This is a very sturdy bunk bed. I have a couple Full over Queens I bought previously that are far less sturdy than this model. It's a real undertaking putting it together. Seriously, DO NOT tighten screws till the end. You will end up going back and un-tightening to get everything to fit together. With that said, there are two screws for the ladder that will get covered up with the bed slats so tighten those up good. First one took a few hours to get together but the second one was much faster. It does help to have two people for the first few steps.