when unpackingnmy first thoughts were that the individual pieces were very light and would not be as sturdy as expected. But allong the way when buildong de set you see how the pieces tie into each other and become sturdy als a whole set. all in all its a wonderfull play set takes some time to build on your own but can be faster if you have a few buddies helping you out . My only concerns are how to protect the wood from water damage.