I like the pergola, but the canopy is hard to open, keep open, and close.  It works well to block the afternoon sun that hits the back of my house.  The rectangle of shade will move as the sun moves throughout the day; most of the time that shade is not directly under the canopy.  I had to rig a cord to control the opening/closing of the canopy. Assembly is not easy with most, but not all parts fitting together accurately.  Anchoring it to the ground is important, but my solution has not been tested with heavy winds yet. Mine is aligned sloping slightly downhill so the canopy seems to drain ok. Using it to block afternoon sun is well worth it and makes my backyard more enjoyable and should help with my a/c bills.  Company needs to design a better way to control canopy and anchor it.