Unfortunately, this is one of those new toys with "some assembly required".
The good news? I got Brett to help out with it! We don't usually seem to pair up on a lot of these sorts of projects - Brett likes to tackle things himself, and my projects are often the kind I know he'll want nothing to do with (like digging in the dirt!) ;-)
Hmmm...any guesses as to what it might be? (Oh, and check out all the deck furniture out in the lawn...)
Woo hoo - we're getting a roof!
Ta-daaaa! It's a gazebo! We've been debating how white trashy this might make us. We're settling with "just a little". ;-) But this thing is WONDERFUL - we got the idea after seeing someone else in the neighborhood with one very similar. The back side of our house, and especially the deck, get blasted with full sun ALL afternoon - from about noon til the sun sets, it gets HOT out there. Now don't get me wrong - I loves me some sun!! But it's to the point where you really can't just sit out and relax. The sun reflects off the white siding, so you're actually cooking from both sides. Plus you can't walk around barefoot on the deck because it gets so hot as well (and I've watched Doogie do a little dance a couple times). And, without wanting to sound like I complain alot when really I love the outdoors, the mosquitos and especially the deer flies can be a real nuisance at times...those things HURT!
So now we have shade AND "bug netting drapes" that can be zipped closed on all sides. As a bonus, I can have a cat out with me, zip us up on all sides, and the cat is contained! ;-) This worked great with Tucker - he was fairly content to just chill out on a chair or the table. I should try Moxie and Simon sometime.
And once we're 100% certain where we want the gazebo (a few inches this way, a few inches that way) we'll bolt it down to the deck. After checking the clearance sales at Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart and Target, I settled on the cheapest one (that's a real shocker!), and got Brett to agree he liked it as well. For just under $200 it's not bad! Sure, I checked the online reviews AFTER we assembled it to see it only got 2.5 out of 5 stars on the Home Depot site, but most gripes are about it blowing away. We'll bolt it down using the existing holes, and probably do as some happy folks suggested and drill in some extras.
I have to say it assembled QUITE nicely! Sure, we had a bit of a set back since I missed the very first step of the assembly instructions (I was on the wrong page), and THOUGHT it seemed like something was missing, but proceeded anyhow, and ended out constructing all four corner posts backwards...so we had to undo/redo that ... but even with that bit of fun it went together really well!!
I gotta say, I'm looking forward to summer a lot more now!! Hm. Now someone bring me a fru fru drink and fan me....you can keep the shades though. I'm not gonna need them under my gazebo!
11 comments:
You need a pool boy and some palm fronds and you'll be set!
I like the way you think!
You need a hammock.
(Note - there is no banana adjective in that sentence)
LMAO!
It's only white trashy if it's a big plastic blue tarp stretched over two abandoned pick up trucks. I think it looks nice!
Is that what your neighbors have?
Nice gazebo! :)
Very cool!
we got one at Target for 75% off. I think it cost us 25.00 and we only used it once. Our deck has lattice on top so it blocks the sun somewhat. I'm sure we can make a profit when we sell the gazebo at our yard sale.
Thanks guys!
Hi Randi - welcome aboard! I hope that's not the same gazebo (do Target and Home Depot carry the same brands?) - because the math doesn't add up quite right and that would mean I paid a lot more for ours than I should've, discount or no! LOL
Hey, that thing looks sharp! Can't wait to see pics of your first deck party. :-D
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