Backyard Discovery Arcadia 14' x 12' Cedar Wood Outdoor Gazebo Pavilion with Hardtop Galvanized Steel Slope Roof, Snow Support, Wind Resistance, PowerPort, Shade for Garden, Patio, Deck, Entertaining

Yes, this is a small novel. But it’s a pretty chunk of change price wise, so didn’t want to leave anything out. Let’s start with context. I was quoted some crazy prices to have one built. Was going to just build one, but I needed the hard parts done for me as we have a busy life and I work two jobs. I scoured the home improvement stores, online, everywhere reading every review, looking at every possible brand known and unknown that had something that ticked all my boxes. Here we are. This thing is beautiful. When I say beautiful, I mean beautiful. The pictures do not do it any justice whatsoever.My reviews: I am an avid Amazon enthusiast because I don't have to put on pants to buy things. I am also professional problem solver who prefers a combo of pre built + DIY to customize everything to my needs. (I am very particular and have high expectations) I am not a fan of lighting my money on fire so when I take the time to write reviews, it is so others do not have to suffer the Amazon russian roulette and detective skills needed to decipher influencer bs reviews and fake reviews.Shipping/PackagingArrived on time in 3 boxes (2 for wood/parts and 1 for roof pieces) that were not as heavy as I thought they were going to be but were still pretty heavy so I let my husband and sons do the heavy lifting. Was very packaged for shipping and parts were organized & clearly labeled. Which I appreciate more than words can express.Build/AssemblyThis uses the Bilt app, which I wish more items like this leveraged this game changing app. Did not know it existed… Step by step interactive guide made a world of difference. Of course there are paper instructions, a nice thick booklet that are actually pretty well written. We set a small foldable table next the build area to lay out all the bits and bobs like screws and such. Once we did this and my husband seen how easy this was going to be, he jumped right in. Mind you, I was going to build this with his help for the heavy stuff because it takes him forever to do things (no offense to him, I have ADD and always have a new project he has to help with because he is tall lol) But he was sold on assembly. #winningMaterials are solid, everything lined up (I was shocked honestly). It took 2 days with about 6 hours each and a 3rd day of about 1:30/2 hours for the bulk of the roof. My husband did 90% of this himself with me waiting not so patiently outside in case he needed an extra hand. the other 10% he needed 1 extra hand which ended up being my 22 year old daughter because she is small & nimble on the ladder attaching the corners while he held the big posts. There was one time he needed my oldest son and my daughter and that was when he was bringing up all three sides at once. Admittedly he did not have two, he could have done it in stages but he did not want to.Overall Thoughts/End ResultThis took my husband less time to build then it did a small coffee table I got awhile back it seems lol. Ok, I admit I am being dramatic. It didn't take him that long to build the coffee table. Honestly, I was dreading building it because I knew he was going to complain about confusing instructions and holes that don’t line up the whole time.Side note: As you may have noticed in the pictures, we did not anchor it. It’s not moving on its own, and we don’t have like snow storms or anything. Though we did have a huge wind/dust storm and this thing didn’t even move in the slightest. I live in Arizona so if it can survive our surface of the sun car moving wind storms, unless you are in tornado land, you prob will not need to anchor it. Instructions recommend it, but I didn’t want to mess up our travertine or fake grass that cost me more than my mortgage.I will be building my own kitchen on one side, seating on the other, attaching speakers and doing a 3 ft wall around the bottom of all sides but front. Then I will add pull down thick shades to fully enclose it when not in use because AZ dust storms destroy everything.With all this said, do not let anything stop you from buying this or really anything from BD other than which one suits your needs. Also WHERE HAS THIS VENDOR/MAKER BEEN MY WHOLE DIY LIFE?? I would and will buy again. I am already looking at buying a small version of this to put next to my DIY workshop shed to cover the kids bikes/scooters.Money well spent, pleasant experience all the way around and in love with the end result. Happy wife.

This is an awesome product, extremely well-built of solid cedar. It's beautiful and exceeded all expectations--look, feel, sturdiness. My picture show a somewhat custom installation. We wanted access from the door in the picture to the grill area, so we installed one of the side rails at a 90 degree angle. (It normally would be straight edge, like the rail on the right side.). There were no cracks or defects in any of the cedar wood pieces nor in the black matte connections/screws/parts/etc. Gorgeous. Full roof is angled to allow snow/rain to run off (hint: make sure you know where it runs to, because we get a lot of rain, and you don't want it ending up under your pergola). Now let's talk installation. I hired my handyman to assemble and install. It took him 4 days. This is not an easy project. There are literally hundreds of parts (nuts, bolts, wood, sides, rails, bars, etc. I don't think it can be done by just by anyone. But if you're a confident DIYer, and experienced, go for it, but prepared. You still may need assistance. Another hint: the big metal pieces for the roof and side bars come with plastic coverings. If you try to just unpeel the plastic, you will be at it for days. Put these pieces in the sun for about an hour. The plastic will heat up, and then you can pull it off easily from the metal. We learned this hard way after a few hours trying. (Kudos to me for getting the idea--my handyman was close to throwing the metal over the back fence in frustration.) At the end, you will end up with a beautiful pergola, perfect fit for our Weber Genesis grille. Did I forget to mention the electrical panel? We mounted it to one of the poles. It has multiple outlets for your BBQ, a phone charger, lights (not included)--even has a little tray to hold a phone while it is charging. This is a clever, well constructed product--not some cheap imported knock-off. It is certain to last for many, many years, and give us years of pleasure. Final note: we added 2 coats of stain to the cedar. It really made the wood pop. And protects it from sun and elements. Enjoy! Remember what you will have once it is done, as you are assembling. And remember this isn't something that you put together in an afternoon, or even a day. To Saxony, I can only say, "Well done dudes." You got this right.

Excellent design, pretty easy to install, heavy and sturdy. It took 2 of us to put it together in 9 hours, and a 3rd helper to lift and install the roof. No leaks, great shade, no missing parts.

Took 2 days to put together but I absolutely love this gazebo

Nice quality with cedar and metal roof.Perfect fit and look in the space I have for my barbeque to cook in all seasons.Easy to assemble.

I was very surprised to see extremely good quality in this product. It is very heavy and will definitely be wind resistant for us. The virtual set up of someone talking and showing how to put it together made all the difference than using a booklet.

This pergola/gazebo took nearly 2 days to assemble. The plans are clear and need to be followed carefully page by page. Clearing the pre-drilled post holes of sawdust is very important. All the holes lined up perfectly. Preferably 3 people would be needed at certain stages during assembly. The end result is a very sturdy structure, pleasing to the eye and will enhance the value of my property. Though more expensive than a soft top gazebo, it is money well spent as soft tops do not last more than 3 yrs in my experience. Hail will wreck them instantly. I recommend this product.

We are so impressed with this item. It’s heavy, but relatively easy to assemble mostly because the instructions are so well written. The customer service has been absolutely brilliant as well, I’d recommend this company to anyone. Getting the roof on was a challenge, you’ll need at least three people but once it’s on, it’s incredibly solid