Screen gazebo

There is the portable screen gazebo more like a tent you carry around with you when you go camping such as these examples here

There is the aluminum framed screen gazebo which was more popular in the sixties and seventies. These were often “semi-portable” in that they could be taken apart and left in the garage over the winter, although most people left them out in the yard all year long.

These aluminum gazebos often need rescreening, and because its too akaward to takes all eight sides in the car to the screen shop, its good to do them on site. If you you look at my page on repairing storm doors screens, you can learn how this can be done, even without taking the gazebo apart.

Heres a good example of an 11 foot diameter aluminum gazebo

Heres another example, this one is a fourteen foot diameter model...

Nowadays so many products are made offshore and stores dont do any repair due to the complications and costs. Your old gazebo might need a new roof panel for its vinyl roof or even a complete roof. If that is the case try checking with furniture repair and auto upholstery shops. These places both work with vinyl all the time and maybe able to repair of replace your gazebo roof. Even the local tailor maybe able to do the work but it is likely you would first have to find the vinyl material yourself. One advantage to restoring your old roof is that you could have it made to match your house decor exactly.



Then there is the permanent wooden screen gazebo and regular gazebo which becomes a focal point of your garden. Some of these are ornately designed with lots of fine millwork, cupolas and fancy roofs.

Generally they are constructed with 4” x 4” vertical wooden posts which can have 1” x 1”cleats attached as a means to attach aluminum screen frames. In a gazebo, using the cleats will help enable you to install screen frames without resorting to bending the frames to accommodate the angles in an eight sided gazebo. With a table saw it is possible to angle cut one side of the cleat, to make a flat surface to attach the screen frame.

If you position the cleats toward the inside of the gazebo, they will not distract from the look of the gazebo from the outside.

If you want to build your own gazebo here is a link to books that help in that area. Try this book: Building the perfect gazebo