We bought 2 of these to maximize space in our boys bedroom. We just build them last night, here are my initial thoughts:
1. The pieces we received seem to have been fairly decent quality. Thick metal, and only 1 screw out of 2 beds stripped. I was also missing a washer at the end for one screw, but its just as likely that I lost it as it is that it wasnt packed.
2. I dont know if the instructions have been re/written since many of the reviews mentioned poor instructions, but I thought they were fine. Perhaps the importance of lining up particular poles could have been emphasized a bit more (there is a set of 2 poles at opposite ends of the bed that requires a brace midway down, and you want to make sure thats in the right place if youre abutting the corner of a room). I made that mistake, and as Jimmy Buffett would say, its my own damn fault. Also, the long side guardrails attached to the very top of the poles on the inside, the screws dont go completely though the poles, so you have to pay particular attention to the orientation of those holes too. I also made that mistake, but again, Jimmy Buffett.
3. This can be a one person job. But you need to be an octopus to achieve it successfully, or do a lot of flipping pieces upside down, sideways, etc. Just remember your orientation. It helps if you have multiple people that can hold and fetch things as you need them. The benefits of having several kids.
4. I cannot emphasize enough what others have said/ dont tighten everything down until you complete whatever section or piece youre working on. Special exception to the ladder in step 1. There are 8 screws that hold the ladder in place/ do not tighten them down completely until youre finished with step 2. If you dont, the ladder is going to appear crooked, and is going to be a bit of a bear to attach to the end piece. I learned this after finishing the first one, and was able to apply the know/how to the 2nd bed. You can really only want to thread each screw enough to make sure that its beginning to thread into whatever youre attaching. You want to leave plenty of wiggle room until all the screws are threaded before you go back and tighten everything down. If not, youre going to wonder why pieces dont line up properly.
5. The included allen wrenches are good to start threading, but its going to really increase your assembly time if you have to use them to tighten everything down. I used the allen wrenches for the initial threading, and followed up with a drill and hex bits to tighten everything down. Also, if you are using a drill and not an impact driver, youre going to want to turn the torque fairly low so you dont strip the screws. I did fairly well with this, only stripping one screw after I realized that the torque had been turned up to a fairly high level.
6. An anchoring system is included. We havent used it, are seeing how things go. You do not, however, have to make sure its aligned with studs, my kit included drywall anchors, and if you end up wanting to anchor, youre probably going to need them.
7. Plan on assembly taking about an hour and a half if you have lots of hands. Add an hour to that if youre traveling alone.
8. Organization will set you free. Unpack everything and organize the pieces and hardware into appropriate groups so you dont have to constantly search for everything.
All in all, I think its a solid bed that will require some mechanical aptitude to set up, but you dont have to be a pro to get it done successfully. This probably shouldnt be your first furniture assembly experience though.
Pretty solid little bed, some know/how needed
We bought 2 of these to maximize space in our boys bedroom. We just build them last night, here are my initial thoughts: 1. The pieces we received seem to have been fairly decent quality. Thick metal, and only 1 screw out of 2 beds stripped. I was also missing a washer at the end for one screw, but its just as likely that I lost it as it is that it wasnt packed. 2. I dont know if the instructions have been re/written since many of the reviews mentioned poor instructions, but I thought they were fine. Perhaps the importance of lining up particular poles could have been emphasized a bit more (there is a set of 2 poles at opposite ends of the bed that requires a brace midway down, and you want to make sure thats in the right place if youre abutting the corner of a room). I made that mistake, and as Jimmy Buffett would say, its my own damn fault. Also, the long side guardrails attached to the very top of the poles on the inside, the screws dont go completely though the poles, so you have to pay particular attention to the orientation of those holes too. I also made that mistake, but again, Jimmy Buffett. 3. This can be a one person job. But you need to be an octopus to achieve it successfully, or do a lot of flipping pieces upside down, sideways, etc. Just remember your orientation. It helps if you have multiple people that can hold and fetch things as you need them. The benefits of having several kids. 4. I cannot emphasize enough what others have said/ dont tighten everything down until you complete whatever section or piece youre working on. Special exception to the ladder in step 1. There are 8 screws that hold the ladder in place/ do not tighten them down completely until youre finished with step 2. If you dont, the ladder is going to appear crooked, and is going to be a bit of a bear to attach to the end piece. I learned this after finishing the first one, and was able to apply the know/how to the 2nd bed. You can really only want to thread each screw enough to make sure that its beginning to thread into whatever youre attaching. You want to leave plenty of wiggle room until all the screws are threaded before you go back and tighten everything down. If not, youre going to wonder why pieces dont line up properly. 5. The included allen wrenches are good to start threading, but its going to really increase your assembly time if you have to use them to tighten everything down. I used the allen wrenches for the initial threading, and followed up with a drill and hex bits to tighten everything down. Also, if you are using a drill and not an impact driver, youre going to want to turn the torque fairly low so you dont strip the screws. I did fairly well with this, only stripping one screw after I realized that the torque had been turned up to a fairly high level. 6. An anchoring system is included. We havent used it, are seeing how things go. You do not, however, have to make sure its aligned with studs, my kit included drywall anchors, and if you end up wanting to anchor, youre probably going to need them. 7. Plan on assembly taking about an hour and a half if you have lots of hands. Add an hour to that if youre traveling alone. 8. Organization will set you free. Unpack everything and organize the pieces and hardware into appropriate groups so you dont have to constantly search for everything. All in all, I think its a solid bed that will require some mechanical aptitude to set up, but you dont have to be a pro to get it done successfully. This probably shouldnt be your first furniture assembly experience though.