Hi and I'm happy with the pergola. All came out well, I had my son in law and a friend put it together, definitely one needs two persons to do it. I'm in South Florida, where hurricanes are a normal and though we have not been hit by a biggie in a few years, every year we do get one, so we drilled down some sort of anchors and if it comes, we will tighten the poles and some of the cross-bars with adjustable wraps. Finally I will try to paint it with wood protection, Winmax I think it's called, every year. Ah, I'm also going to have a manually retractable Canvas roof built because the sun is burning hence difficult to enjoy in the afternoons. I'm happy and the Pergola is on top of a cement slab in my backyard, not on grass. I recommend it!