How To Make A Polycarbonate Gazebo With Your Own Hands - A Step-by-step Guide With Step-by-step Photos, Drawings And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

How to make a polycarbonate gazebo with your own hands

A gazebo installed in the yard will give you a feeling of comfort. A lightweight architectural structure is an alternative to a pool, garden or barbecue awning. Nothing prevents you from making a gazebo with your own hands, not from ordinary wood, but from translucent shiny polycarbonate, armed with a special step-by-step manufacturing instructions.

Content

• 1 Advantages and disadvantages of a polycarbonate yard gazebo

• 2 Works prior to the construction of the summer facility

  • 2.1 Drawings, schemes with dimensions
  • 2.2 Subtleties of the choice of materials: what are the most optimal color and thickness for coating
  • 2.3 Required tools

• 3 Step-by-step instructions for making a summer cottage with your own hands

  • 3.1 Simple foundation
  • 3.2 Construction of a gazebo
  • 3.3 How to make a roof
  • 3.4 Final processing of the finished structure. How and what to sheathe, decorate
• 4 Photo: options for the construction of a garden gazebo made of colored material

Advantages and disadvantages of a polycarbonate yard gazebo

A polymeric material with a honeycomb structure can compete with wood, acrylic glass or any other building material. The fact is that a structure built from polycarbonate sheets has a number of obvious advantages:

• looks "airy", since the polymer material is not heavy raw material, and is often erected without pouring a concrete platform;
• can be dismantled or moved due to its lightness;
• built according to a simple scheme that is understandable even to those who do not consider themselves a master in construction;
• built using materials that can be easily found on sale;
• is relatively inexpensive, less than a structure made of bricks, wood and wrought iron;
• can be created in combination with other material, which will only add originality to the structure.

Simple structure with a vaulted roof

It is worth considering separately the polycarbonate itself, as a material for the construction of a gazebo. It is distinguished by excellent flexibility, amenable to processing with cutting devices and a drill, and is characterized by strength and resistance to high temperatures. Polycarbonate is able to withstand any environmental impact, and therefore can serve without complaints for about 20 years.

This material does not deteriorate due to moisture and sudden changes in temperature. Daylight passes through it without hindrance, which makes the gazebo made of this building material sunny and homely. Another advantage of polycarbonate is its resistance to ultraviolet rays.

All these advantages of the material dispel all doubts about whether it is possible to build a gazebo from polycarbonate. However, a structure made of this material also has significant disadvantages:

• it requires special care, as it is necessarily equipped with a frame made of metal profiles, which needs to be coated with an anti-corrosion compound and painted;
• sooner or later its walls will be scratched;
• may turn black from the inside in the case of poor-quality processing of the seams between polycarbonate sheets;
• it is considered a structure where it will be stuffy, since air does not pass through the walls made of polymeric material of the cellular structure.

Works prior to the construction of the summer facility

Without drawings, the workflow can get out of control, because they are the sources of information about the type of structure, its size and purpose. One way or another, the diagram will show how the gazebo will look like.

Drawings, schemes with dimensions

In order not to get confused in the drawings and in further construction work, a beginner in this business can be advised to build a simple open-type gazebo, the design of which resembles a square or rectangle in shape. Having depicted such a structure on paper, it is necessary to indicate its dimensions.

The parameters of the gazebo depend on the number of people who will occupy it simultaneously. For the owners of the gazebo and 8 guests, there is enough space in the structure if its diameter is 2.9 m. And when it is planned that 12 people will sit in the building for summer vacations, it is necessary to create a rectangular structure with dimensions of 2.5x3.5 m.

Below is a drawing of a gazebo, which is simple and can accommodate at least 8 people. It is made in the shape of a rectangle, equipped with a standard canopy and can be moved if necessary. The backbone of this structure is made of metal elements welded together.

