I bought this bed for my 4 year old son knowing the reviews said it takes a while to put together. I have most of it done and we did have 2 people working on it. We still have the desk, drawers, and doors to install, but the rest took us 10 hours! Im exhausted and sore all over from all the work.
Definitely follow the instructions and do box 1, then 2, then 3. This would be more helpful if they used EVERYTHING in box 1 before moving on to the next box. Box 1 includes the pieces for the drawers which arent needed until the last steps of assembly. Box 2 has the door pieces, also not needed until the end of box 3.
Some of the reviews I read mentioned building in place because of how heavy and difficult to move the bed is. They failed to mention that assembling the back of the bed was really hard if the bed is in the location you want it, say up against a wall. Im lucky we had just enough room for me to reach my small arm behind and screw in the back screws.
I feel like something this big should come at least partially assembled, especially with the company clearly willing to ship in multiple packages. And since they are willing to ship in multiple packages, they could better wrap and care for the pieces inside. Some of the pieces came chipped, bent, warped, or dented. Thankfully none of the damages have interfered with assembly or the overall integrity of the bed.
Another thing is that the instructions have almost no words, and that made some of the steps more difficult than necessary. Some of the illustrations are hard to interpret. Multiple views of some of the steps would have been helpful.
Also some parts that require screws didnt have pre/drilled holes, and we had to make holes. This was especially hard for the ladder rungs which were Rock solid and a regular screwdriver was stripping the screws that really needed a more square drill bit.
Anyway, so I still have some steps to go, and since we live in an apartment and plan on buying a house in the next year or 2, Im going to have to partially disassemble to move out, which is going to be scary and slightly disappointing knowing well have to take it apart AND put it back together. On the bright side, we have 2 more kids who will all get a chance to use the bed when my oldest (4yrs) outgrows it. So it should be worth the price at the end of it all. Key word being should.
Some of the reviews mentioned that there was a surprising amount of storage space in the fort area underneath. I have to respectfully disagree. I like that the drawers eliminate the need for a separate dresser, but I was lead to believe that Id have enough room for his toys to go under here. He has enough room for a few toys while he plays, which I think he likes the play space in which he can keep his baby brother out of.
Would I buy it again? Youd have to ask me in about 10 years or so when all my kids are older. But at this point, Id probably like to have just waited for a house where we can install shelves as needed for storage instead.
Would I recommend? If you have the money, space, time, strength, and energy for it, absolutely go for it. Me, a mother of 2 with a 3rd on the way, who is currently unemployed, probably should have waited for some common sense to kick in before clicking the Buy button.
It really is a lovely bed. I just wish it would have come more assembled or that I could have afforded to have someone put it together for me. Thank God for the UPS guy who helped me get the 3 ginormous boxes inside my front door. I just about crushed myself with the tallest one. And I injured my wrist trying to pick up one of the bed slats/platforms (terminology?).
Pro Tip: Try to get someone to watch your kids while you assemble the thing. Not best.
WARNING: BIG TASK 10+ hour assembly time
I bought this bed for my 4 year old son knowing the reviews said it takes a while to put together. I have most of it done and we did have 2 people working on it. We still have the desk, drawers, and doors to install, but the rest took us 10 hours! Im exhausted and sore all over from all the work. Definitely follow the instructions and do box 1, then 2, then 3. This would be more helpful if they used EVERYTHING in box 1 before moving on to the next box. Box 1 includes the pieces for the drawers which arent needed until the last steps of assembly. Box 2 has the door pieces, also not needed until the end of box 3. Some of the reviews I read mentioned building in place because of how heavy and difficult to move the bed is. They failed to mention that assembling the back of the bed was really hard if the bed is in the location you want it, say up against a wall. Im lucky we had just enough room for me to reach my small arm behind and screw in the back screws. I feel like something this big should come at least partially assembled, especially with the company clearly willing to ship in multiple packages. And since they are willing to ship in multiple packages, they could better wrap and care for the pieces inside. Some of the pieces came chipped, bent, warped, or dented. Thankfully none of the damages have interfered with assembly or the overall integrity of the bed. Another thing is that the instructions have almost no words, and that made some of the steps more difficult than necessary. Some of the illustrations are hard to interpret. Multiple views of some of the steps would have been helpful. Also some parts that require screws didnt have pre/drilled holes, and we had to make holes. This was especially hard for the ladder rungs which were Rock solid and a regular screwdriver was stripping the screws that really needed a more square drill bit. Anyway, so I still have some steps to go, and since we live in an apartment and plan on buying a house in the next year or 2, Im going to have to partially disassemble to move out, which is going to be scary and slightly disappointing knowing well have to take it apart AND put it back together. On the bright side, we have 2 more kids who will all get a chance to use the bed when my oldest (4yrs) outgrows it. So it should be worth the price at the end of it all. Key word being should. Some of the reviews mentioned that there was a surprising amount of storage space in the fort area underneath. I have to respectfully disagree. I like that the drawers eliminate the need for a separate dresser, but I was lead to believe that Id have enough room for his toys to go under here. He has enough room for a few toys while he plays, which I think he likes the play space in which he can keep his baby brother out of. Would I buy it again? Youd have to ask me in about 10 years or so when all my kids are older. But at this point, Id probably like to have just waited for a house where we can install shelves as needed for storage instead. Would I recommend? If you have the money, space, time, strength, and energy for it, absolutely go for it. Me, a mother of 2 with a 3rd on the way, who is currently unemployed, probably should have waited for some common sense to kick in before clicking the Buy button. It really is a lovely bed. I just wish it would have come more assembled or that I could have afforded to have someone put it together for me. Thank God for the UPS guy who helped me get the 3 ginormous boxes inside my front door. I just about crushed myself with the tallest one. And I injured my wrist trying to pick up one of the bed slats/platforms (terminology?). Pro Tip: Try to get someone to watch your kids while you assemble the thing. Not best.