Let’s go-go… gazebo

The first point is this – what is the difference between a gazebo, and a pergola?

The difference is that gazebos incorporate a waterproof roof, whereas the roof on a pergola is very often open, but with beams running across it to allow for creepers and suchlike to eventually provide shade. So the roof is not waterproof, and whatever is under it will still get wet when it rains. This means, in passing, that if you opt for a pergola, whatever garden furniture you have in it, will be far more subject to the elements than would the furniture under a waterproof roof structure. In short, the pergola’s roof is intended more to provide shade than protection from wet weather. An advantage of an open roof on a pergola is that it can give an impression of more space, more airiness, whereas a gazebo solid roof can tend to be cosier.

Another major difference is that while pergolas tend to be square or rectangular, gazebos are often hexagonal.

Where to put it?

Before you get too far into the weeds, you need to have a very good idea of where you will put your gazebo, what space is available for it, and hence its size.

There are many questions to consider when deciding on where to put it, and we cover them below, so read on…

Gazebo roofing materials

There is a very wide range of roofing materials available but if you are going for a gazebo, particularly a hexagonal one, and doing it yourself, have your roof panels cut at the factory for you. It should go without saying, however, that once it’s cut, it’s yours, so you must ensure that your cutting instructions are absolutely correct.

Possible options for roofing materials include asphalt shingle, chromadek, concrete ( very unlikely to be used on a gazebo), metal (such as galvanised steel or aluminium), thatch, clay tile, concrete tiles, corrugated iron, slate, polycarbonate or shake shingles

Roofing profiles can include IBR (inverted box rib), corrugated or other profiles – such as simulated tiles.

Gazebo floors

Whereas many pergolas are built over an existing area of paving, such as a patio, or another surface such as a deck, patio, or pavers, a gazebo is more likely to have a dedicated floor, built to fit the floor plan, and quite often, raised, so entering the gazebo is by means of a step or two.

That means a gazebo floor is very likely – if the design calls for a raised suspended floor, as above – will be wood, and built on a series of beams laid at 90º to the floor planks, which are in turn mounted on short pillars. Alternatively, the beams might be attached to the tall pillars making up the sides of the gazebo.

If the floor is a raised type, and you are using paving, then that itself should be seated on a fully compacted raised foundation bed.

Durability

It’s all down to the materials you use. If you stint on the materials, you may well find that in years to come, you will be facing replacement costs for the roof, for example.

So the key is – as always – without breaking your budget, use the best materials you can. This is particularly so in coastal areas, where conditions are ideal for rust and corrosion to attack metal components such as fasteners and brackets, and other materials used in gazebo’s construction… a roof made from mild steel materials such as galvanised corrugated roof panels. Galvanising provide good protection, but it is a wasting process, and wherever the galvanised coating is compromised – such as on cut ends, or fastener holes – rust can start, and eventually you can end up with a roof that looks like a sieve.

Another very important factor to consider is the weather in your area… if it is often subject to high winds, you must ensure that whatever you erect with be anchored securely enough to handle even the strongest of gusts, and also not tear apart.

Costs

Depending on their size and other factors such as materials you use, pergolas are generally cheaper to build than gazebos, as the structure is generally pretty simple and straightforward.

It follows, therefore, that gazebos are the more expensive of the two – again given size, design, and materials.

Hence the simple answer to “What will it cost?” is “How long is a piece of string?”

If you are doing it yourself, draw up your design, carefully list all the materials you will need – from floor to roof, including all your foundation materials, fasteners, brackets and so on, and cost them.

Alternatively, there are many companies supplying, and very likely also erecting permanent structures, and they are well worth considering.

If you are going this route, then the usual advice holds for project you are considering being done by a contractor:

• Ask around social media groups if anyone has had a gazebo built for them, and ask to visit and ask a few questions, such as professionalism, reliability, standard of workmanship, materials, durability, and overall impression of the final result
• Shop around… check websites, ask at your local Mica for contacts to reputable contractors
• Select three or so potentials
• Ask to see examples of their work, but bear in mind that they might tend to give you examples only of those customers they know are satisfied
• Make sure you get a fully itemised, detailed quote from each potential contractor… all materials, labour, permits (if any required by your local authority), and so on
• When paying, pay a portion, usually 30-50%, and only the remainder when you are fully satisfied with the completed result.

