We've just had it a few days, so still not sure how it will do in weather...but overall been really enjoying the shade, mosquito netting, and even privacy curtains. I have it on our deck and I can get power into it and plan to get lights, project movies onto privacy curtains, etc.
Assembly was mostly straight-forward, but I will say there are no written word instructions, just pictures, so I will say there were parts we got confused and did something the wrong way and needed to restart a step. That was frustrating.
The hardest part I found was getting the panels in tight.
The anchors have made it definitely feel stable and I hope it continues to.
But for something not too expensive, it feels we were able to add an extra sunroom again at a low cost that I was able to do myself.
Let me start by saying this is extreme value for the money. Any negatives I list here should not detract from the excellent value. All negatives are just suggestions and buyer awareness.
1) You definitely need to mount this in concrete and the anchors provided were very hard to work with. You'll need a mallet hammer to get them into concrete. I used alt mounts, the drill kind. Either way. Pour a little concrete (wet) or anchor resin into the hole and verify you have both a concrete drill bit and hammer drill. This one part or the build took the most time. Get your mountings right. Also, you only get 1 shot to drill concrete. Aecojoy needs to do a better job of giving dimensions and more importantly, distances from structures.
2) Before buying, I asked the chat help if the hardware to mount to the house was included. They said it was. It is not in the instructions and it is not included. If you are using it to mount to a house like I did, you need a plan here.
3) The instructions do not include that once built, you will need 1.5-2 inches gap between the 8 foot tall section and the house in order to install screws on the top side. If installing not near your house, this is no concern but just realize that if up against a structure, a gap must exist to get the screws in on the tall side.
4) It is not "water proof" it is water resistant, meaning some water will leak in between the polycarbonate and the support rails, then drip down inside the structure. Its only a little but still, its not an easy fix with waterproof tape from the polycarbonate to the rails or silicone, which I've done (you'll just never be able to take it down after :) ).
5) Shipping was incredibly fast. Great job here Aecojoy. I received it in 3 business days which is crazy fast.
6) Be meticulous in mounting your poles for which direction they are points. They need to be 137 cm apart (hole to hole) on the same plane, up down, horizontal and vertical. If not, the support arms will pinch and putting in the panels will be a chore and they won't be even.
All the above aside, I'm really happy with it and how it turned out.
The attached pictures show some flashing I used to redirect water off the house and onto the roof.
There is also a photo where I pulled out the wind/privacy ground awning screen. Search on the site for "AECOJOY Retractable Side Awning, Double Side Awning, Waterproof Folding Outdoor Privacy Screen" to see this product. This was a phenomenal value and provides us a visual barrier to being blinded by the setting sun and stops the dog door from being blown open in storms.
Assembly is no joke. I'm extremely handy with lots of tools and experience. Assembling this is not a one-man job. You definitely want at least two adults if not three occasionally to complete the assembly. But the instructions are decent and if you follow them and have some common sense you can do this. It was more like 5 to 7 hours total time to assemble and install. But that was going slow and methodical. Nearly every screw hole lined up perfectly. Which is impressive considering the cost of this piece. Overall I would give this five out of five stars for value. You can't touch this kind of quality and appearance for this price. Once installed it's shockingly solid feeling. I expected something much more flimsy, but it is not at all. Immediately enhanced my backyard. Would do again 10 out of 10 times
It's easy to install but read the manual user guide would be importance before starts. Make sure all the metals for framing must be proper aligned otherwise it could be a problem.
Love this so much! Did take several hours to put together. With two people we got it done in about 3-5 hours it just takes a lot of time screwing all the pieces together. It was definitely worth the money and sturdy. Next year i would like to order another set as our porch is pretty big. It is great with lots of seating for everyone. We have only had it up for 3 weeks so far so good and very happy with it!
The instructions were clear, and all the tools came in the box. I connected the hoses, tightened a few bolts, and it was ready to go. No plumber needed—even someone with basic DIY skills can do it.
