How to Build a Gazebo

Commercial fisherman Tim Tillman and his wife Yvonne dock their shrimp boat right in their own backyard in the Mississippi gulf coast town of Bay St. Louis. During the shrimping season, the Tillmans sell a significant part of their catch right from this pier. They asked Ron to come visit and help them build a gazebo where they can market their shrimp in style. Building a gazebo as a shrimp buyer's waiting room and a shelter from gnats was a first for Ron, but as always, he was up for something new.

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1. Gazebo kit:

• The Tillman's gazebo came in a kit from a company called Handy Home Products. The kit was purchased and delivered through their local home improvement center and it arrived in three very large crates.

• The three crates with all those pieces looked a bit intimidating, but Ron reassured the Tillmans that it would be relatively easy to assemble. Each piece was pre-cut to size and all the pilot holes were pre-drilled.

• The Tilllmans needed to determine where to build the gazebo. They needed room to move around the boat, so they chose to set the gazebo back a couple of feet from the water's edge of the pier.
  

• Ten rim sections formed the perimeter of the gazebo's deck. Ron and the Tillmans attached these together with three-inch rust-resistant screws.

• The pier was not quite wide enough to accommodate the 12-foot wide gazebo along with the setback that they needed, so the gazebo would have to overhang the pier on the opposite side. Ron was not concerned by this and would deal with it by installing support posts under the overhanging section.

• After the rim was assembled they would add the joists would support the deck or floor of the gazebo. The joists were like the spokes of a giant wheel with one end attached to the rim and the other to a center block.

• Ron attached 4x4 posts to the rim joints and set them on concrete blocks to support the floor section that cantilevered out over the edge of the deck.

• Each pie-shaped floor section came pre-nailed and ready to install.

• Ron and the Tillmans carefully dropped the first floor section into position.

• While Tim and Yvonne laid the floor sections in place, Ron trimmed the support posts and attached them to the rim with galvanized nuts and bolts.
  

• Tim and Yvonne attached the individual floor sections to the rim and joists with screws.

• Ron dropped a cover over the center block to complete the floor installation.
  

3. Wall assembly:

• Once the floor of the gazebo was complete they were ready to attach the pre-assembled wall sections. These were lightweight and would sit up on the edge of the deck.

• They attached the edges of each wall section together with screws and worked their way around the perimeter of the gazebo. After all of the edges were attached, they would secure the assembly to the deck.

• Lastly, they attached the two doorframe sections to the wall assembly on opposite sides of the gazebo.