4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Easy Assembly, Very Sturdy Four months later, the first raised bed is showing signs of splitting along the top rail of one end and its adjoining end cap. We don’t know if ground settling is causing this, or if the wood was too immature when it was harvested.The liners are disintegrating, literally breaking apart in the sunshine. Plan on an alternate means of keeping the soil in the beds would be prudent. Next year, we’re thinking of plain old “get at WalMart” garden cloth, or seeing about getting the kind of cloth GrowBags are made from.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is the second post regarding this product’ the first one is listed below. We bought an additional two units, and the mortises (the parts where there is a slit cut so that the panels can be inserted) were “blown out” instead of ending at the point where they were supposed to. With an extra-heavy application of wood glue and additional long wood screws, we were able to put this together. Be prepared to need to adjust how the assembly goes, and to anticipate needing additional screws and heavy duty wood glue, and have them on hand and ready to go.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It’s a rainy day out, so hubby decided to assemble this in the sunroom. He laid everything out according to the directions and made certain all the pieces parts were there. The directions were clearly written and easy to follow. It took about half an hour for him to assemble the basic pieces, and he only needed about 15 minutes of my assistance to slide the bottom panels in and fasten the last end assembly. There were more fasteners than were needed to complete the project, a pleasant surprise. The liner looks adequate for the planter depth; we will need to get some staples to fasten it to the sides and ends. It could have been a bit deeper, but liner material is inexpensive enough should we decide to purchase more.As suggested in several videos we watched, he used some TiteBond Wood Glue on the legs, end caps, and mortise & tenon joinery, leaving the bottom panels with the drainage holes to float freely. Tomorrow we are going to use some Thompson’s Water Seal to make sure that this investment lasts several years. At only 28 pounds, this is light enough for me to move into the position we want. Once placed on the brick pavers we bought, and after filling the bed with dirt, this bad girl isn’t going anywhere. It is solid, sturdy, and doesn’t move when “jiggled”.OK, here’s the bad part: we have to wait until payday to get several more of these raised beds. It is a well-made product, and a good bargain. Yes, we did add about $30 to the project (glue, brick pavers, and water seal, which will be more than adequate for the next few beds we buy), but that’s nothing compared to the length of time we expect to get out of this garden bed. 60 people found this helpful
