it took ~ 2 hours for my son and I to put this together, but it wasn't too difficult, just time-consuming. I would suggest getting a hex wrench attachment for a power drill to make life easier...My fingers were bruised and bleeding after a few minutes of using the little wrench that was included; fortunately, a bit in my toolbox that worked perfectly. The mattress isn't the softest, but this works great in the game room. I am having an issue with keeping the mattress hinged in the setting position, it keeps wanting to flatten out, so we are constantly adjusting it. I assume this will break-in over time.