The structure has a vaulted roof and 2 benches

A gazebo designed for 8 people must have a certain size. Its base is created with the parameters of 1.6x2 m. The correct height of such a structure is 2.1 m. It is important to set the walls of the gazebo in question at an angle of 75 ⁰. And the rounding of the pipe for the roof of a small simple structure should be 3 m.

When determining how much building materials will be required, it is important to consider the form in which polycarbonate is sold. Honeycomb material can be purchased in the form of sheets with parameters 2, 1x6 m or 2, 1x12 m. And monolithic polycarbonate, which is more expensive, is usually sold in sheets with dimensions of 2.05x3.05 m.

The subtleties of the choice of materials: what are the most optimal color and thickness for coating

The purchase of polycarbonate for the construction of a gazebo must be approached wisely. The fact is that a structure made of material acquired at random will not last long. When considering polycarbonate in a hardware store, you should first of all pay attention to its expiration date.

It is important to do this, since the polymeric material of the cellular structure is produced in 2 versions: from primary or secondary raw materials. You can understand that this is grade 2 polycarbonate, the creation of which plastic containers and other products were spent, at least by the fact that the material cracks when bent. A cloudy and uneven color of polycarbonate will also indicate this.

Checking the weight of the material will make sure that the second-rate material is on sale. 1 m ^{2 of} polycarbonate with a thickness of 4 mm, to the quality of which there will be no complaints during operation, weighs 0.8 kg. A six-millimeter piece of cellular material is 500 g heavier, and an eight-millimeter piece is 700 g heavier.

This material may differ not only in color, but also in thickness

Requirements are also imposed on the thickness of the polycarbonate required for the construction of the gazebo. Thin and therefore fragile material does not need to be purchased. For the structure to be durable, it should be built from polycarbonate sheets with a thickness of at least 6 mm. Many builders, in order to get a gazebo that will last a long time, prefer an eight-millimeter cellular material.

When choosing polycarbonate, its color design is of particular importance. It is advisable to purchase raw materials that are transparent, almost like glass. It will not get hot under the influence of sunlight and will not make the interior of the gazebo unnatural. Rest in such a building will bring a lot of positive emotions!

The frame of the gazebo made of polycarbonate is supposed to be made of wood or metal profiles. Bars are considered an environmentally friendly and aesthetic material, but if they are not treated with a special compound, they can rot or become covered with fungus. Profiles and corners made of metal do not need specific care and are characterized by durability, therefore they serve as the backbone for the arbor much longer. True, they must be able to connect using a welding machine.

So, in order to build the gazebo shown in the above drawing, you need to prepare:

• polycarbonate sheet;
• 50 m of profiled steel pipes with dimensions of 25x25x2 mm;
• 3 metal profiles bent by a pipe bending device, which will make it possible to make an arch out of them;
• 20 panels of planed polished wood with parameters 2, 5x12, 5x25 cm.

Required tools

To make a mobile gazebo from polycarbonate and other materials, you will need tools. Among them should be:

• power tool for abrasive processing;
• screwdriver;
• an electric tool for drilling holes;
• welding machine;
• a saw that comes in handy when working with wood;
• a hammer;
• hacksaw for metal;
• carpentry hand cutting tools;
• shovel.

During fastening and processing of materials, the master will not do without the following devices:

• drills and nails;
• self-tapping screws, screws and nuts;
• screwdrivers and brushes;
• sandpaper;
• glue for joining wood parts;
• paint and varnish;
• liquid concrete.

Step-by-step instructions for making a summer cottage with your own hands

The first question that must be resolved when starting the construction of a recreation facility in the courtyard of the house concerns the pouring of the foundation. The fact is that in some cases it is possible to make a gazebo without a concrete platform. We are talking about the construction of a portable structure with a metal frame. Still, the polycarbonate from which such a structure will be built is lightweight and therefore does not need to create a place for installation. But, wanting to put a stationary gazebo in the yard, you will definitely have to pour the concrete base.

