I really like the quality of this Murphy bed. As I was working on the cabinet in my front yard ( my driveway is not level, and my garage if full from a recent move) Many neighbors stopped by to see what I was up to.I was surprised by how many people want a murphy bed. I got a lot of questions about,"how easy is it". I replied, well easy is in the name. I do think this is a level 3 or 4 (on a scale of 5, with 1 being easiest) DIY project, if you are cutting boards yourself.And it is a level 2 or 3 project if you have the boards cut. So obviously the board cutting is the hardest part. The rest is fairly well spelled out in the 3 instructional booklets.Big sheets of plywood are not easily cut. If you are cutting sheets of plywood yourself, I suggest not using a table saw unless you are specifically set up for cutting large sheets. I built this first one cutting on my table saw.We will probably build two more. I'll be using a 4x8 table and a 2x4 metal wall stud clamped to my cutting material for a straight edge, next time (also, I will use my circular saw, so no need to run out and buy a table saw for this project, I know guys you are disappointed, but trust me you will thank me later). I think you can get a far straighter cut more accurately, and most importantly, more safely. Nothing about power saws is altogether safe, but more safely is fair.I found the assembly and construction stages to be relatively straight forward. The directions were good, and I did not have any back tracking. Nothing is more frustrating than building and assembly, only to find you have to take stuff apart. One key to my success here was measuring 3 times reading steps two times, and cutting or drilling once.Some of my cuts ended up a 16th or so, too small. I was worried, but the fit and finish were still great. I did find out my miter saw must have gotten bumped around in my move, because some of my mattress support cross members did not get a square cut. I have had that saw 10 years, and it always checked out square, so I got lazy and did not check it this time. Luckily, the cross members are completely hidden, and the nature of the design compensated for my out of square end cuts.The bed portion came out perfectly square, and this was evidenced by the 4 sheets of plywood fitting perfectly like a glove. Still I would suggest you put a square to your blades prior to cutting.I also suggest, if you have access to a lumber yard that can do "ACCURATE" cutting to spec, then take them up on it. ACCURATE is very important here. But I had 3 hours of cutting, using my table saw. I think a 4x8 work table and circular saw and stud with clamps could reduce that time by at least an hour. I am 6 feet tall, 215 lbs and strong. But man handling 3/4 sheets of 4x8 plywood is all I wanted. The process was exhausting and difficult. Please don't do it this way, unless your table saw is set up for cutting large dimension lumber. It will need table extensions and rollers and such. I did use rollers, but still challenging.Once the boards were cut, the rest of the process went as I expected. As I said, the directions are good. Watching the video helped a lot. I watched the video as a rest after cutting. Then it was a few days before I could get back to the project so I watched it again to get clarity. Watching the video gave me some reference for why things were done a certain way. It also gave me better perspective on what the manufacturer wanted me to do in certain situations. So I highly encourage you to watch the video at least once. The video comes in your package with the 3 construction manuals. Don't get over whelmed by the number of steps. This manufacturer is very thorough. When you are completed you will be grateful for this detailed manual.I skipped the edge banding step. I intend to face frame everything when the rest of the library shelves are finished so everything matches and ties together, So my photos and video will not have the edge banding.On the next projects I intend to use pocket screws in as many spots as I can. I am going to go back and mark my manual with locations I think would best use pocket screws. I'll update my review with that info, and tell you the number and size pocket screws needed incase you want to bust out your Kreg jig and do the same. I think it is important to note here, pocket screws should only be used on plywood and or solid wood joints. Not on particle wood. If you are going that route, conventional screws through the face of the material may be best. Pocket screws work well because they apply an immense amount of clamping force to the joint, so the glue sets in a very tight joint. Particle wood would not allow that type of force before the wood could give way, and the joint may fail.Don't use pocket screws if you intend to build with particle board.The beds initial quality may be fine, but pocket screws will fail in particle board, with the stress this product will be subjected to.For note, I estimate the bed portion of this project weighs well over 100 lbs. It has nearly 4 sheets of plywood in it. 2 are 3/4 thick and some are 1/4 thick. So watch the speed in my video, of how quickly an unloaded bed rises. I was amazed by how fast it was. It also punctuated the forces and stresses this product is under. Further demonstrating the quality of the hardware. (after adding a face frame and mattress, the bed requires a small amount of assistance to raise, but any person could do it with one hand. Once you reach 75% closed, it will close its self easily, and somewhat abruptly.I also think you could DIY a murphy bed easier and cheaper with stuff from a home store. But this kit wont cost a lot more in the scale of the project. You could maybe do a DIY bed with your own design and part sourcing for $200 to $250 (but it likely will not have the professional finish you will get with this kit). I have about $600 in this one. While that sounds like a big difference, remember these beds sell for $2000 to $3000 in stores. Those store bought beds may not have the lifetime build quality. I personally think my bed is shaping up to be very nice quality. I think it is something my family will be using for the next 20 years. You just don't find furniture like that any more. And certainly not for $600. I also think you could build this kit for less money (cheaper grades of lumber, and cheaper screws and things like that). But