There is no way to stack the sides, so I ended up putting it together at it's shortest height and now I have so many extra parts. I probably didn't really need it to be the height that I intended when I ordered it, but that was certainly a disappointment. No instructions are included but it's totally obvious how to assemble it. I like the flexibility to assemble it how you'd like; I did one set of boxes in a U-shape. The wood is treated well, no wear is showing yet after a full summer of use.