How to Reinforce Your Gazebo

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Mother Nature can be ruthless when it comes to your fashionable garden gazebo. Before you step outside to see a storm has lifted your mosquito-netted haven from the ground and hurled it into the neighbor’s yard, take a moment to insure your investment is protected against structural damage or outright mangling.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Wooden boards
Deck screws
Steel brackets, braces and connections
PVC pipe

Step1

Build a foundation. Many gazebos come with stakes that allow you to peg your tent to the ground. Unfortunately, loose soil isn’t going to hold your gazebo in place when fierce winds begin thrashing it. Use 12-foot planks to construct a small deck, and then attach your gazebo to it with 2-inch wood screws.

Step2

Mount L-brackets to the frame’s upper corners. Most manufacturers use thin metal strips to support the gazebo’s top sections. In pleasant weather, these work great. However, mounting steel L-brackets in their place will greatly increase your gazebo’s strength.

Step3

Attach joint braces to all major connections. If your gazebo has a cloth roof, hinged “rafters” probably support it. High winds create tension on these joists and could cause them to give way, tearing the roof. Joint braces will insure that doesn’t happen.

Step4

Upgrade to spring-loaded connections. Because bolts are extremely resistant, they can actually do more harm than good during major storms. Under pressure, the bolts will hold firm and your gazebo’s metal frame will take the full brunt of structural stress, oftentimes bending or bowing inward as a result. Spring-loaded connections grant flexibility, and then snap back into place when harsh winds subside.

Step5

Brace damaged beams with PVC pipe. If your gazebo does experience damage, slide a piece of PVC pipe over the bent section of framework to keep it strong. Usually, warping will occur along the top sections of the gazebo, and it’s easy to hide the pipe in this location with the overhang of your cloth roof. Should you be unable to find a replacement beam, spray paint the pipe to match your gazebo’s color and only you will know it’s there.

Tips & Warnings

If you know a storm is coming, detach your gazebo’s roof to minimize potential stress.
Never sit in or stand near a gazebo that has been structurally damaged.
Wear protective clothing such as leather gloves when handling pieces of sharp metal.

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Comments

MercianPrince said

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on 7/20/2008 Good questions! A joint brace is a metal bracket that connects two pieces of wood, reinforcing them where they join. Spring-loaded connections are similar to standard brackets, but with springs that allow them to flex when under pressure.