A gazebo near a country house or residential building is a central place for relaxation in the warm season. Usually this is where the whole family gathers on holidays and on weekends to sit, eat barbecue, talk and relax from the heart. Therefore, it is important to make this place comfortable, spacious enough and beautiful.
Material selection
You can choose metal or wood as the main material for building a gazebo. Each of these materials has its own pros and cons.
The metal may corrode over time (to avoid this, it must be painted). The metal also has high thermal conductivity, so it heats up quickly in summer and cools down quickly in cold weather.
Wood is an environmentally friendly material. Over time, it can also become deformed, so to protect the wood from exposure to dampness and mold, its surface is covered with a layer of varnish or paint.
Financial costs for construction wooden and metal gazebos are quite comparable, so when choosing, you should be guided by personal preferences and taste.
There are also more expensive materials for constructing a gazebo: polycarbonate, brick, forged structures, but we will not consider them.
Preparing the foundation of the gazebo
First you need to build a foundation - the foundation on which the entire structure of the gazebo will rest.
The material for making the foundation must be selected depending on the monumentality of the future structure - capitally constructed from a cement mixture, block or brick. In our case, the base of the gazebo has an area of 12 sq.m., so it was decided to pour foundation blocks from a cement mixture (concrete).
Arranging the foundation must begin by digging three holes in a row (6 holes in each row). The distance both between the rows and between the pits in each row should be about a meter. The size of one hole is 40x40x40 cm. The base for the foundation is poured into the bottom of each of them: sand or rock dust (fine crushed stone) in a layer of 2-3 cm.
Then a concrete mixture of cement and sand (or rock dust) is prepared in a ratio of 1:3. The resulting mixture is diluted with water and thoroughly mixed until smooth. The more liquid your mixture is, the longer the concrete will take to dry, but the stronger it will be in the end.
The level of the foundation must be strictly horizontal, so in some places it may be necessary to level it - arrange formwork from bricks or boards to the required height and fill it with concrete mixture.
Construction of a gazebo
At the first level of the gazebo, on top of the foundation, wooden beams measuring 100x100 mm are laid along the rows of foundation blocks). In our case, we did not have to cut 6-meter beams; they were laid along the entire length of the gazebo.On the sides, across the installed beams, first the outer beams are laid, and then several beams sawn in the middle. They are attached to already laid beams with metal corners and long wood screws using a screwdriver.
On top, along the edges along the length of the gazebo, two beams measuring 50x100 mm are also laid. The next row of the same beams is laid across them and fastened. The gap between rows should be about 40-50 cm.
The perimeter bars of the upper part of the gazebo should also be secured with diagonal struts. They carry both a decorative function and the function of strengthening the frame of the gazebo. They are attached at an angle of 45 degrees. The angle is measured with a regular angle and sawed off with a saw (hacksaw, grinder or chainsaw).
Longitudinal boards are attached over the rows of beams - this will be the sheathing of the future roof.
Once the frame is ready, you can begin arranging the floor. To do this, boards are placed along the entire length of the gazebo and fastened with self-tapping screws to the foundation beams. This is done quite quickly, the only problem may arise when laying the outer boards - you will have to cut grooves into them for the pillars.
After completing the construction of the floor, you can begin installing the railings. At a level of 1-1.5 m from the floor (whatever is more convenient for you), beams measuring 50x100 mm are installed horizontally and secured with corners and screws.
Under the horizontal railings, diagonal bars measuring 50x50 mm are installed crosswise. One of the beams is closer, and the other is farther from the edge of the gazebo foundation. You can mount two beams crosswise along the entire length of the opening, or you can use a larger number of beams.
In our case, there are four bars per opening.At the ends of the installed beams, it is necessary to make diagonal cuts at an angle of 45 degrees, so that their surfaces are perpendicular to each other.
It is better to first sand the surface of the railing beams so that there are no splinters on it.
Then the surfaces of the railings, posts, struts and sheathing under the roof are coated with a primer. The solution is allowed to dry (one day will be enough), and then all treated surfaces are coated with varnish or paint in two layers. These measures will protect the wood from rot, dampness and mold.
Roof arrangement
To equip the roof of the gazebo, the most common and unpretentious material was chosen - corrugated metal sheet. It is inexpensive, resistant to moisture, lightweight and easy to install. Sheets can be cut using a regular grinder saw using metal cutting discs.
When calculating the amount of material required, do not forget to take into account the reserve for the protrusions outside the perimeter of the gazebo - this way rain and snow will not get inside.
Sheets of metal are cut and attached to the boards using roofing screws and a screwdriver. You should start laying the profiled sheet from the bottom up with a slight overlap of the sheets on each other so that water does not get inside the gazebo through the gaps between the sheets of metal.
Gazebo decoration
After the construction of your gazebo is completed, you should think about decorating it. What you put inside is up to you. Use your imagination and ingenuity. Surely you will want to place inside not only a standard table and benches around it, but also flower pots, a swing or a place for children to play.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, trust your taste and the desires of your loved ones, and then the gazebo will become a favorite vacation spot for the whole family.