Simple foundation

The load-bearing pipes of a stationary structure intended for outdoor recreation must be anchored in soil and concrete. This requires the following steps:

1. Choose a site in the yard where the gazebo will stand. It should be borne in mind how close to the surface of the earth the groundwater flows. The earth, which will become the basis for the construction of a structure, needs to be leveled by uprooting stumps from it and removing stones from its surface;
2. Make a markup, determining where the bearing pillars will be immersed, and dig holes 40 cm deep in these places;
3. Pour sand into prepared ditches, tamp it, and then cover with large rubble;
4. Put the profile pipes, which serve as supports, in the dug grooves, fill them with fragments of bricks or rubble so that they do not tilt to the side;
5. Pour the metal supports with purchased liquid concrete and give it time to harden, that is, about 7 days. While the cement slurry dries, it must be moistened with water.

The carrier pipe is filled with concrete

Having installed the supporting pipes in the ground, they begin to manufacture the skeleton of the structure, walls, roof and all other elements.

Gazebo construction

The skeleton of the structure can be assembled separately and then welded to the supporting pipes. But some builders act differently: every detail of the gazebo is attached to the supports by means of a welding machine one by one, for which there is no need to hire a team of workers.

It is recommended to assemble the frame in 5 steps:

1. Cut the purchased pipes, giving them the dimensions indicated in the drawing;
2. Use bolts to connect the gazebo frame supports to each other;
3. Make a base, then weld other metal elements to it, heading up the canopy;
4. Make an arch of the structure, that is, weld 3 equally curved pipes to it. If the bending radius of these metal elements is different, then the polycarbonate sheets will not adhere perfectly to the backbone;
5. Cover metal parts with a primer and paint later.

A structure with a metal frame is durable

How to make a roof

Now we need to start making the roof, which involves the implementation of certain actions:

1. Cutting a sheet of carbonate, for which it is supposed to apply the parameters indicated in the drawing to the material, draw lines and cut along them, armed with a power tool for abrasive processing. This work must be done in slow motion with utmost care to avoid cracks in the polycarbonate, which will ruin the final result of the construction of the gazebo;
2. Fix the 2 obtained sheets of material on the arch using self-tapping screws with rubber gaskets. The need for precisely such fasteners arises for the reason that it is very important to protect the plastic from contact with metal. In addition, through such self-tapping screws, it is possible to achieve a strong connection between the frame and the roof. In this case, one should also not rush, since haste will be fraught with damage to the cellular structure of the material.

The top of the building is already covered with transparent polycarbonate

Final processing of the finished structure. How and what to sheathe, decorate

The construction of an outdoor recreation facility is completed with the arrangement of a table and 2 benches. They are supposed to be sheathed with wood material. You need to get ready for this work: make markings on the bars, guided by the drawings, and cut the parts into the required number of parts.

Finished boards need to be sanded by rubbing with sandpaper. It is impossible to ignore the manufacturing stage, otherwise chips will stick out in the wood, and it will feel rough to the touch. After sanding the boards, you can cover them with a thin layer of varnish. This will make the wood material look smooth and shiny. It can be fixed to a metal frame with a drill and bolts as soon as the varnish dries.

The recreation facility will take on an original look if you decorate it around the perimeter with fresh flowers. To create a cozy atmosphere, it does not interfere with hanging small lanterns on the gazebo. Near the entrance to the building, you can put figures made of plaster of Paris to make it look exquisite. If it is assumed that breakfasts or picnics will be organized in the gazebo, then a tablecloth should be laid on its table, the color of which does not differ from the tone of polycarbonate on the roof.

Photo: options for the construction of a garden gazebo made of colored material

This structure has walls made of cellular material.

Structures with different roofs

Spacious and interesting design

Simple structure with timber frame

Construction, sheathed with polycarbonate, even on the sides

Forged elements serve as decoration

Small cozy design

Relaxation facility with long benches

The gazebo, assembled from metal profiles and polycarbonate sheets, will be a great place to spend time with your family or a group of friends. Such a structure combines 2 qualities: aesthetics and cheapness.