When I took this out of the box, I was really concerned about longevity. The wood is quite thin and I thought there was no way it would last in Colorado weather. I built a small deck to support it, and when everything was attached to the deck and the house, it was surprisingly sturdy. We've had this up for about 2 1/2 months now and so far it has held up to snow, rain, and strong winds with no issues. It looks great and our cats love it.