Ron Mijal, owner of Heartland Gazebos, shares these expert tips for buying or building a gazebo for your cabin:
1 Believe it or not, location is not your first consideration; materials are. Be sure to build with durable materials. Ron recommends cedar because “It’s the longest lasting” (compared to pine or pressure-treated lumber).
2 Location is a close second for your top priority. Ron’s customers tell him, “The closer to the house, the better.” His rule of thumb is a maximum of 50 feet from the main home, for the convenience of easily transporting food and drink from cabin to gazebo.
3 A ceiling vent is critical. Be aware that universal building code requires roof-ridge-cap ventilation in homes and cabins but not in gazebos. So make sure your builder installs the proper venting in yours.
4 If you, like most of us, are in mosquito country, make sure you install high-quality fiberglass screens. (Nylon is very poor quality, and metal screens dent.)
5 To get multiseasonal use out of your gazebo, install a window system to keep chilly winds out.