I wanted to use only the best materials. Remember the note about no voids in the ply wood. That is a big deal to me, and to the life of a piece of furniture. It also can add 30 to 50 % to the cost of a sheet of plywood.I have said quite a lot here. I am probably in jeopardy of not getting many helpful votes, because people don't want to read this far. Sorry for the length. I really enjoyed doing this project. I really like the product, so I have strong ideas about it. I wanted to get as many in, as I could remember at the time of writing . I will update this as other thoughts come to me.If you have ever built any sort of furniture, you can easily do this project.If you have a strong DIY, no fear attitude, you can do this project.All the information is provided to get the job done. Experience will only make it easier. But easy is not part of the DIYers vocabulary. DIYers prefer challenges.I wont say this is the best kit on the market. I have not tried any other kits. This kit has a very competitive price point, it has fantastic instructions, and a helpful video. The quality of materials provided is excellent, and it will add to a quality built final product.So is this the best kit for you?I have no idea.But I am very happy with the final product. I will not shop around for my next kit. I'll just buy more from easy DIY murphy beds. I paid full retail price for this kit. I did buy it on eBay, because I had some eBay points, and they were offering a 10X points deal so I could earn more points. But the prices are relatively the same, and Amazon's shipping is far better.I bought this bed at full price, with my own funds. I was not contacted by the seller. I was not provided any incentive for my original review. My thoughts are based on my own experience with this product and its construction.[...] It is what keeps me motivated spending my time to write reviews. If you don't find it helpful, submit a comment on how I can do a better job. My reviews don't get any better if you don't tell me what I am doing wrong.Also I know you are going to ask, so the flooring is Style Selections from Lowes. It is the Kaden, which is a reclaimed barn wood look ceramic tile. If I were to write a review on it, it would be a love hate review.I love it now, but I hated putting it in. The reason I did not make the flooring go all the way to the walls on two walls, is there will be library shelves there. So I saw no need in putting somewhat expensive tile under shelves that will be permanent. Our builder did the same in our kitchen, as do most builders. Also it saved me about 60 cuts, as I used up scrap tiles to finish each row. Less waste is a money/time saver.Update:10-15-16I used Minwax gel stain (coffee color). I think the end results are fairly nice looking. I probably would not use gel stain again. It is fairly labor intensive to get a somewhat even finish. As you can see the finish is not perfect. But fortunately when the shelves go in, a lot of that will not be noticeable. The clear coat is Zinsser sealcoat, which is basically a 2 lb cut of dewaxed shellac. Why shellac? Well I do not have any moisture concerns in a library/guest bedroom. Shellac is one of the easiest clears to apply, and virtually no VOC's after the alcohol off gasses, (in about 1 to 3 hours). Shellac will seal in all the VOC, and odors from the stain. Shellac is easy to repair, and it is fairly in expensive. Bad side to shellac, it needs 4 coats. That means brushing down the entire project. The nice thing is you can pretty much do two coats back to back, and then let is sit 48 hours before a sanding coat. do 2 more coats back to back (20 minutes to 1 hour apart) then 48 hours later a 0000 steel wool rub out. Now if you wan ta mat or satin finish you're done unless you desire wax. But if you want a gloss finish, a gloss wax down and buff out is in order. So there will be some time and labor involved with shellac. Btu the results will be a beautiful natural rich wood look. If I could have talked my wife in to letting me purchase an inexpensive airless sprayer like this oneGraco 257025 Project Painter Plus Paint Sprayer, I could have saved considerable finishing time. It took me 3 hours to brush out each coat on the entire project. I would guess 45 minutes to spray. Especially if you left the over spray guards up all the whole project.For the face frame on the Murphy bed, I used 1 by 3 poplar (3/4 x 2.5 nominal) I pocket screwed and glued it all together.Here is a helpful hint if you use pocket screws and poplar from Lowes or a big box store. Big box stores do not carry perfectly planed boards. The finish is smooth enough, but the thickness is not perfect. It could be off by 1/16th or more. That can be sanded out I guess. But I am a bit more obsessive than that. So my solution was to use a scrap board to create a common face plane. I used 4 Irwin speed clamps IRWIN QUICK-GRIP One-Handed Mini Bar Clamp Set, 6", 4 Pack, 5464 and I clamped two on each board I was attaching, in order to get firm even pressure across the work to be screwed. I placed my pocket holes with the close setting, in the center of the work. That gave just enough room on either side of the holes for the bar clamps. ***Make sure your scrap board is on the face side of the face frame.*** Obviously rub glue in the joint and clamp everything together. Get the joint as tight as you can, but even with clamps, the pockets screws will still pull the joint perfectly tight. (*****square cuts are critical for a nice finished joint, so check your saw for square before cutting anything. Ask me how I know!!). If you got your clamps tight, you will notice that the face joint is very nicely on place, minimal sanding will make it perfect. The bad side of pocket joints is, that they can pull out of plane a little, and if you combine that with boards that are not perfectly planed, you can end up with a pretty awful joint. Clamping in this way, will create a joint that will make you smile. Make sure to remove the scrap board quickly after screwing the joint together. The glue will seep out and the stuff I used Elmer's E7300 Carpenter's Wood Glue Max, 8 Ounces will set pretty quickly (side note, it really is stainable, at least with Minwax gel stain GEL STAIN COFFEE 1/2PT). A quick wipe down of the glue with a rag will save you some sanding later. Wipe both sides. Otherwise your back of the frame may have