(Many retailers offer light collapsible gazebos for use at parties, outings and so on, but they do not really fall within the ambit of this article.)

Where to put it?

• Do you have a pool? Bear in mind with the position that if you have a pool a gazebo can really add a lot to a pool area, and it has the additional advantage that if you have children you can keep an eye on them in the pool while you are in the gazebo.
• How far from the house? If you have a large garden and want to ‘get away from it all’, then you might want it close enough from the house to hear anyone call you for dinner, but far enough away that you won’t have the TV blaring in your ear.
• What about municipal building regulations? Local authorities each have a set of building regulations governing all aspects of buildings or fixed structures on your property. One of them is usually a restriction on how close to your boundary you may erect a structure. The minimum is usually in the region of 3m. To get a relaxation you will need to get written permission from all neighbours affected by your plans to build a gazebo right against your boundary or within 3m of it (or whatever the local limit is). So it is as well to check before deciding on a final position.
  In short it comes down to working out what you plan to do, for what purpose, its size (including area in m²), using which materials and then contacting your local building authority for further information, requirements, and permissions.
• What about that servitude? Does your property have a servitude running through it? A servitude is a registered right that a person or legal entity has over the immovable property on your property, such as a landline telephone pole, sewage pipe, water pipe or electrical supply cable.
  Something like 99.9999% of the time you won’t even notice the servitude – until your Telkom technician turns up at your door to sort out your neighbour’s landline problem and he needs to get to the telephone pole that just happens to be on your property.
  You will really notice it, however, if there if the water supply pipe running under your gazebo fractures, or the sewage pipe gets blocked – then the local municipality will be around to dig up that part of your garden to find and fix the leak. And if your gazebo is in the way… tough luck!
  So, if you have servitude, know where it is and ensure that you site your gazebo (or any other building such as a Wendy house or garden shed) well away from it so that should your local municipality need to dig anything up, your prized gazebo won’t be included.
• What about the slope? Obviously your gazebo needs to be on the level as does its floor, so the more level the area for it, the better. If you are laying pavers or bricks directly on the ground, depending on the slope you might have to dig back into the top of the slope, and/or build up a level area on the down slope using fill from what you dug out from the top slope, or what you brought in from your local hardware store. Bear in mind if filling, that you must ensure this it fully compacted before you lay any flooring material such as bricks or pavers… if there is any “give” in the filling, over time, or very soon, that area will start to sag, particularly in areas subject to heavy traffic, and in time you will need to lift the flooring in that area, add and compact extra filler, and then relay the pavers or whatever in that area.
  Hence, I would suggest that you not grout the flooring initially (if that is what you intend doing because you are laying pavers); although if you are having a gazebo installed, the contractor should have a compactor available to really compact the filler in that area.
• What about your neighbours? You need to put yourself in their shoes on this one… How would you feel if you ended up with an eyesore just on the other side of your boundary? Is it outside of the requisite distance from your joint boundary? While positioning may be influenced by the above-mentioned building regulations, there is another consideration – your neighbours. For both your own privacy and theirs, you would not want (and they would not want) you to build your gazebo too close to their own recreation area, lounge or whatever… you don’t want them to hear what you are chatting about, and they won’t want you to be in earshot of their conversations either… besides, you might be discussing them!
  You need to engage with them, ensuring that they understand 100% what you are planning, its position, appearance, size and so on – and then ensure you obtain their permission IN WRITING. If having a gazebo installed by a company, show your neighbours illustration/images of the design it appearance in position, and so on. It is very much a case of FULL DISCLOSURE.
  It should also then go without saying that you MUST ensure that you follow what you said to the letter… the last thing you want is an acrimonious battle with your neighbour – or neighbours, which can lead to legal costs, and all sorts of other unpleasantness.
• The bottom line is you do not want to complete the perfect gazebo only to be told you have to demolish it. It sort of ruins your day. So you need to ensure that EVERY regulation, permission and bylaw is adhered to – to the letter.

