Overall, very happy with this 4-seat porch swing. It was the perfect fit to replace the old individual swings on the kids' swingset.
Easy assembly - back / bottom come preassembled, just attach the two parts together with the supplied bolts/washers/nuts, add the arm supports and then the arms. Simple with 2 people, doable by a single person. Will need a square bit driver for the screws that attach the arms to the upright supports. Highly recommend a drill or equivalent with the square bit (not included) for attaching these screws - could be done with a square bit screwdriver, if needed though. Only wish they pre-drilled pilot holes in the top of arm supports to make things a bit easier - the holes are already there in the arms. For all the carriage bolts/nuts, you'll need a deep 1/2" socket or a box wrench.
Chains were a good length - even had a bit extra leftover when hanging from a 9' high crossbeam. The quick links provided to connect the chains to the top attachment points seem a bit thin compared to the chain but had a 660lb rating for each and should be able to handle the rated 800lb capacity of the swing bench. However, the screw-in eye bolts provided would leave me a bit concerned having that full load hanging it from it. My crossbeam already had 1/2"x 8" through-bolts in place @ 8ft apart so I opted to just reuse those.
A tip for those that want to recline a bit, the two chains that attach on each side are the same length for front/back. We found the bench to be more comfortable if we attached the front chains on each side at the 3rd link from the end to the bolts on the sides. Provided just the right amount of recline when sitting - using the end link felt more like sitting in a dining room chair.
We had a few minor imperfections in the slats on the seat and back - looked like damage from something that was poked into the box the swing shipped in, not from manufacturing. I opted to use some 400grit sandpaper to smooth those out and also take off a few random rough edges. Overall, the wood and woodworking were good quality. We chose to keep ours unfinished and let it weather to a nice gray over time.
We could comfortably seat 4 people on the swing. The seat portion does have some flex to it when putting a 220lb person directly in the middle. But even with 600+ lbs on it, the amount of flex wasn't concerning. Short of redesigning the bottom framing with a more substantial single full-width piece, I'm not sure how this could be addressed for a bench that is 7' wide and only hanging from the outside edges.. Sj. TX. Sun May 08 2022
