Your abilities to assemble? You don't have to be a professional carpenter to assemble our gazebos, basic carpentry skills are recommended. Our kits are in component form, you don't need to cut any awkward angles or receiving "thousands" of pieces. Assembly will make sense as you go.
Ground Water Pooling.
It's important that ground water not be able to pool under the gazebo, but have a way to drain away from the gazebo. If the spot is particularly flat, you can install a french drain to a lower area (a french drain is essentially a 9-12" deep ditch, with a perforated inexpensive plastic flexible drainage pipe on the bottom, and backfilled normally with rock).
Foundation base required? Absolutely. Even Western Red Cedar will develop long term moisture problems if it has direct contact with ground moisture.
What kind of foundation?
bottom line, must have a non sinking, non settling base for the log gazebos (logs are heavy)
- poured cement posts/pillars (normally 3 to 4 ft in depth) and rising at least 4 inches off the ground - most common
- placed on a deck with proper blocks
- cement pad
- treated lumber base
- cement blocks or stones - best if you want to possibly move a cedar gazebo in future, not recommended for the log gazebo regular foundation.
Can you place a gazebos on a deck? Absolutely. If you are looking for a little shelter, then a gazebo is well positioned in a corner of your deck and still give you an open outdoor feeling. Proper positioning can also help to break up a long, boring deck.
Shipped crated or palletized?
- Cedar gazebos arrive crated, in components. We can deliver to loading docks or to a driveway.
- Log gazebos arrive on pallets & larger gazebos will take up to an entire trailer. Uprights may not be palletized, due to their length. Customer normally must unload the trailer. This may require a small crane, front end loader, or a forklift. Remember, the gazebo is heavy. We can deliver to a driveway or to a loading dock.
Advantages of a kit form: Essentially, you can order from any state within the continental USA (which means excluding Alaska & Hawaii) and we will deliver normally with a common carrier. If the gazebo wasn't partially assembled in components, the cost to you would be higher due to higher shipping costs. If you have any basic carpentry skills - you can assemble your own gazebo and save on labor. We do double check all our components to ensure that they fit before we ship them to you. We ship the gazebo in easy to assembly components. We use screws whenever possible, only nails to attach the cedar shakes.
Are these gazebos really Amish crafted? Yes, they are made by two Amish shops in Montana, run by Amish families - each one specializes in their form of gazebos (one makes cedar gazebos, the other one specializes in log gazebos), both which emphasize quality craftsmanship.
Gazebo Materials?
- The cedar gazebo is made of only cedar, from dimensional cedar lumber & cedar shakes.
- The log gazebo has a cedar floor, cedar floor joists, cedar ceiling joists & cedar shakes. The upright posts, ceiling supports and railing are lodgepole pine. The lodgepole pine is skip peeled, which means that a bit of bark is purposely kept on the pine for a rustic look. Yes, the pine can be clean peeled, without the bark for a smooth look.
Why use lodge pole pine in the log gazebos.? Its due to cost. wood properties and availably. Actually lodgepole pine is a fairly hard, tightly ringed tree. Lodgepole pine can occur as the only tree species in dense, straight, very slow-growing groups of trees (so-called "dog-hair" stands). We use only air dried logs for uprights and railing. As the lodgepole used in the gazebo is covered with a roof, and is not placed in contact with the ground, the entire gazebo should last beyond our lifetime. If you put a finish on the gazebo, this will seal all the wood from the elements, which will also further extend the life of the gazebo. As with most other folks who work with cedar, smaller diameter logs are fairly hard to obtain - most cedar is only cut when it is mature with a large diameter. Yes, we can get expensive smaller diameter non-dried cedar, which can take up to 4 months to dry properly, but the cost is not for the weak of heart.
Gazebo Options?
- cedar & log gazebo options include no floor, more openings, no shakes (the roof ready for you to put on asphalt roofing material or a metal roof), screen kits, & built-in benches.
- log gazebos only options can be pre-stained, log steps, extra railing, and even a gable or sun deck for an additional charge.
Why do we only ship within the continental US? Shipping is very expensive to Alaska & Hawaii. We don't ship to Canada due to the uncertainty of trade regulations that are continuously fluctuating in regards to wood products that cross the border. We have found that we get different answers when we ask different Canadian offices. You are welcome to pick up a gazebo in our shop in Montana and transport it across the border.
Why is there a possible shipping surcharge to the log gazebos? Simply, the gazebo is bulky and heavy. We have built into the price an average shipping charge. If we are charged more by the common carrier, we need to pass it along. The good news is if we can save a bit on shipping, we will adjust our price down according. We do offer a fair shake to all our customers.
Extra customer contact numbers requested during ordering. Always provide us with any possible alternative phone number(s). Cell numbers, a relative, neighbor, wife or husbands, work number, etc. Why ? It is actually more common than many people believe, but delivery drivers do get lost. We don't sell, trade nor publish any information that is provided to us, we will protect your privacy.
Cranes, forklifts or front end loaders. For the larger log gazebos, it just becomes impractical due to the weight to move the log gazebo sections and get them in proper place by hand. We recommend that you have some mechanical help with 16'x16' octagon and larger gazebos.
Guarantees? We guarantee our workmanship. If the components are damaged during shipping we will replace them. If you need consulting during assembly, we can have one of the Amish craftsmen give you a call. We take pride in our gazebos.
Any suggestions to what products to finish the gazebo?