Orientation

As we live in the Southern Hemisphere, the sun is always north of us (except when it reaches the Southern Solstice which is 21 December when it is directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn and Makhado and Musina actually have their sun (slightly) to the south). In the rest of the country, however, it is still slightly north at its zenith every day, and even further from its zenith even at midday in Cape Town.

You need to think carefully about the orientation because once it’s done, it’s done.

If you face it with the ‘viewing’ orientation due north, you will get direct sunlight in midwinter and varying degrees of sunburn in summer. Face it north-west and you will have partial shade in the morning and full sun in the afternoon and early evening. Face it north-east, and you get the full sun in the morning, and more shade in the later afternoon.

I suggest you use a large cardboard box on its side – open side facing northwards – and use that to give you an idea of what orientation works best for you – bearing in mind that for us the sun is highest in the sky at the southern solstice (around December 21-22 – our longest day) and lowest at the northern solstice (20-21 June – our shortest day).

Some gazebo terms

You need to know what the basic terms are when discussing gazebos (but note the caveat* below this list of terms), so…

• Finial/cupola – this is the decorative but functional cap that adorns the roof’s peak and also serves to close off the junction between the various sections of the roof where they meet
• Central hub – this is the point at which the roof sections meet. There can be 4, 6 (probably the most common) or even 8 roof sections – in the case of an octagonal gazebo
• Ridge cap – this is the angle section of metal that closes the gap where the roof sections meet between the central hub and the edges of the roof
• Shingle roof – here, a shingle roof, but it can be any one of a range of materials, from corrugated roofing, tiles, thatch or fibreglass or Polycarp sheets, for example.
• Beam – this is the horizontal member that supports the load of the roof
• Ceiling joist – this is the horizontal beam that supports the roof’s diagonal rafters and provides structure to the roof
• Knee brace – this diagonal piece of lumber, angled at 45º, is fitted, with its twin on the opposite side of the post, to each post and braces the post against any flexing due to high winds acting on the roof assembly. It is important that the upright be braced on both sides, rather like someone with their arms raised, so that it is fully braced against winds from any direction
• Top rail – this is the top beam/handrail along the top of a balustrade**
• Balusters – these are the vertical posts fitted between the top rail and a bottom rail, or in this case, the floor
• Step/steps – only necessary when the gazebo’s floor is raised about the surrounding ground level
• Floor – what you walk on, place you chairs and table on and so on
• Floor joist – any raised floor must be strong enough to support whatever load is intended for it, so joists are fitted as a strong under frame to the actual floorboards themselves
• Post – the vertical, and very sturdy, post on which the floor is suspended and the roof is supported
• Post anchor – as mentioned above, if you live in area prone to high winds, it is essential that your gazebo be able to withstand even the strongest gusts. That means each corner post must be very securely anchored in concrete foundations sunk into the ground

*Note: as happens so often in DIY, some individuals, sources or even countries use different terminology for the same components.

** The balustrade is often installed on gazebos with raised floors to prevent anyone falling off the edge, or, even more hazardous, pushing their chair back far enough to have the rear legs go over the edge, and have the occupant landing on their back outside the gazebo. Serious injury could result from such as an accident.

If the gazebo does not have a raised floor, or you add trellises between the posts (apart from those abutting the entrance, or course), no balustrade might be necessary.

A word about posts…

Simple pole or pipe columns could be used on a gazebo, but might not look as aesthetically pleasing as you would like, so why not clad them in timber to create square and somewhat thicker columns. If you are installing electrical power, you can also use the cladding not only to hide the wiring, as it can pass up the inside of the cladding, but you also have the opportunity to attach lanterns to the columns.

Materials

Gazebos are generally of wooden construction, or mixed wood and metal, wood and concrete, wood and masonry, or even aluminium or steel, or plastic. In the main, however, they are constructed of wood. So…

Columns/uprights – these can be masonry – i.e. brick columns, concrete pipes set vertically or perhaps your best choice of all – wood… either creosote-treated gum-poles (not generally that aesthetically pleasing), CCA-treated* SA pine, or meranti – a hardy, darker wood, or metal – such as galvanised steel pipes – at least 75mmØ. Wooden columns/uprights should be at least 75mm x 75mm in cross-section, but 100mm x 100mm is a better choice for larger structures or those in areas prone to high winds. They should be around 3m long if they will be sunk into the ground – 500mm is about the least you should sink them to ensure the foundation is solid.

