The most interesting and useful thing: we assemble ourselves, and the simple assembly is a challenge. We have installed several over the years. Easier to install every time. For assembly we use large screwdrivers and a rubber mallet. If you don't feel comfortable there is someone to install it. As we remove fireclay bricks during installation, we replace those that are cracked or broken. Life Expectancy: We use this stove to heat our entire small house of about 1100 square feet. We have been using the stove for about 10 years. This is how we heat up the oven day and night from October to the end of March. The lifespan of a buffalo is approximately one season. We recommend everyone to purchase several baffles along with a spare refractory brick for accessibility should the need arise. We often cut wood to heat our house. Before this stove, we heated the house with propane gas. The cost per month was $400 and the house was never warm and happy. We switched to a wood stove, spent about $1,000 to buy the stove and have it professionally installed. Our propane bill is less than $10 a month (we use propane for cooking). The furnace paid for itself in about a season. We spend probably 14 days 8 hours/days/season fetching and splitting firewood. (We have a couple of chainsaws and keep fresh chains on them. Buy a good quality professional chainsaw to cut lots of wood.) We have about 12 or more chords to last all season. We mainly burn ash, oak, sometimes walnut, maple, and sometimes we add a few small bits of hedge. We live in Nebraska. It was below 10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning and late last night I put the big logs down at about 11:30pm and this morning at 4:30am and again at 8am. At 9:00 the house was comfortable. I want the baffle to last more than a season. I'm sure a steel baffle needed for longer life would have cost a lot more. If I knew that its lifespan is longer, I would happily pay more.