We are happy with the bench. Its very sturdy. We followed the instructions for assembly from a previous customer about attaching one arm to the base and the back first then attach to the other arm. It worked perfectly. That was a great tip. What's not so great is that with several of the seat slats, the screws, put in from underneath have a sharp tip and came right through the top side. We did not notice until we had removed the plastic film that covered every slat. It means a little more work for us, removing, possibly replacing, or smoothing the tips, so no one gets poked or their clothing gets torn. Otherwise, so far so good.