gazeco roof desgin

[tomj25]

good afternoon , im planning on having a go a building my own wood gazebo after getting a load off free wood from a building site my son works on and it was going in the skip so i gratefully took it off there hands, so i have a good range off diy skill and do all my own work at home but i would like a bit off advice before i jump into building it and finding out its not safe, so i would like it to be 4mtr x 3mtr with a roof the same as picture with a height off approx 1mtr, i plan to use the following materials, 4x4 posts each corner, 4x3 for the ring beam and 4x2 for the rafters , will these all be ok to build it with ? i plan to finish the open top later as i want to put a wood stove in the center and vent it through the opening and flash as needed, my other question is regarding the rafters and how do i go about finding the angles from the small square to the outside beam, i was planning on fitting my inside the beam not like in the picture, would be grateful for all comments and advice , thanks

 

[MikeG.]

Could you do a quick sketch of the plan view of what you are proposing, and mark it up with rough dimensions and your proposed timber sizes. The photo you have posted may be a bit misleading, and is certainly an unusual construction. If you want to do it like that you'll need a structural engineer to comment.

 

[tomj25]

Hi mike thanks for the reply, i will do a few drawing when i get home, im open to a different design if you have any my idea with the one is pic was just to make it so my burner was central but if its looking like its going to make things harder i can move the burner into a corner im just looking for something simple ish and not to complicated to build.

 

[tomj25]

hi all , sorry for the long delay in replying, ok so after a lot off looking around a different gazebo styles ive decided to change my plans and go with what i think is a standard style roof, please excuse my drawing but hope it makes sense, 2nd picture is what i hope to end up with but im going to use featheredge boards for the roof, so will the timber i want to use be ok or do i need to rethink plans, thanks tom

 

[MikeG.]

That'll work, although reality is nothing like your drawing. Your building will be almost square, and will have a ridge only 500mm long. The biggest design issue you have is bracing, with those puny little braces you've shown being inadequate. A good wind will wreck this building as you have it shown. You don't actually need a 100x75 "ring beam" (it's a wall plate), because most of the structural load is take at the corners where the hip rafters land. Far more important than the size of timber is the corner joint detail, because the hips will try to push the corners apart. You'll also need a good detail at the foot of the posts, to keep the timber away from contact with the ground.

 

[tomj25]

hi mike would you do me a drawing of the roof if you where to build it yourself, the posts will be concreted direct into ground 3ft is this going to be ok ? what im looking to get is hopefully a plan so i can cut everything first on ground rather than struggling to cut one piece at a time is there a calculator or something that will allow me to put my size roof in that will do the sizes to cut or am i asking for to much

 

[MikeG.]

You want me, someone who makes a living drawing buildings for people, to draw you this building free? Am I getting that right?

If you concrete timber posts in the ground they'll be rotten within 5 years. They will rot off at the top of the concrete, or at ground level. If you want the thing to last you make steel shoes for the posts, and you concrete the steel into the ground.

 

[tomj25]

if you never ask you never get , will take that advice and get some steel shoes thanks

 

[AJB Temple]

I built an oak framed Gazebo at home. There are some pics below (which inexplicably seem to rotate). I use green oak, it's my own design in that it suits the tools and skills I have - all timber framing is much the same really but it is fundamental to make it robust enough to stand up to the weather, racking, snow load etc. This one is my outdoor kitchen and is shown before I did all the block paving. Whatever you do, don't set your posts down in the ground. I usually set mine on granite blocks and steel pins, but in this case the building was set on slabs and then was paved all around later. It is above adjacent ground level now that it is landscaped and will not rot.

I partially assembled the core roof elements, such as the drop post, before lifting the roof into place. This requires quite a bit of muscle. I also have a steel tripod lift that enables be to lift the plates with just one helper. There are all sorts of ways of raising frames. This is an easy one but don't underestimate the weight if you are going to make it substantial enough to be useful.

 

[AJB Temple]

No idea why the pictures rotated! Sorry.

I would not use weatherboard for the roof if that was what you are suggesting. In this case I used heavy duty felt, and made a LOT of cedar shingles for roof tiles. However, the building would easily have taken clay peg tiles or slate: I just fancied shingles on this one.

 

[AJB Temple]

This gives you an idea of the result before I got round to building units.

 

[tomj25]

Wow absolutely stunning thanks for the pictures and your advice on making shingles is something i never thought of but will definitely be going that way, thanks tom

 

[AJB Temple]

I didn't advise making them! I just said I did. I had a lot of cedar and a big band saw. I use what I have lying around and that suits what I want. You can buy cedar shingles easily. Focus on your frame.

 

[HOJ]

A good book for how to cut a roof is Goss's roofing ready reckoner, this has timber sizing tables and cutting calculations.