Generally speaking, brickwork columns would be, well … columns … while pipes or poles would be uprights – but ‘column’ works for all types.

*CCA-treated timber is timber that has been treated with copper chrome arsenate – a preservative containing copper, chromium and arsenic. This treatment gives the wood in an above-ground situation a durability of 60 years or more.
When newly treated the wood has a greenish tinge, but over time it fades to an attractive light grey. It can be painted or varnished, but then you need to wait a couple of months at least to allow the wood to dry completely and achieve its final natural colour. Apart from that consideration, unless all moisture/solution has fully dried in the wood, it will still try to leach out and that could cause blistering of any sealant coating.
CCA-treated wood is no longer used to treat wood intended for structures such as picnic tables, decks, garden furniture and other items where close contact with bear skin is likely as it contains arsenic. That being said, it should not pose a problem if used for gazebo main columns or roofs, as you are not likely to be touching these on a frequent basis, and if – as mentioned above – they will be varnished or painted with an enamel finish.
Having said that, if you are in the slightest doubt, or have the slightest concern regarding what materials to use, check at your local Mica, and/or with a contractor or two, and then select an alternative material.

(In passing, according to an information PDF on the South African Wood Preservers Association, SAWPA, ‘the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States conducted an eight – year investigation into CCA, the treatment process, the use and handling of the treated timber and the alternatives to the use of CCA.
None of the EPA’s investigations produced any conclusive findings showing increased risks of toxic effects on human (or of cancer) through the handling of treated timber. The EPA concluded that the benefits of CCA treated timber far outweighed any risks.’)
One last point on CCA-treated timber, or wood treated with any preservative for that matter – when you have completed your gazebo and you are having a celebratory ‘gazebo-warming’ get-together, DO NOT use offcuts in your braai. At the best, you will need to pop out to get takeaways, or at the worst you and your guests might even get sick.
In fact, according to the SAWPA, it is illegal to burn CCA treated wood in South Africa as doing so releases the fixed components which contain toxic and harmful substances. Unused offcuts should be disposed of at either a registered landfill site or waste disposal site, from where it will be disposed of to a registered landfill.
(Symptoms of ingesting just a few grams of the ash from burnt CCA-treated timber can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and a ‘pins and needles’ sensation in the skin. CCA ash can contain up to 10% by weight arsenic, chromium and copper.)

Beams, joists, braces, etc – most often wood, these may be SA pine, treated SA pine, meranti, laminated timber, or any type of wood you choose. SA pine (treated or not) and meranti tend to be the most popular choices due to cost, but depending on your budget, you can choose the wood from a very wide selection of choices at an equally wide range of prices from SA pine, probably your cheapest, on upwards. The cross-section profiles of the timber used will depend on the size of the final structure… the bigger it is, the stronger the various components must be. So beams could be 44mm x 222mm as they bear the most weight horizontally. Rafters may be 44mm x 96mm and stringers/purlins 32mm x 32mm.

Post foundations (concrete) – even though a gazebo is pretty airy structure, high winds can exert quite a lateral force on the structure, and this is exacerbated when the gazebo has a lot of foliage growing over it. Concrete foundations are also called footings or footers. If you create a foundation/footing/footer the top of which is raised above ground level, then what you are making is a plinth. This is something to consider as mounting a wood upright in it will keep it clear of the ground; even better if you give a slight slope to each quadrant of the top surface of the plinth so that it sheds rainwater. If you are installing a slasto or slab floor (see below) then you will need extra cement and sand for the floor base and grouting between the slasto or slabs.

The plinths or foundations need to be a good 500mm or so deep and about 300mm on each side, with the upright or galvanised bracket (also called a post anchor shoe) for the upright centred in it.

Concrete for the foundations will comprise cement, sand and crushed stone or gravel. The amount required will depend on exactly how many uprights you will be installing, their dimensions and so on. In passing, if you buy extra crushed stone it makes an ideal floor for your gazebo, but you should add a semi-permeable membrane under the crushed stone layer to keep weeds down.

Brackets – these are galvanised steel and available in a range of sizes and configurations to suit a wide range of applications.

