I was skeptical of the quality when I purchased the unit...but it ended up being about what I expected.

The directions are the best, and I would not recommend using power tools as the hardware is pretty soft metal and the screws tend to strip.

While it's possible to put it together by yourself, it takes exponentially longer.  It took me close to 2.5 hours to do it by myself and I am fairly handy.  I did have to purchase a right angle adapter for my drill for attaching the top piece of laminate to the metal railings.  I would suggest you get one of these or a flexible adapter...otherwise you will have issues with that piece of the installation