Building a Wooden Gazebo
Posted on June 16, 2010 by Ryan Turner Advertisement
Adding a wooden gazebo to your garden is a great way to bring a fantastic new look to the area, while at the same creating a practical space that can be used for a whole range of enjoyable activities. There are many different options available to you when looking at gazebos for you home, so take the time to check out all of the different designs. Also consider the different types of wood that can be used. Hardwood gazebos are popular and will be extremely durable and long lasting. Cedar gazebos seem to be some of the overall favourites. Wooden garden gazebos can be expensive to purchase and install but it is possible to save yourself some money by undertaking the installation yourself. Here we will lay out some guidelines which you may want to follow in conjunction with your gazebo instructions.
If you are going to build your own wooden gazebo then you will usually be working from a comprehensive set of gazebo plans. These can be found online for free, or you can have custom made gazebo plans drawn up by a specialist supplier if you would like to design your own structure. When you have possession of the plan you will first need to make sure that you have all of the necessary pieces of timber. The last thing you will want is to get halfway through construction and then realise pieces are missing. Check that all pieces of wood are cut to the correct measurements and you will be ready to begin construction. The wood should be readily available from a local DIY or hardware store. These suppliers stock timber pieces in many different sizes and will be willing to cut to size any wood you purchase from them. You could also opt to do any cutting yourself at home in order to save more money.
Pick a suitable area where the gazebo can be constructed. This will usually be a prominent place in your garden for maximum visual impact. A considerable amount of thought should be put into the placement of wooden gazebos as they will be troublesome to move around once built. When you have selected the perfect plot, be sure to clear it of rocks and make sure the ground is flat and stable. Building a gazebo on uneven or unstable ground will likely lead to problems further down the road that will prove to be costly and time consuming to correct. Check the wood gazebo plans to see how many posts are required to support the structure. Measure the distance between each post and familiarise yourself with their individual positions so you can be sure to dig holes in the correct places. Each hole should generally be around 30 inches in depth. Take a minute to mark an outline where the gazebo perimeter will be. This should help you to picture the structure in your head when you are building it and also to have a good idea of where individual parts will be in relation to each other.
It is important to ensure that all wood gazebos will remain stable structures once completed. You will therefore need to use premixed concrete to fill the post-holes once the timber gazebo posts have been inserted in them. You can then add any further support bracings that are detailed in the plans. After completing these stages you will typically want to wait at least a full day before resuming construction. This time period will allow the concrete to set.
The next stage when installing timber gazebos is to install the deck itself. Specialist decking screws will be just perfect for this part of the job. They will ensure that each section of the deck is well secured to the gazebo posts. Try to remember to check each plank with a spirit level once it is installed so you will know it is level. You will now want to go ahead and install any centre posts as well as any joists that lend support to other parts of the structure. Again, make sure that all of these parts are level before securing them permanently in place.
Installing Wooden Gazebo Roofs
Roof sections should be equal in size to half the distance from one gazebo post to the opposite post on the other side of the structure. You will now need to follow your gazebo plans carefully and construct the roof truss. The truss design will vary depending on the size and shape of the structure. This will likely be the most difficult part of the project so take some time to make sure you understand exactly what you will need to do here. When you have built your wood garden gazebo truss it is time to lift it onto the posts. You will definitely require some assistance from friends in order to complete this step safely. Using ropes may also prove to be advantageous here. Once the truss is in place, make sure it is properly secured with nails.
When you are sure that the roof is safe and structurally sound, it is time to climb on top of it and add install roofing felt or asphalt shingles with purpose made roofing nails. This will be the last major step in the construction process. Before you finish, take a few minutes to check that the roof will be waterproof and make sure the sections are overlapping each other slightly.
The individual design of any gazebo will obviously require you to depart somewhat from these steps at various points. We have also left out many of the smaller details which will always be different for different gazebo products. Many of the cheap wooden gazebo designs such as the simple trellis gazebos may well be much simpler to build than the more expensive models, so many of the steps above can be ignored. On the other hand, the most complex structures may require a whole lot more work than suggested in this article. As long as you do not deviate from the original gazebo plans then you cannot really go far wrong though.