Fasteners – these can be mild steel or if you live in a coastal area, then stainless steel is a better choice. They can comprise hex nuts and bolts, coach bolts, coach screws and wood screws. The sizes and gauges of these will depend on their particular application in the gazebo.

Exterior wood glue – you may require exterior wood glue for certain joints; do not use glue formulated for interior use as it is not waterproof and rainfall will cause the joint to fail.

Exterior wood sealer – unless you are using treated timber and leaving it to weather to a final colour, you should consider applying exterior wood sealer or marine varnish to your gazebo’s wood components.

Hint: After cutting the gazebo’s wood components before assembly apply the required number of coats of the sealer or varnish to the parts and leave them to dry. (With the caveat that if you are going to be using glue on any joint, do not coat the surfaces that will have glue applied. That sounds obvious, but easy to miss. Once the assembly has been made, and the glue has cured, applying sealer/finish at the joint locations is both quick and simple.) Sealing the component parts like this is much, much easier than doing when they are in situ.

Is passing, applying a stain – such as green – to the timber can really enhance your gazebo’s appearance.

Lattices or trellises – if you are going to grow climbing plants up your gazebo you will need something to give them support and lattices/trellises are what you need. They may be wood, galvanised and/or powder-coated metal, plastic or other material. You can even use diamond mesh fencing as it has a PVC coating that makes it virtually impervious to moisture.

The floor – your gazebo’s floor can be pretty much what you decide. As mentioned above, crushed stone chips are a good choice as is slasto, and so are concrete slabs. Caution (and a hint): if using the latter, it’s a good idea to suit your gazebo’s footprint to the slabs’ dimensions so that it fits perfectly on the slab floor. Slabs vary in size, but do not forget when doing your working out to include the grouting between the slabs. This is usually around 15mm or so on each side.

The tools you very likely need to build a wooden gazebo

• Garden tools for the post holes, levelling the floor and so on – spades, pick, and fork. The spades are also used when mixing the concrete.
• Saws – hand saws such as tenon and crosscut.
• Power saws – circular and jigsaw
• Chisels – and their accompany wooden mallet
• Spirit and/or laser level
• Length of hosepipe or clear plastic tube – 10mmø – 12mmø is about right, for establishing levels over longer distances
• Tape measure
• Carpenter’s square
• Electric drill with sufficient power and chuck size to handle the job – a 550W-650W drill with a 13mmø chuck will handle just about any gazebo drilling job
• As many clamps as you can get your hands on to hold various pieces in place while you drill holes drive in screws, install bolts and so on.
• Range of spanners for tightening nuts and bolts
• Hammer
• Paint brushes and other applicators such rollers to apply sealer or varnish.

Make light of your gazebo…

If you decide to have a water feature or pond where you can relax and enjoy it from your gazebo, you will need to have electricity. So why not have an all-weather electrical outlet or two mounted in your gazebo so that you can run a couple of lights in there as well – it will make such a pleasant spot for evening drinks with family and a few precious friends.

Having mains power available in your gazebo will also make it that much more versatile – you can light it at night, set up a heater for those nippy evenings and so on.

Caution: By law in South Africa fixed wiring may be installed and worked on by a qualified and registered electrician. Do not do it yourself – unless you fit the bill as regards qualifications, and do not be temped to run an extension cord from the house… you just might forget it’s there and trip over it, or run the mower over it, or damage the insulation and risk someone else or a pet being electrocuted. It just isn’t worth it.

Climbing plants you might consider for your gazebo

• Black-eyed Susan
• Bougainvillea
• Chinese jasmine
• Climbing roses
• Grape vine
• Potato vine – blue or white
• South African jasmine
• Starry jasmine
• Sweet peas
• Wisteria

This just a very short list of climbers you might consider, so your best course of action is to contact your local garden centre or your nearest botanical garden – you can find a list by visiting the National Botanical and Zoological Gardens – SANBI website.

You do not need to limit yourself to climbers, however. They will over time provide the shade by growing up gazebo’s trellis or latticework, but potted shrubs along the sides of the structure can also enhance its overall appearance.

You can also plants shrubs or border plants to break up the shape of the gazebo.

