This swing was the best purchase I've made in years.  It is beautiful and incredibly well made.  I absolutely LOVE this bench and would recommend it to anyone.  The assembly is a bit of a struggle - I put it together by myself and it took about 5 hours and a bit of frustration.  A partner for assembly would have been very helpful and would have made the build much easier.  I put two coats of polyurethane on the bench once assembled as it didn't seem to be well protected against the weather.  The polyurethane (semi-gloss) made the bench even more beautiful.