Imminent Collapse

Started to set up the gazebo today. I had been putting it off all spring because I was concerned it was in poor shape. As I suspected, the structure was no longer sound. Years of rust from leaving it up all winter finally took its toll on the roof supports. As I attempted to reinstall the cloth roof, it became apparent that the supports were no longer safe.

The gazebo has been here since before that garden was complete. It even suffered a blow-over during a violent storm. Finally, two years ago I made the mistake of leaving the roof on too long into the snow season. The supports were severely bent, and I bent them back, but it was only a matter of time before they collapsed.

Now that it is down and being recycled, there is a vast expanse of space in the garden.

I looked into having a timber beam structure built, but the coast was starting at $4,500 and quickly rising. Too much for me right now. Instead, I opted to replace the gazebo with another metal structure, one that has a solid roof. Its a bit risky in the northeast, but I can just use my snow rake to remove snow if it gets to heavy (I hope). The replacement I purchased is the Palram Palermo 3000 10 x 10 gazebo.

I got a good sale price on it and was able to acquire it for less than $1,000. It should be here in a week or so. I will need to decide on how to secure it, especially with a solid roof. I might have to install some cement footings ( no easy task). I will wait until it arrives and I complete the initial set up before I decide.