vita Carolina 57 inchW x 88 inchH Composite Vinyl Arbor

Nice wood-grain finish. It took about four hours to unpack and assemble by myself (53-year-old female), but this does not include time needed to install in-ground. I highly recommend using a cordless screwdriver to assemble. A cordless drill with a 1/16" or 1/8" drill bit comes in handy as not all holes are pre-drilled due to the flexibility of the distance between the two side rails. I chose to make my arbor with a maximum width of 50". All screws are "self-auguring," which is nice, so you can get away without a cordless drill if you don't have one.TIP #1: The directions say you need a hammer, but I would suggest a rubber mallet instead. (You really don't want to use a hammer directly on these PVC pieces).TIP #2: In Step One - Assemble the Side Panels, #2 says to "slide side panel into place as shown." This is where you need to position each of the rails into the side post and you will notice that there are raised "tabs" on each of these rails. You will want to use the mallet here to make sure each of the rails are firmly connected to the side post (tabs are locked in and are no longer visible). Repeat this with other side post once all of the rails are positioned. (They don't mention the tabs in the instructions). Incidentally, if the first side post was marked "L" (left), you need to use an "R" (right) as your second post. Common sense, maybe, but I wasn't sure if you use two L pieces for the left side of the arbor and two R pieces for the right side of the arbor. Turns out, you don't. For each side of the arbor, you use one L and one R piece.TIP #3: In Step One - Assemble the Side Panels, #4 says to secure the bottom and top rails with 3" screws provided. Before securing with the 3" screws, be sure everything is perfectly square/level because the structure is a bit wobbly at this stage.TIP #4: Use the PVC glue somewhat sparingly as there is "just enough" to glue the last pieces into position.NOTE: The ground stakes are not as depicted in the instructions, but may actually be better (they are bigger overall). We have not installed this in the ground yet, but I believe we will be installing it using the Optional method below:The Optional method states: "If you plan on attaching a fence or bench to the arbor or, in the event of extreme wind conditions, we would not recommend using the ground anchors provided. Consider purchasing pressure treated 2"x4"s and trimming it down to 3 1/4" wide and cutting it into 36" lengths. Insert into the bottom of all four posts until they hit the bottom horizontal rail on the side panel. Fasten accordingly with screws and install either directly into the ground or into a concrete footing."We plan to grow Clematis on both sides of this arbor. While it is a pretty stable arbor (and should be more so once we install it as mentioned above), I have been told by experienced friends and neighbors that both grape vines and/or Wisteria can be very heavy and may need additional support if you choose to grow them.

We wanted an arbor to frame our fountain and match the color of our deck and support some vines. To save money we looked at several vinyl arbors instead of wood; while most looked flimsy (and were considered so by several reviewers), this one looked more sturdy so we decided to take a chance, thinking we could return it if it didn't look solid. We also had concern that it was lighter in color than our deck, but again we thought we would check it out first.We were pleasantly surprised on all counts. Assembly was quite easy with a little patience and occasional help. Had to drill a few pilot holes that were missing, and had to use some of my own cement when the tube that was supplied ran out. The pre-drilled holes on the top beams are set for exactly 50" inside width, and we wanted to reduce that slightly so had to drill new pilot holes and adjust the spacing of the end filters.We wanted to mount the arbor with the front legs on the deck and the back legs on the ground, about 12" lower. In order to do this, we turned the two lattice end frames upside down, since the longer legs that were on the top would reach the ground. Then we cut the front legs about 6" so they would rest on the deck, drove a pressure-treated 2x4 into the ground at each back leg and slipped the back legs over them until the front legs rested on the deck. We then screwed the back legs to the 2x4s and screwed an L bracket to each front leg (with a wood insert inside the leg) and to the deck. The result was a solid base, and while the arbor itself flexes slightly if pushed against, I'm sure it will withstand any winds. We also transplanted a vine on each end and weaved it into the lattice. The final result was very attractive, and the arbor color is close enough to the deck color that it is not noticeable.

For the price (and I shopped a lot), it's probably as good as you're going to get. I priced out very attractive solid resin arbors at over $1,000. Since I am retro-fitting to accommodate existing bougainvillea that were planted alongside a metal arbor that rusted (and which include rebar cemented into the ground), I'm glad I got the lighter hollow product to slip over the rebar. You've got leeway to drill the sides to fit different widths. Instructions are little iffy in places, but overall pretty good. We'll see if it stands the test of time.

We love our arbor/trellis and are going to buy a second one to place on the opposite side of our patio. It was time consuming but not difficult to put it together, the two of us. It would be more challenging without two people working together. The instructions are clear and concise. We are very happy with the finished product. The boxes at the bottom in the photo were built and attached by my husband because we had no way to secure the arbor into the ground. We also added the leg extenders which raised the height a few inches. We are pleased that we will not have to stain a wooden arbor and believe that this will hold up much better over time. The cost was reasonable. We love the look of the new arbor and have planted purple clematis in the planter boxes.