Question:
I would like to get some ideas from the experts:
I would like to put up a gazebo in my backyard. I would like for it to
be attached to the house so if I open the rear door I will be walking
into it. The style will be like a pergola (vertical wood post along the
perimeter, and horizontal members across the top. Very informal and
simple. I would be planting some vines and orchids hanging off this
structure.
There are two problems.
First, my rear door opens to a 4" thick concrete pad so this structure
will sit on this pad. This pad is sligthly sloped away from the house,
at a rate of 10" drop over 10'. Should I do somthing to level this
structure or just let it follow the slope? what are the pros and cons?
How would I attach the vertical posts to the concrete pad? or should I
punch through the pad and anchor it deep into the ground like a fence
post?
Since I am in miami where the mosquito capital of the world I would like
to screen this thing from the top and the sides. This will provide some
partial shades and keep out the bugs. How would one go about doing this
and would a structure like this look silly and ugly? I guess I need a
door for this if I were to screen this thing.
I do not want to erect a full scale structure for this since an open
thing like this will deal with hurricane much better. No roof to blow
off.
Answer:
-Check out the pergola project on my cottage garden web page
http://www.transy.edu/homepages/wells/pergola.htm
This may give you some ideas to get started with. You could surround it
with mosquito netting for an informal look.
-It sounds more like you're making a covered back porch. Gazebos
typically stand away from the house. But I digress...
The pros of not leveling the pad include not having to level it,
which would be a pain in the butt (and since you're in Miami, kinda
stupid to do--the slope keeps the rain away from the foundation).
Cons? Your covered back porch will slope down 1"/foot. Not a huge
problem.
Let us say your new structure will stop five feet from the back of
the house, and that you're going to have three posts in it--one next
to the house, one 2.5 feet from the house and one five feet out. The
post foot next to the house will be, say, six inches high, the middle
one 8.5 inches high and the farthest one eleven inches.
To attach the feet to the concrete pad, rent a hammer drill and
create a hole in the concrete where each post foot will be. Build
some little forms for pouring concrete. Drop into the holes pieces of
3/4" All-Thread, one per hole, and soak up the concrete good. Pour in
wet concrete and let dry. Don't build the structure for another week.
Just look at some other people's screened porches--making something
that works and doesn't look like crap isn't a difficult endeavor.
The hurricanes you get will demolish this structure as easily as a
roofed one. I saw Andrew's aftermath.
