This is a very sturdy bench. It is difficult to put together for one person, just because you have to hold up some pieces at the same time to get it to fit properly. If I had had a helper, though, it would have been easy. I hesitated a lot in purchasing this because the description said it was distressed and other reviewers mentioned a red tint underneath the distressed areas, but it is very minimal in person. You would have to be looking for the distressed part to see it. The only con is that the bench seat seems to scratch easily. Definitely a solid buy overall.