Building A Gazebo - The Disadvantages of Free Gazebo Plans - 0 views

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  #1 Alfie Heide on 11 May 12

   

  They must be aesthetically satisfying and sources of pride and pleasure in your garden.
  
  I have great childhood memories of my grandma's gazebo. It was a beautiful building, taking pride of place in her garden, which was itself a wonderful part of her home. I used to play in and around it with my friends (my brother and sister were far too old for that sort of thing!), and it was at times a fort or a castle or the Sheriff of Nottingham's forward base against Robin Hood. I have never forgotten that summerhouse, and I vowed that one day I will build a gazebo of my own.
  
  In the meantime I have managed to help one or two others to find and build their own dream gazebos, so I thought I would share some of the basic steps with anyone thinking about how to build a gazebo from scratch.
  
  The key to building a summer house is accuracy. It needs great attention to measuring and cutting accurately to plan, otherwise the finished building will look homemade and far from professional. Which brings me to the point of this article - are 'free' gazebo plans any good?
  
  Disadvantages of 'Free' Gazebo Plans
  
  The main disadvantage with anything 'free' is that it forces you into accepting compromises. No materials list? OK, I suppose I can live with that. Bad or unclear assembly instructions? I'm sure I can work it out somehow. How on earth is that corner bracket installed? It looks as if I should have fitted it before joining those joists to the uprights. I wish there had been a little sketch to show me where it went. And so on.
  
  Every 'free' plan I have seen has been short of information or data that I consider essential for the satisfactory completion of any DIY project. The reason is simple. Nobody is going to spend the time and trouble making plans in sufficient detail without adequate recompense, even good-hearted souls who mean well. I'm sorry but that's the reality.
  
  And the reason I write the word 'free' in quotes is because so often 'free' is not actually free at all. At the very least you will have to provide your email details so that you can be pestered later with 'attractive' offers you don't need. Usually there is some sort of extra piece of information that you need and will have to buy. Marketing people use the word 'free' to get your attention - and it usually does - but they might not actually be offering something for nothing.
  
  Poor plans lead to wastage of time, energy and materials. Ultimately they can cause abandonment of the project through loss of confidence or shear exasperation. And 'free' plans are always poor plans.
  
  The other main problem with 'free' plans is that they offer very limited, if any, choice of design. You might already know exactly how your gazebo is going to look. On the other hand you might not, and a good range of design options would be very helpful in making your final choice.
  
  Proper Summer House Plans
  
  So what constitutes a good set of plans? Bearing in mind the accuracy required to build a gazebo, the drawings should be to blueprint standard. wood gazebo

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">They must be aesthetically satisfying and sources of pride and pleasure in your garden.<br /><br />I have great childhood memories of my grandma's gazebo. It was a beautiful building, taking pride of place in her garden, which was itself a wonderful part of her home. I used to play in and around it with my friends (my brother and sister were far too old for that sort of thing!), and it was at times a fort or a castle or the Sheriff of Nottingham's forward base against Robin Hood. I have never forgotten that summerhouse, and I vowed that one day I will build a gazebo of my own.<br /><br />In the meantime I have managed to help one or two others to find and build their own dream gazebos, so I thought I would share some of the basic steps with anyone thinking about how to build a gazebo from scratch.<br /><br />The key to building a summer house is <strong>accuracy</strong>. It needs great attention to measuring and cutting accurately to plan, otherwise the finished building will look homemade and far from professional. Which brings me to the point of this article - <em>are 'free' gazebo plans any good?</em><br /><br /><strong>Disadvantages of 'Free' Gazebo Plans</strong><br /><br />The main disadvantage with anything '<em>free</em>' is that it forces you into accepting compromises. <em>No materials list?</em> OK, I suppose I can live with that. <em>Bad or unclear assembly instructions?</em> I'm sure I can work it out somehow. <em>How on earth is that corner bracket installed?</em> It looks as if I should have fitted it before joining those joists to the uprights. I wish there had been a little sketch to show me where it went. And so on.<br /><br />Every 'free' plan I have seen has been short of information or data that I consider essential for the satisfactory completion of any DIY project. The reason is simple. Nobody is going to spend the time and trouble making plans in sufficient detail without adequate recompense, even good-hearted souls who mean well. I'm sorry but that's the reality.<br /><br />And the reason I write the word 'free' in quotes is because so often 'free' is not actually free at all. At the very least you will have to provide your email details so that you can be pestered later with 'attractive' offers you don't need. Usually there is some sort of extra piece of information that you need and will have to buy. Marketing people use the word 'free' to get your attention - and it usually does - but they might not actually be offering something for nothing.<br /><br />Poor plans lead to wastage of time, energy and materials. Ultimately they can cause abandonment of the project through loss of confidence or shear exasperation. And 'free' plans are always poor plans.<br /><br />The other main problem with 'free' plans is that they offer very limited, if any, choice of design. You might already know exactly how your gazebo is going to look. On the other hand you might not, and a good range of design options would be very helpful in making your final choice.<br /><br /><strong>Proper Summer House Plans</strong><br /><br />So what constitutes a <strong>good set of plans</strong>? Bearing in mind the accuracy required to build a gazebo, the drawings should be to blueprint standard. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.liveoutside.co.uk/wooden-gazebos.html">wood gazebo</a></div>

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