Shine Company 4980N 4 Ft. Cedar Wood Garden Bridge with Side Rails, Natural

Product matched the provided description. This is untreated wood and may require some light sanding before staining or painting. The bridge is not for human foot traffic or a heavy animal. Strictly for decorative purposes.

Nice looking garden bridge. Hopefully the picture of the finished product attests to that :). The instructions are straightforward so I'm surprised by the reviews that found them confusing. The shipment I received was missing a few screws, but when I emailed the email address noted in the instructions, providing them with my proof of purchase, they promptly sent me a full set of screws at no charge :).I didn't use a power drill to screw in the screws, but did drill pilot holes to make turning the screws easier. Like some of the other reviews noted, I glued and used wood filler to seal the gaps where the 2 horizontal pieces of wood attach to the vertical rails. Otherwise, I can see water getting into the wood in those areas and causing wood rot. I had wood rot problems with my previous bridge. In addition to painting the posts, I also applied a couple of coats of a good quality polyurethane on top of all wood surfaces. Hopefully that will also minimize water damage.Only slight minus is that the horizontal pieces of wood in the rails are on the flimsy side. So you will need to keep this bridge away from heavy falling debris. I was able to stand on the bridge, but it doesn't feel as sturdy as my prior bridge. I may end up putting supporting braces underneath as another reviewer had done.

Seems pretty sturdy, but I got it to be decorative rather than functional. If I was going to trust my 200 pounds to it I'd probably add an extra brace underneath. I used Thompsons on it to give it some extra weatherproofing.Assembly tips:Don't try it without a power screwdriver of some kind. They say that's optional, but only if you really love driving scews by hand--over a hundred of them.They tell you to start with the 3 short boards that go between the posts. I disagree. It's better to start with two of the long boards on each side of the center post, and butt them up against the side of the post. Then you can center the short board between them. This gives you an idea of how much spacing to allow between the rest of them. After you do the same thing on the two ends you can adjust the remaining ones between them.

I read the reviews, some people said it was strong, others said they didn't trust to walk on it, so before I put it together, I copied the pattern of the curved (crossbeams?), cut two more from discounted cedar planks and spaced them evenly under mine. My bridge is OVER sturdy! I painted all cross beams, stained everything visible, I even added some brown anti-slip tape because a lot of people walk over it (see link). I love it so much that I'm thinking of making two more from scratch, custom to the size I need. GREAT BRIDGE! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0968BRRWW?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

We have a small drainage ditch big enough you can’t just jump over. I got this because I thought it would make it easier to walk through the back of the house but add a little cute aesthetics too.Assembly took about 30 minutes with a power drill. It was small enough to assemble inside and then carry with my husband outside.Tips; The bridge is a full assembly, and the wood is unfinished. Make sure you have a power drill. You may want to also grab a wood sealer or stain too.It’s sturdy I weigh 256lbs and there’s no creaking or any give when I walk across. Highly recommend if you have a ditch to cover or just a cute addition to your outdoor living space,

I needed a functional footbridge for my dry creek bed but also wanted something attractive. I looked at options ranging up to $1,000 but gambled that I could reinforce this one to make it just as strong as more expensive ones. The gamble paid off and I am very satisfied.The box arrived in good shape with no broken pieces. All parts were present. A few have small cracks but with proper sealing and regular maintenance (like a wood deck) as well as the reinforcing I did I don’t think they will open with time. The quality of the millwork is excellent for the price.If you read other reviews you will wonder if it is sturdy or somewhat weak. I think the truth is somewhere in between. Mine felt fairly sturdy once fully assembled and I did carefully and lightly walk across it to test. Since I needed mine to be functional and crossed regularly I had already decided to reinforce it.Hopefully you can see in the photos how I did it and there is another reviewer's pics that show a great approach. I braced each footboard on the underside of the bridge with 1” x 2” struts cut from pressure treated lumber. They are pegged in from the sides with wood dowels and also screwed to the footboards from underneath. You can also see I added a baseboard at each end of the bridge using 3/4” x 6” pressure treated lumber. Before assembly I stained and sealed every part with Olympic brand Elite Stain Sealant - Cedar Mountain color.All-in it was probably another $100.00 of extra supplies and with the effort I’m confident this garden bridge will hold up to regular crossing of people, lawn more, and weather.Assembly – the instructions are only one page. If you’ve put together a good number of things you should find them fairly easy to follow – but if not take your time and look at other customer photos for better visuals of how it goes together. Without all the extras I did I could have assembled it in 2-3 hours. With all the extras I spent about 12 hours.Last - the lights are NOT included. They also came from Amazon: “Greluna Solar Wall Lights”

It's our pups way to the yard. They love the bridge! It was fairly simple to put together. It should be sealed though

Very cute and easy to assemble but the center post on the outside arch cracked. Tried to get a replacement arch panel from the seller as it was after the return date but they only have replacement hardware, no wood. They said I have to work with Amazon.