I think you get what you pay for with this one. I do wish the boards where thicker and didn't have any splits at all, these are minor splits but just annoying knowing its not great pieces of lumber. After assembly which took 14 hours with 3 people, I had so many extra hardware from screws to bold and nuts. I know I assembled it exactly as it should, I guess I have hardware if I need them down the road. I don't like the slide its all pretty thin plastic in my opinion. Be ready to seal it again with a good sealer because after having it for a week I'm noticing the color is fading.   My shipment process was excellent.