relatively close to the area where you want to use this product as it seemed heavier after assembly and may require help moving it into place.
During assembly I highly recommend using a power drill with hex tip endings as there are lots of hex screws and you are only provided with a small hand held hex tool in the box. Beware that the instructions specifically say not to use power tools and for good reason. If you use a power tool at full strength there is no doubt you could split the wood so be careful. I used a very powerful 20V Dewalt drill with a hex tip but I was extremely careful. It will save you a lot of time not doing this with the manual tool they provided. Keep your drill on a low torque and dont ever fully depress the trigger and you will be fine. Also a good idea to have a phillips screwdriver and hammer around as they are not provided.
There are very few words in the instructions so pay close attention to the step by step diagrams. Ive seen some reviews say this was difficult to put together but I didnt see that at all. The only part that gave me problems which were easily corrected was putting the lid supports on because I put them on upside down. Just make sure the springs on the lid supports are facing upward towards the lid when you put them on. Youll know what Im talking about if you buy this and get to that part. The pictures werent to clear on showing the proper orientation of the springs to lift the lid. But again I just redid that part and had no further problems with assembly.
Once completed the product was 5.5 ft high and 3 ft in width and fit perfectly into my mud room. Also Ive seen questions from others on how much weight this can support. Im 63 and weigh 299 lbs. I sat on the lid and didnt hear a single crack. This unit is strong and sturdy. It does come with wall anchors but if you dont have small kids that might climb on it you wont need them. My only regret is that I didnt look for this product in black as the one I picked is a light brownish orange wood and my kitchen cabinets are a dark expresso color. Black probably would have gone better with the decor but its not a big deal and Im happy with this product.
Overall just be slow and deliberate and pay close attention the diagrams and the set up was pretty easy.. I did this while family members were out and no one was home to bother me. Great weekend project.
My 2 CENTS!!
I am really happy with this purchase. Package arrived in a card board box with foam padding. Much to my surprise there was no damage to the product even though the box looked like it had been through a war. The package is about 50 lbs so I had no problems bringing it in off the porch where it was delivered. It took me about 2 hours to put this together by myself. Please understand that I was going very slow deliberately to make sure I got the assembly right the first time. You can do this by yourself but I recommend laying all the parts and screws out in an open area and grouping like items together before getting started. You will want to be relatively close to the area where you want to use this product as it seemed heavier after assembly and may require help moving it into place. During assembly I highly recommend using a power drill with hex tip endings as there are lots of hex screws and you are only provided with a small hand held hex tool in the box. Beware that the instructions specifically say not to use power tools and for good reason. If you use a power tool at full strength there is no doubt you could split the wood so be careful. I used a very powerful 20V Dewalt drill with a hex tip but I was extremely careful. It will save you a lot of time not doing this with the manual tool they provided. Keep your drill on a low torque and dont ever fully depress the trigger and you will be fine. Also a good idea to have a phillips screwdriver and hammer around as they are not provided. There are very few words in the instructions so pay close attention to the step by step diagrams. Ive seen some reviews say this was difficult to put together but I didnt see that at all. The only part that gave me problems which were easily corrected was putting the lid supports on because I put them on upside down. Just make sure the springs on the lid supports are facing upward towards the lid when you put them on. Youll know what Im talking about if you buy this and get to that part. The pictures werent to clear on showing the proper orientation of the springs to lift the lid. But again I just redid that part and had no further problems with assembly. Once completed the product was 5.5 ft high and 3 ft in width and fit perfectly into my mud room. Also Ive seen questions from others on how much weight this can support. Im 63 and weigh 299 lbs. I sat on the lid and didnt hear a single crack. This unit is strong and sturdy. It does come with wall anchors but if you dont have small kids that might climb on it you wont need them. My only regret is that I didnt look for this product in black as the one I picked is a light brownish orange wood and my kitchen cabinets are a dark expresso color. Black probably would have gone better with the decor but its not a big deal and Im happy with this product. Overall just be slow and deliberate and pay close attention the diagrams and the set up was pretty easy.. I did this while family members were out and no one was home to bother me. Great weekend project.