The instructions say about 4 hours to assemble but adds "for 2 people". If you tackle this alone, like I did, just be patient. Take your time and don't tighten a group down until all the screws are in. Follow the directions and everything lined up straight and tight. You'll see that mine benches are reversed of the stock photo. You can assemble the benches to either side but the directions are only for the stock configuration. I swapped them (instructions tell you how).