These took me about an hour and a half to put together, and I needed a second person to hold the lower shelf as I secured it, but I LOVE these tables. They are very heavy real wood pieces- not the cheap fake kind. I feel like they will last a while, and I hope the paint does last.The instructions consist of a diagram, but it was clear, and I had no issues with it. The only problem I ran into was that I accidentally screwed in one of the bottom shelves upside down and had to redo it, but that was my carelessness. (So be careful out there)! This does require a hammer and screwdriver (or drill), and there is wood glue included for the pegs.