I was able to put this together in less than 10 minutes, and so far it's working very well for me. I did need quite a bit of strength to make sure all the pieces were completely in their holes, so it might be hard for some people to actually get it firmly put together. I'm using it for a drying rack, so I can't speak to how well it works if you load it down with clothes. The base does seem a little on the light side, so I wouldn't use this to hold hundreds of pounds of clothes. But I think if you make sure not to jam it full of clothes, adjust the height depending upon the weight, make sure both sides are evenly weighted, etc. it is a great rack.