Gazebo Project Update: This is the progress report on the pier to date. Warning: It's kind of long.
The final design is slightly different from the illustration, as I’ll explain later. I ordered a 12 foot gazebo kit and an 18 foot floor kit from Amish Country Gazebos. I had the manufacturer slightly customize the floor for my application, because the kits are designed assuming the same diameter for gazebo and floor. I laid out each of the 6x6 support posts to be directly under the gazebo posts, which will give a three foot cantilevered deck outside the gazebo. I did it that way for two reasons: First, I wanted the load to be transmitted directly from the gazebo to the ground. Second, I wanted to hide the supports, so the floor would appear to float just above the water.
After carefully laying out the locations of the posts I rented a skidsteer loader with a 12" auger to drill the holes 5 feet deep for the posts. The posts are 6x6 except for the center post that supports the inner part of all the wedges. This image shows all the posts after dropping them into the holes.
Lining up and plumbing the posts was pretty time-consuming, since each post had to be precisely located in order for each post to support two adjoining wedges of the gazebo. I got lucky on this step. The night after we finished setting the posts we got a big rain that raised the level to cover the holes for the deeper posts. Here is how they looked after setting them and pouring in two 80 pound bags of concrete mix into each. Now they look more like soldiers at attention.
The contractor used a rotating laser level to mark the water level. But being one not to trust modern technology, I used a water level to set the height of the posts. The reservoir for the level was an ice chest sitting on top of a 5 gallon bucket.
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I ran the hose to the spillway pipe to set the water level reference, and then adjusted the height of the reservoir with some blocks and shims, so I would not have to keep up with correction factors. From there I used the water level to mark the posts. If you look closely, you can see the water level at the height of the speed square.
For preliminary rapid setup I did use a transit level to mark each post.
We cut off each of the posts using two brackets as guides for the circular saw.
We finished the cut using a sawzall
This shows one of the posts after cutting it off.
This shows the gazebo supports after cutting off all the posts and installing cross bracing. Since each post extends 5 feet below the surface, I probably didn’t really need the cross bracing, but I decided to be a little conservative. Note that there are two extra posts to provide support where the gazebo floor joins the pier. I did this, because I didn’t want people walking from the pier to the gazebo to feel the spring from the cantilever as they step from one to the other.
Next came the fun part—installing the gazebo deck. This shows the first wedge being lifted in place using a rope rigging and front end loader on my Green Machine
This shows the first wedge being lowered onto the posts.
This shows three of the wedges in place.
This is the last wedge being lowered,
And this shows all the wedges roughly in place.
Precisely aligning all the wedges and leveling them was pretty time-consuming. The procedure involved using screw clamps to adjust one wedge relative to its neighbor until the two were precisely aligned and level. Then I drilled a hole at that location, installed a bolt, and then moved to the next section. This shows the eight wedges after they are all bolted together.
Each pair was bolted to its neighbor with three bolts. This illustrates one of the joints.
This shows how the 8 wedges meet over the center post.
This shows one of the joints with the post visible below.
This shows the supports from underneath.
So far the only thing that disappointed me about the gazebo deck was the alignment of the deck boards at the joints. I would have expected more precise cutting of the miter joints in a factory environment. Maybe I am just being too picky. I suppose most people would not notice the alignment, but when you build something yourself, you always notice every imperfection.
I’m thinking about covering up the alignment by routing out about an inch from the center to the outer edge at the joints, and then inlaying a darker wood strip. Maybe some ipe that I have left over from the house deck. That would cover the error in alignment, and might even add a little pizazz to the overall floor.
The next step was the connecting pier. I had originally planned to bolt the headers to the posts, so as to give some room for error in cutting the posts. But the levels of the gazebo deck turned out so well that I changed the plan and set the headers on top of the posts. I did take the precaution of attaching the headers of the pier and the stringers of the gazebo floor to the posts using lag bolts. That way, if I ever need to adjust the height, I can loosen the lag bolts and raise the level with shims.
Then we installed the stringers for the inner parts of the pier using galvanized joist hangers
I have not yet installed the outer stringers, because I need to find 2x6 stringers that match those of the gazebo deck, which used clear wood treated with a non-copper preservative that has a lighter color.
One detail that is not shown in the diagram is shown in the next image. Note that the stringers in the section of the pier immediately adjacent to the gazebo turn out at a slight angle. This is so that the width of the pier can taper from the 6 foot width of the pier to the 89” width of the gazebo edges. I think that, plus using the same wood and same profile for the pier and gazebo will tie the two together in a more unified manner.
This shows the overall project on the day before Hurricane Ida hit. It shows the gazebo deck and pier structure plus a berm for the sand beach. The berm is to reduce the migration of the sand downhill to the deeper sections.
I had planned to rent an excavator this weekend to dig out the beach area a little deeper. Then I planned to cover it with a layer of Portland cement, and rototill it in to make a hard surface to support the sand and discourage plants from growing in. But Ida came in with 6 inches of rain that night, and the next morning it looked like this.
It rose about 2 feet overnight. The red item across the pond is the water level cooler that Ida lifted and deposited across the pond—along with the 5 gallon bucket.
The next stage will be to find the matching wood to finish the pier. Then we can start assembling the gazebo itself, which I hope to have done by Christmas.
I would welcome any suggestions or comments.
Charles