Backyard Discovery Stratford 16' x 12' Traditional Galvanized Steel Pergola Kit with Shade Sail Canopy, Powder-Coated Finish, All-Season Durability, High-Wind Rating for Outdoor Patio, Deck, Garden

Great quality

Great product, arrived in great condition with no scratches or defects of any kind. The paint on the black version has a slightly "dusty" shade of black to it, so don't expect something like a pure, jet black.*Comprehending* the instructions was incredibly easy; assembly, especially during the initial phases, was a little more cumbersome, so just be sure to give yourself a full day to assemble this because there are seemingly thousands of fasteners. Also make sure to have 2-3 people helping during the initial hoisting phases (especially for connecting the longer crossbeams to the upright posts). Again, the actual steps were incredibly easy to follow, just a tad unwieldy if you try to do it all by yourself.We do notice there is a *very slight* sag to the longer crossbeams on the finished unit, even when installed and fastened correctly, and looking at pictures of other 16x12 Backyard Discovery pergolas in the reviews here it appears we're not alone in that. Not a huge or immediately noticeable issue, just something to be aware of for these bigger, 16x12 versions.The cover is a great feature, although I found in any kind of stiff wind you need to buckle AND knot the nylon straps, otherwise the slack will eventually pull out of the clamp threading entirely.The power strip is very well done, especially with the spring-loaded cover (it closes on its own) to keep out any rain. If you don't want to see any extension cords leading to the power strip, you can also fit 3/4" conduit up through the gap in the footer base plate (obviously this will have to go through the ground/foundation surface first) and fish a power line up the post, then out the side of the post to meet your power strip if you use a metal hole punch drill bit.For fastening into concrete I would recommend buying separate Redhead concrete wedge anchors as the ones provided in the packaging seemed a little on the small side. BE PREPARED TO SHIM SOME OF YOUR FOOTERS if your foundation surface isn't completely level. Due to the pitch of our patio, we had an almost 3" drop from side to side so this was necessary for us so we didn't have too extreme of a slant.All in all well worth the money -- we get compliments on it all the time, and once properly fastened into slab concrete it is incredibly sturdy.

Read all directions first. Open all your boxes and lay out your pieces. This is a two or three person job. Additionally, prepping you hardware. Screws, washers, 210+ etc will help when you start building. Expect 5+ hours. Very durable, top shade fabric dosent attach tightly, we added awning tie down straps for securing shade cover.

Bought this several years ago. Has held up through long montana blizzards, massive snow loads, wind, hail, heat and looks just as great as the day we bought it. It does take several people to put together but I haven’t had to do anything since. I purchased this because my house did not have any large shade trees and the yard was scorching for me and the kids. So we planted some trees and bought the pergola in the meantime. I am so satisfied and happy with this purchase. My husband and I built every inch of it together and I love it.

Very nice quality pergola, well worth the money. It is very well made and sturdy and I’m sure it will withstand 100 mile an hour winds, but the soft shade cover will come off when you reach 30 mile an hour winds. At least the straps pulled out of the buckles rather than tearing, but be prepared to take it the cover down when it is windy. We went to the hardware store and purchased proper anchor bolts to fasten the bottom of the posts to concrete rather than using the small bolts that came with it for that. As advertised, it did take two people almost 10 hours to assemble, but quite a bit of that time was spent identifying and organizing the parts before beginning. Love it and recommend it to others looking for one, but wish I didn’t have to mess with putting the cover on and off — maybe a shade cloth with more open weave would stay on better?

5 hours 1 guy . added curtains and lights

This thing is awesome. It came in 4 big boxes that my wife and could muscle to the patio. We started putting together at 10am, by organizing all the various parts and pieces. We were done by 3pm with an hour lunch break. Video and directions made it very easy to put together.We live in Florida and 2 weeks and building and anchoring to the patio we got hit by part of a hurricane. The pergola didn’t move.Highly recommend.

When you receive the four boxes, unpack all 4 and lay out the parts by type. Each part is in a plastic sleeve and is associated with a letter. Keep the sleeve on until you are ready to assemble it. The instructions and fasteners are all in “box 4” so be sure to unpack everything before starting. I also recommend using the “BILT” app which gives you very easy to use 3D instructions. You can manipulate the drawing like using CAD software and validate each part and fastener. This can be done on a phone or tablet, but tablet is easier.Assembly is straight forward and I did most of it myself. When putting the frame up, I would suggest having 3 people to help support it. That portion only takes 20 - 30 minutes. There is also a lot of repeat assembly so I would recommend putting all the fasteners in bins so you can quickly grab and assemble. Have a good drill with torque settings, this will help you snug parts together before tightening. Because this product is metal, all the holes will line up very well and you won’t waste a lot of time getting things to fit. I only had one hole not tapped correctly, so if you have an M6 tap laying around, that can also help. All bolts are M6 x 3 different lengths. They will provide 2 wrenches and 2 bits to use with your drill.Total assembly was about 12 hours total of labor, but could be done in 6 if you have 2 people from the start