Bed was not too hard to put together. There were a few cracks and cosmetic damage areas on some of the pieces but that is to be expected with such a large and very heavy piece of furniture you have to assemble yourself. Biggest issue I ran into when assembling was the rungs on the ladder. They do not have pre-drilled holes. If you follow the instructions you are not supposed to use a drill to assemble and even with the wood screws it was almost impossible to get the screws into the rungs. I ended up using a drill bit to get the holes started. Other than a few assembly issues and cosmetic damage I am very pleased with the bed and the sturdiness of the bed.