some raised areas which will prevent a nice flush attachment to your work.I am very proud, that even up close, my face frame joints are tight and on plane. My face frame fits tight to the face of my murphy bed. That did require some sanding of the back of the face frame (the boards were not the same thickness, as mentioned before).When it came time to attach my face frame to my murphy bed, I dry fitted the frame in place to check for fit and square. I placed blocks under the frame to hold it at the height I wanted it to fit the bed. I used some shims to really dial it in to where I wanted it.Then I laid the face frame down, and glued the face frame up, and then put it back on the blocks so it fit perfectly. At this pint I could probably have just used my 6 clamps to hold it in place. But I opted for a few strategic brad nails. The advantage to brad nails, is I could get clamping force in the middle of the work. I then lowered the bed down and put some rubbed bronze screws Screw Products, Inc. CTX7114C-5 #7 X 1 1/4" Star Drive Coarse Thread Pocket Screws around the outer edge of the murphy bed. These went in that lip of the plywood all the way around. I placed them about every 18 inches (your speed clamps will help you get a tight fit here, speed clamp prior to driving each screw. This way your frame will not pull away from your bed surface). These are self taping, and have a washer style head. So no drilling was required, and there is little risk of over driving. I used 1 1/4 screws, because my plywood was 3/4, and my face frame was also 3/4.I had previously removed the thin bed surface sheets of plywood. I then used the same screws in lines I had previously marked to show where the face frame would be, through out the inside of the murphy bed. Predrilling here will help with the flushness of the fit. But alternatively, you can drive the screw, back it out. Hold the face frame tight (or place a block under the frame, between the frame and the floor, sort of clamping it tight) then drive the screw tight. The fit will be tight this way.I am please with how the face frame came out. I am not a cabinet builder or pro of any sort. These are tricks I found to help me get a very acceptable finish. This may not be the best way, and it certainly is not the only way. But it had enough checks and balances to allow an amateur like myself, to get a very acceptable finish. I hope you found this information helpful. Overall, I was pretty happy with this kit. In terms of my background, I am handy with wood projects, but I am not a wood worker by any stretch of the imagination. I found the instructions reasonably easy to follow and the hardware that was included is good strength and feels like it will hold up for many years. All and all, it took me about 50 hours to build the bed and I had to spend roughly $500 on the wood and additional supplies. Even though it wasn't my first choice, I used red oak as the wood type for the bed (it was basically the only thing home depot had in stock). It looks fine but I wish would have called around a bit more to find some other choices.Looking back, here are the things I learned while doing this project:- You can use a circular saw to cut the wood, but make sure you have a VERY straight 8' 2x4 to use as a cutting guide. I used one of the 1x2s that I bought for the kit, but I found over long runs it would flex in the middle, causing the cut to be slightly off.- The face panels are probably the most important to cut correctly. So look at all your lumber and choose the best pieces for that, and triple check your measurements before cutting.- Think about cutting both face panels with one cut (having the boards overlap) so the cut lines exactly match.- Make sure the face panels are completely square when put together.- When you assemble the bed frame, double check to make sure everything is square every step of the way. I originally didn't do this till I was mounting the frame on the face panels, and I found it was out of square just a bit, but that made a big difference. I had to spend several hours disassembling the frame, getting the 1x2s to be square, and then reassembling. It worked, but I could have saved myself quite a bit of frustration (and several hours).- If you are mounting the bed on carpet, the kicker panel needs to be cut shorter than the instructions call for. This is because the carpet padding causes the panel to bend slightly which will make it interfere with the bed as you try and open it.- You need a total of 75 feet of veneer edging to complete the project.- You only need one box of 100 1.25" screws even though the instructions call for two boxes- There are some steps where you have to drill a 1/2" hole in 3/4" plywood. A dremel works great to make those shallow holes. This is really a nice kit that yields a pretty good result as long as you know how to read and follow directions and you also have some decent wood working tools. The truth is that this should not be attempted by a beginner. I'm not implying that I'm a professional cabinet maker but I do have experience with some aspects of the craft.The directions are pretty well laid out. Just make sure to read them completely and watch the dvd that comes with everything and then just go in the exact order that the directions go in without skipping ahead.One issue that I had with the directions is that there is one section for building the bed out of plywood and one for building it out of particle board, if you are not careful you can interpret them wrong and it appears that they run together. It is important to note that they should not and it would be helpful if the manufacturer would send separate instructions for each of the materials.There is a material list included in the booklet and it helped save me allot of time taking it with me to the hardware store so that I didn't have to make multiple trips. One problem I noted is that the directions mention needing two 1"x 1/2" flat washer but they don't mention it until you are already in the installation phase. This of course is a problem if you don't have a bunch of hardware around and you have to go back to the store.The end result of this kit is a high quality bed that opens and closes with ease and saves a massive amount of space. I would say that this is an excellent purchase especially for people that are mechanically inclined and love to do their own work.