How to Build a Kit Gazebo
Gazebos: Preparing for Construction
Building a Gazebo Floor
Building a gazebo yourself is a rather complicated project. For example, many gazebos have wooden floors, short walls, solid roofs, and considerable decorative detailing.
In addition, their geometric shapes oftentimes require cutting compound angles, making difficult joints, and performing feats of carpentry that are beyond the skills of most do-it-yourselfers.
In fact, even many accomplished carpenters often find building a non-rectangular or square gazebo to be a serious challenge.
The good news is that many quality woodworking companies produce gazebo kits that make the job much easier and more affordable than building a gazebo from scratch.
With a gazebo kit, the manufacturer has done most of the cutting and joinery. The components are numbered or coded to correspond with accompanying diagrams and assembly directions.
Some kits come in stacks of pre-cut pieces, others are partially panellized or preassembled by the manufacturer--in either case, assembly is a relatively easy process. With these, you provide the site, build a simple foundation, put together the parts, and admire the results.
Kits also include screws, bolts, nails, and various connection brackets and plates. The best models use screws for all fastening, including flooring. When ordering, ask how soon your kit will be shipped and what to expect in shipping costs.
Some companies will ship to you within 10 business days, and some offer free delivery within 50 miles. The distance from the manufacturer to your home can dramatically affect both the cost and the wait so it pays to explore regional and local makers first.
Before you begin assembling a kit gazebo, you will need to prepare a foundation according to the manufacturer's directions.
Though some kits are designed to sit on a concrete slab, most have wooden floors supported by a system of concrete piers.
Proper layout of these foundation piers is crucial because the kit's components are sized to fit this layout.
You will also need to check with your local building department to make sure the foundation meets local codes.
One easy and sure way to accurately lay out the foundation is to do a "dry run" with the floor's framing components.
As illustrated in the photographs (to come), start by creating a level pad for the gazebo and then spreading about 4 inches of sand over the area's ground.
Next, loosely assemble the floor's structural members. Once they are positioned, they will automatically indicate where the piers and posts must go.
Mark their placements with stakes, and then remove the flooring components and dig holes for the footings and piers.
Before you begin assembling a kit gazebo, you will need to prepare a foundation according to the manufacturer's directions.
Though some kits are designed to sit on a concrete slab, most have wooden floors supported by a system of concrete piers.
Proper layout of these foundation piers is crucial because the kit's components are sized to fit this layout.
You will also need to check with your local building department to make sure the foundation meets local codes.
One easy and sure way to accurately lay out the foundation is to do a "dry run" with the floor's framing components.
As illustrated in the photographs (to come), start by creating a level pad for the gazebo and then spreading about 4 inches of sand over the area's ground.
Next, loosely assemble the floor's structural members. Once they are positioned, they will automatically indicate where the piers and posts must go.
Mark their placements with stakes, and then remove the flooring components and dig holes for the footings and piers.
Gazebo Columns, Side Panels, and Finishing Touches
The Columns
If your gazebo kit's columns are not an integral part of the floor system, the next step is to bolt them to the base blocks. See the diagram at bottom.
Then assemble the upper column bands at the top of the columns. Just finger-tighten the nuts until all of the upper column bands are placed.
Tighten the nuts, alternating between the right and left nuts on each column. Screw the inside trim blocks in place with 3-inch trim screws.
Side panels
Install the side panels by positioning each panel so it has equal margins on each side, and then attach each panel to the columns, typically with 21/2-inch screws.
Preassembled side panels are heavy and a bit awkward to manoeuvre, so be sure to have a helper on hand. You will also need a couple of tall stepladders.
Finishing touches
Install the trim pieces, including the handrails. Set any exposed nail heads beneath the surface and fill the holes with matching wood filler.
If you have stained or painted the structure's pieces prior to assembly, touch them up.
Building a Gazebo's Roof
Roof framing
Once all of the side panels are in place, it's time for the most difficult part of assembly--placing the rafters.
Start by laying opposing rafters on a flat, level surface and screwing them to the central hub.
With at least one helper (you may need two or three), fit the ends of this truss onto a pair of opposing posts.
Be sure the bird's-mouth cuts at the rafter ends seat fully. Then screw the rafters to the post tops.
With one person on a ladder near the centre, position and screw the remaining rafters in place.
Some models, such as the gazebo shown in the photographs (to come), employ horizontal blocking between the rafters.
Once all of the rafters are in position, fit and screw this blocking in place, working from the bottom tier upward.
For a large, 15-foot gazebo, it may be necessary to install a roof support band or, for a screened model, a screen band around the perimeter.
Being sure to keep the band flush with the top edge of the rafters, screw it in place. Next, install the eaves band, positioned a uniform distance from the rafter ends.
Roof sections
Next comes the really heavy lifting. Lean three long boards against the roof support band to serve as a ramp for sliding the first roof section up into place, as shown in the photographs (to come).
Position yourself on a ladder at the edge of the rafter and have a helper lift and slide the section into place (this may take two helpers and/or you may need to climb up onto the roof framing and help pull the section up).
Centre the section's edges over the rafters. Screw it in place with 3-inch screws through predrilled holes. Repeat this process with the other sections.
Place the peak cap on top so that its threaded rod is projecting up through the cap's centre, and then screw down the finial, securing it against the peak cap. If you are installing a small cupola on top, use a longer threaded rod and place the cupola's body between the roof and the peak cap.
The gazebo shown utilizes special banding to cover the gaps between the roof sections. Install this according to the directions.
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