Don’t forget foliage – and be waterwise

• Don’t forget to try for different types of foliage. We all love flowers, but different textures, colours, shapes and sizes of leaves and so on can provide a very pleasing vista and very attractive contrasts. Flowers also have a finite life, and drop, which can be messy.
• Group plants as well according to their light requirements… full shade, partial shade/sun or full sun.
• Group plants, whether climbers, shrubs or whatever, according to their water needs so that your water usage is waterwise. By doing this, you will be able to give every plant in the group its optimum amount and frequency of water; grouping plants with different needs means you can end up over-watering some plants or under-watering others in the group.
• Select plants indigenous to your part of the country wherever possible. As they are just that – indigenous – they have adapted to local conditions and therefore are able to survive local weather conditions such as wind and heat better than probably are many non-indigenous plants.
• Take advice from your garden centre/SABNI experts in this regard and also take their advice as to soil preparation and so on.
• You might also need to take into account when to plant… not all plants might be best planted in the same month or time of the year.

And talking of water…

The sound of trickling water is very relaxing so something you might like to add to your gazebo is a water feature or even a fishpond.

What can be really attractive is (assuming your gazebo will have a raised floor) is either part of the pond or water feature extending under the floor, or even, having a small waterfall on one side of your gazebo, with a channel for the water to flow under the gazebo and into the pond/water feature on the other side.

Naturally, if you decide on this, ensure that:

• You do all the waterworks beforehand, otherwise you might not be able to work under the floor
• You do not incorporate anything, directly under the floor – such as a filter or pump – that you will need to get to every now and then for cleaning, maintenance and so on

To repeat… it’s a good idea before getting into detailed planning of your gazebo to ask around and see who has got one and ask their advice as to orientation, materials etc, issues they have had – or not – and also get advice from your local garden centres. You might even call in a couple of contractors and get their advice – who knows, you might even end up getting one of them do build it for you – to your own design.

Captions:

1. A selection of mounting brackets for the uprights. The one at the top accommodates timber 75mm wide. The upright rests on the top of the kink to keep its base clear of moisture and it is secured in place with bolts and/or screws driven in through the predrilled holes in the bracket.This illustration shows how the rebar welded to the base of the bracket is embedded in the concrete, in this case of a plinth.
2. This illustration shows how the rebar welded to the base of the bracket is embedded in the concrete, in this case of a plinth.
3. It is essential that the column brackets be fixed at exactly the same level – and a hosepipe or clear plastic tube filled with water will do this perfectly and over just about any distance – certainly to cover the dimensions of any gazebo. It should go without saying that you must also ensure that the brackets are all exactly where they have to be, and a way to ensure that they are all at an exact 90° corner point (for a square or rectangular gazebo) is to use the same 3, 4, 5 triangle you learned at school… the square of 3 plus the square of 4 = the square of 5 (the hypotenuse)…
   the formula is A² + B² = C²
   A = side of right triangle
   B = side of right triangle
   C = hypotenuse – the side opposite the triangle’s right angle
   
   If you are building a hexagonal (6-sided) gazebo, then each upright is set at 60º in an arc from its neighbours. The easy way to do that is drive in a centre post, use a chain (NOT rope, cord or string, as they can all stretch), and inscribe a circle the diameter of your gazebo. Then use the chain from the point that will be one side of your entrance, to mark your inscribed circle… at that point will be your other side of the entrance. Then repeat the process to position the last 4 uprights’ positions. So, in short…
   
   Step 1: Draw a circle.
   Step 2: Mark one side of where you want your entrance.
   Step 3: use the radius length of the chain to mark the other side of the entrance.
   Step 4: Repeat and mark the two outer corners.
   Step 5: Repeat and mark the two corners opposite the entrance.
   Step 6: Connect the marked points to draw your hexagon.
   
4. A selection of brackets used to secure the various wooden components to each other.
5. Two brackets that are used to butt join a rafter to a beam, for instance… the bracket is bolted on to the beam and the end of the rafter rests in the bracket and is secured with a bolt.

