Assembly, honestly
Steel frames arrive as long boxes of numbered tubes. This page is what to expect between the doorstep and the first night.
Plan for two to four hours on a loft or bunk and around ninety minutes on a platform frame. The single biggest time-saver is unpacking against the manual first: lay the tubes out in the order the steps call for them, and the build becomes repetitive rather than confusing.
The tools question
Hardware ships in the box, and most frames include the Allen keys the bolts take. A ratcheting hex driver saves your wrist over a hundred-plus bolts but is a convenience, not a requirement. What you should not substitute is the second person on lofts and bunks: the upper deck goes onto the posts as one awkward rectangle, and holding it level while starting four bolts is a two-person job however strong you are.
The rule that prevents most callbacks
Finger-tighten everything until the frame is fully shaped, then square it up, then torque the bolts in the same order you inserted them. Bolts pulled fully tight one at a time rack the frame out of square, and a racked frame is the frame that creaks. Our wobble page covers the retightening schedule that keeps it quiet.
After the build
Keep the manual and the spare hardware taped inside a drawer or to a rail. Moving house with a steel frame means taking it apart, and the manual’s bolt inventory is the difference between an evening and a weekend.