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Gazebo: Footings & Wood Jeff Givens 06-26-2007
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Posted by Jeff Givens on June 26, 2007, 9:39 pm
I am contemplating building an 8' gazebo and was wondering:

1)Are footings really necessary? Wouldn't some PT 4x4s semiburied and
hammered in w/ rebar suffice? I am in SE Penna.

2)I would like to use cedar but the offerings at HD and Lowes are minimal.
I am limited to these two due to a large amount of free gift cards which
are financing the project. Would PT pine be ok to use or is the wood too
variable to construct something like this? I made a playset recently with
the warped and uneven PT wood that turned out ok. I then coated it w/ clear
Thompson's and it actually has a very nice pine look to it. Will yearly
coatings help preserve this look of PT lumber or is it doomed to dingy
gray?

Thanks.
_________________________________________________________________
JG... Jeff Givens
mailto:usenet2XX@xemapsXX.comXX

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

Posted by marson on June 27, 2007, 7:18 am
> I am contemplating building an 8' gazebo and was wondering:
>
> 1)Are footings really necessary? Wouldn't some PT 4x4s semiburied and
> hammered in w/ rebar suffice? I am in SE Penna.
>
> 2)I would like to use cedar but the offerings at HD and Lowes are minimal.
> I am limited to these two due to a large amount of free gift cards which
> are financing the project. Would PT pine be ok to use or is the wood too
> variable to construct something like this? I made a playset recently with
> the warped and uneven PT wood that turned out ok. I then coated it w/ clear
> Thompson's and it actually has a very nice pine look to it. Will yearly
> coatings help preserve this look of PT lumber or is it doomed to dingy
> gray?
>
> Thanks.
> _________________________________________________________________
> JG... Jeff Givens
> mailto:usenet...@xemapsXX.comXX
>
> "My hovercraft is full of eels."

A freestanding gazebo would be OK without footings. Not really sure
what you mean by semiburied 4x4's. Whether you use PT pine or cedar
is a matter of personal taste. Surely you could order cedar at HD or
Lowes. The problem with PT is that it usually arrives sopping wet,
and after you put it up, it will shrink substantially. But you could
either live with the shrinkage or sticker it out and dry it before
applying it. Good luck.


Posted by Jeff Givens on June 28, 2007, 6:47 pm


>what you mean by semiburied 4x4's. Whether you use PT pine or cedar

Just some partially buried lengthwise, leveled and staked - forms a base to
screw stuff down onto.

>is a matter of personal taste. Surely you could order cedar at HD or

I hadn't thought of that - I will ask.

Thanks.
_________________________________________________________________
JG... Jeff Givens
mailto:usenet2XX@xemapsXX.comXX

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

Posted by DanG on June 27, 2007, 8:05 pm
The footings sound more like a personal issue. It would depend
somewhat on how large this thing is and whether or not you're
planning on running it through code enforcement. It will be to
your strong advantage to get the thing leveled up for construction
purposes which can be done by several methods. Many portable
storage buildings are sleepered on some 4 x ?? skids. You may
have some strong interest in some form of tie downs so a strong
wind storm doesn't give your gazebo to a neighbor. This can be
handled by piers, footings, or even trailer tie down augers.

I'm glad you like the look of Thompson's on wood and I sure hope
it does something for you. My experience is that the wood is
going to turn gray whether it is pressure treated yellow pine,
white oak, heart grade red wood, or any of the cedars. 2 years, 2
winters, rain, and lawn sprinklers will establish their own shades
of gray. The one finish I feel that works or would recommend
would by Olympia semi transparent stain or equal. It will still
require reapplication, but it will give you a color of your choice
and still let some of the character of the wood show through..

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
dgriff237@7cox.net



>I am contemplating building an 8' gazebo and was wondering:
>
> 1)Are footings really necessary? Wouldn't some PT 4x4s
> semiburied and
> hammered in w/ rebar suffice? I am in SE Penna.
>
> 2)I would like to use cedar but the offerings at HD and Lowes
> are minimal.
> I am limited to these two due to a large amount of free gift
> cards which
> are financing the project. Would PT pine be ok to use or is the
> wood too
> variable to construct something like this? I made a playset
> recently with
> the warped and uneven PT wood that turned out ok. I then coated
> it w/ clear
> Thompson's and it actually has a very nice pine look to it. Will
> yearly
> coatings help preserve this look of PT lumber or is it doomed to
> dingy
> gray?
>
> Thanks.
> _________________________________________________________________
> JG... Jeff
> Givens
> mailto:usenet2XX@xemapsXX.comXX
>
> "My hovercraft is full of eels."



Posted by Jeff Givens on June 28, 2007, 6:50 pm

>planning on running it through code enforcement. It will be to

Code is not an issue in my township - just is it necessary for the
stability of the gazebo.

>storage buildings are sleepered on some 4 x ?? skids. You may

I was leaning towards this and anchoring the structure to these.

>I'm glad you like the look of Thompson's on wood and I sure hope

I hope it lasts - I plan to reapply every year, or more often if needed. I
can easily switch if this is shown to be a poorer choice of 'color'
preservative.
_________________________________________________________________
JG... Jeff Givens
mailto:usenet2XX@xemapsXX.comXX

"My hovercraft is full of eels."

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