It was very easy to put together. I only needed my boyfriend's help to hold one of the loger sides up while I attached the other end. The rest was done by me. I didn't keep track of how long it took. It's a little wobbly under all my weight but I am above the weight capacity with the mattress which is a regular twin size, very thick. I thought the capacity was the same as others I looked at which were 250 but this one is only 200. The shelves are really nice, seems like plastic instead of that pressed sawdust garbage.