6. These smooth-shank cut screws as the name implies, cut their own path through the wood and use a square bit (also known as a Robertson bit) to drive them in.
7. This selection of hex head coach bolts are stainless steel, making them ideal for outdoor installations in coastal areas. They are driven in using a nut setter (an attachment for your drill. It incorporates a hexagonal head (there are various sizes available, such as 8mm,10mm and 12mm), and the chisel tip on the bolt cuts its own way into the wood, so no pilot hole need be drilled.
8. Another selection of hex-head securing screws.
9. Roofing screws should be driven in along the peaks of corrugated roofing, as shown here – and not in the valleys (the same applies, naturally to IBR roofing – the fasteners are driven in through the peaks, but with this caveat… drive them in just far enough to secure the panel, but not so deep than it pulls the flat peak of the IBR section down, to form a valley… this will allow water to pool, and in time the roof might leak at that point). That sounds obvious, but if it can be done incorrectly, someone will manage it! This type of fastener has a sponge washer surmounted by a weatherproof, UV resistant flange with a large cap that clips over the fastener’s head. The cap is attached to the flange with a tiny built-in strap of the same material.
10. Another type of roofing fastener. The upper one showing how it all comes together, and the lower one showing the three parts… the fastener, sponge sealer, and cap that is tapped onto the fastener’s head after the fastener has been driven in.

11. The difference between meranti (top) and SA pine. The latter is one of your cheapest options, but ideally needs to be well sealed.
12. This shows the difference between untreated SA pine (top) and treated SA pine. The different colours are very evident. Ideally, treated pine will have a lifespan of several decades.
13. Meranti has a very tight grain, but bear in mind that it is quite variable in its hardness, texture and colour, so ensure that you select pieces of timber that match.
14. A series of treated SA pine cross-sections. Your gazebo’s beams would be determined by the size of the structure, and the strength required according to your local weather/wind conditions.
15. If you decide upon a square or rectangular gazebo and when you have overlapping ends, as depicted here, you can use half-lap joints – shown by the two lower illustrations – and shape the ends as shown upper right.

16. The parts of a rectangular gazebo roof. As noted in the text, bear in mind that while terms such as beam and rafter are pretty universal, other terms such as stringer may vary. The lower illustration shows the side view of the assembly.
17. If you want to pave the floor, you can grout between the slabs with a sand-cement mix. Typically the gap on each side of the slab is about 15mm or so.
18. Laying cobbles along the edge of the paved area adds a nice finishing touch.
19. For a more natural look, you can simply lay the slabs with a gap of about 15-20mm on each side and allow lawn grass to grow naturally between the slabs. The advantage of this method is two-fold… one, you don’t have the task of grouting between the slabs, and two, if over time any of the slabs sink a little, it is a simple job of lifting out the offending slab/s, adding some filler soil and then putting them back in place – and no regrouting is necessary!
20. This galvanised green powder-coated trellis is available in panels such as the six bar 760mm x 1530mm and the nine bar 1140mm x 1530mm. it can be used to act as a climbing frame for a creeper or vine growing up the sides of your gazebo.

21. You can buy expanding trellis, which as the name suggests can be expanded or contracted to fit most spaces. Alternatively a panel such as this one – 450mm x 1500mm – will also work well. It is actually designed for placement on top of a cast concrete slab wall, but will also work well on the side of a gazebo, and as it is treated, will have very good durability.
22. Here the ends of a peaked gazebo roof have been adorned with meal artwork. (Source: Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain)
23. Here the end beam on a flat gazebo roof has been adorned in the same manner. Note the rafters running between the beams, and the bracing (known as knee braces) visible on the far beam to make the gazebo more rigid. (Source: Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain)
24. Here is a selection of just four roof material you might consider using. From top left and running clockwise… tiles, thatch, shingles and thatch with rope overlay. The thatch with or without the rope addition can be used for a very rustic effect. (Source: Wikimedia Commons – Public Domain)
25. This shows some of the component parts of a gazebo, this one with a raised floor. The information on the functions of the various component parts listed here, and explained above in the article’s text.

Panel:

Mica Stores stock the timber, trellises, fasteners and brackets etc you will require for your gazebo. Some of the larger branches might also have a garden plants department, or be close to a garden centre. To find your closest Mica and whether or not they stock the items required, please go to www.mica.co.za, find your store and call them. If your local Mica does not stock exactly what you need they will be able to order it for you or suggest an alternative product or a reputable source.