I highly recommend watching the YouTube video for assembly. Be prepared to make some mistakes when positioning of parts are unclear in instructions. Bed frame will lower without mattress on top with enough pressure. It took me 2.5-3 hours to assemble by myself, mostly because of a couple mistakes I made and having to reassemble parts. Parts are clearly labeled, though the screws could be packaged differently to avoid accidentally removing the label (came shipped in a paper and plastic container, similar to batteries, where ripping open the paper results in tearing off the labels for the screws). 

Love the height of the platform base because the ceilings are sloped from the roof, so this was perfect for what I needed.