Rubbermaid Outdoor Storage Deck Box

Usually when I think of making a purchase I read the negative reviews first. That way I get an idea of what trouble I might be getting into, or at least an idea of what to look for if I purchase the product. After reading the reviews I decided to purchase the product and deal with the negatives to have it meet our needs. The specific complaints were that it does not stay together, it is not water proof, flimsy design, falls apart when lid opened, sides "pop" together but don't stay... I could go on and on about all the negatives so I was prepared to address them because we wanted to store all our pool toys, games, life jackets for kids, etc... So when the package arrived there were six sturdy pieces of molded plastic and a small plastic bag with 4 screws and two plastic strips, and of course a sheet of directions. Now being red blooded american male of course I did not read the directions and attempted to assemble the box with my wife. You can say I think I hit every negative aspect of this box that was written in the reviews. However, my underlying thought was nobody would sell something as stupid as this! So I began inspecting each piece and the first thing we realized is the sides were not lined up right. They do not "pop" into the front and back they are put into the wide part of a slot and then slid down into the narrow slot area which "locks" them into the front and back of the box. So we connect the front, back and each side and put it on the bottom of the box. It lined up right but it was not sturdy and as soon as you moved anything the sides would slide up and out of the slots. Again we looked at the box and then I noticed on the bottom inside it said "This Side Down", DOH! So we flipped the bottom over and lined up the sides again and it would still fall apart. So I looked at the tabs on the bottom of the sides, front and back and it was clear that they were not "locking" into the base. Now I am thinking is this a bad design? Who ships out a plastic molded product where the parts don't lock? Ok, I guess it is time to read the directions to see if I am missing anything... That is where I found that you are supposed to take a block of wood, hammer and screw driver and punch out the tabs that are keeping the box from locking together. Huh? They injection mold this product using a mold that requires purchasers to slam the plastic with a hammer and screwdriver? Well I have hit enough plastic in my life with a hammer to know that a hammer will crack, damage or shatter a piece of plastic if you miss your target (i.e. the screwdriver) and hit the plastic. So instead I got my utility knife and put the blade in the thin part of the plastic between the tab and bottom frame piece. If you hold the bottom up to the sun you can actually see where the sunlight brightens the thin plastic. So I cut out all the tabs, which was actually very easy, and then tried assembling again. Every single tab "snapped" into place and the box was very sturdy and did not come apart no matter how we moved it, slid it or even flipped it upside down. We were pleased with this. Next came the lid. This had molded hinges with a pin that needed to slide through the molded hindge in the base unit to connect the lid to the base. It was actually quite simple. When the lid closed there was a small snap, not a sound snap but more like you could feel it snap. It was very sturdy and my wife, daughter and I all sat on the bench and it held together just fine. The way it is manufactured it is NOT water proof, if you submerge it, water will get in. It is water resistant and water will not enter the box from rain, pool splashing or a hose. It is intended to let the water run off the box and not into the box. We had heavy rain a couple of days and when we opened the box the contents did not get wet from the rain. So my final review of this product is 5 stars because it does everything it claims to do and all of the negative aspects reported are a result of user error (my opinion of course) because if everyone assembles it the way I did you will not need liquid nails, it will not fall apart and it will be water resistant. One final note, mine did NOT come with the dividers or lid net. I was told by Amazon that according to their fulfillment center it was supposed to come with them. They were going to send me a new one but I would have had to somehow take apart the box I had to return it and I do not believe I could do that without damaging it so I just kept it and they sent me a partial refund to buy the net and dividers separately. Very pleased with the product and Amazon.