Sunjoy Hardtop Gazebo 11 x 11 ft. Cedar Framed Wood Gazebo with Brown Steel and Polycarbonate Hip Roof Hardtop for Garden, Backyard Shade

This review is for anyone who is dedicating some research to their gazebo purchase. In summary, if you are budgeting in the range of $1k-$2k for your gazebo, this is the product you should choose. First, I'll talk about the plusses, and then I'll mention a few details that aren't mentioned in the product sales page but are things you should know if you plan on purchasing this gazebo.The materials are quite good for the money. The wood is attractive right out of the box, with a somewhat golden color characteristic of cedar. The benefits of cedar are that it is rot-resistant and very light, making it far easier to work with than other solid-wood, treated posts. The brown steel will appear darker than you might anticipate, which is not a bad thing. In sunlight, depending on the angle and distance, it can appear nearly black (again, not a bad thing). The package came with all of the required building materials except anchors (for concrete applications), and all of the items were in great shape out of the box.The hardware is packaged and labelled individually according to the stage of assembly you're in. This accords with the instruction manual, which will tell you how many of such and such you'll need for that stage. The quality of the hardware stands out. For joining beams to posts, you're getting some good-sized lag screws and bolts. You'll never need to worry about the post-beam joints failing on this product (if installed correctly).The instructions themselves are visually detailed. We had no serious issues following along. That said, there are almost no textual instructions at all, so be prepared to look at pictures, not words. All of the parts are well-labeled and easy to find.As for assembly time, we were able to complete this project in one weekend (Sat/Sun), requiring approximately 10-12 hours with an effort level I'd call "casual." We worked at a steady pace, but we weren't breaking our backs either. A lot will depend upon how many people you have available to help and what your own degree of comfort is with building. Give yourself two free days for this project.I would highly recommend two people for this job. I assembled the wood frame on Saturday. For the most part, the frame can be built by one person since it mostly involves assembling the beams, followed by attaching these beams to the posts. At the end, you'll have to raise 2 [two post-one beam] units off the ground in order to attach the remaining two beams, completing the square. For that part, we used three people and would have appreciated a fourth. If you're short on hands, I would recommend buying several 8 ft common 2x4s from the hardware store. You can screw the 2x4's into the posts and use them as stilts for holding things up. For example, see the video featured on the sales page, where the woman uses the 2x4 method. If you have 3-4 people available to help you, there will be no need for this.For assembling the roof, it is a virtual necessity that you have two people. The ladders you'll need depend a lot on your comfort level. We used one 8-ft. ladder and one 6-ft. ladder. The 8-ft. ladder was sufficient for getting to the highest part of the roof with one average-height male standing on it. When it comes to installing the sheet metal on the roof frame, there will be a lot of weasling your way up through the inside of the frame, reaching to install the higher bolts. There's no way around that unless you've got a cherry picker (boom lift) at home.The finished look is terrific. You might consider applying a penetrating water sealer (e.g., Thompson's) to the wood components when you're finished.Finally, a couple of caveats and things to be aware of:- The package comes with a couple of small, steel wrenches. I would highly, highly recommend you have a drill/driver on hand. It would also help to have a ratcheting wrench and a regular combination wrench set at your disposal.- IMPORTANT: make sure you have a nut driver for your drill/driver and a socket for your ratchet that is 13/32". The most common piece of hardware in the kit requires it.- The finished product is not 11 x 13; the 11-ft dimension is actually closer to 10-ft.- You'll build the beams by laminating two boards together. Each of these boards is itself assembled from smaller pieces with half-lap joints and hardware. You might consider adding some wood glue to the half-lap surfaces prior to synching them up with the hardware. I think Sunjoy could have provided some stronger bracing for these joints, at least for the middle section of the beams. (It seems Sunjoy does provide this extra bracing in the 'upgrade' version of this gazebo.)- For those of who you are planning on anchoring this gazebo to concrete, this kit doesn't come with the required anchors. It comes with spikes for lawn applications. Each post bracket has four holes. For concrete applications, you will wind up drilling into the concrete through these bracket holes and probably installing Tapcon screws or an equivalent. I would have preferred Sunjoy to offer a specific gazebo kit for concrete applications, with a proper steel mount and a large wedge anchor for each post. It's pretty tedious drilling 16 separate holes into concrete, and it's not really that difficult to shear the heads off Tapcon screws. That said, the post bracket covers that come with the unit will cover the base of your posts completely so it doesn't matter what anchoring hardware you choose.Could someone with experience build a better gazebo themselves? Sure. But you're going to spend a lot more money and a lot more time. All of the materials for this gazebo come pre-cut and with pre-drilled holes. For a DIY kit, it doesn't get easier than that. The pre-drilled holes seemed very accurate from the manufacturer. We didn't encounter any serious issues with misalignments during assembly.This gazebo looks great. For hobby builders, it's enjoyable to build. The materials are higher-quality than you're going to find in any other product within this price range. The finished product is nice and heavy - I would guess it pushes 350 lbs. fully-assembled. Short of a direct hit from a tornado, I don't see this thing going anywhere. This gazebo will beat a cheaper, soft-top version any day of the week. It's something you'll be proud to have in your yard, and better yet, you won't have to worry about putting up (and taking down) your soft-top canvases any longer.

We searched for a while to find our gazebo and really liked the Sunjoy line (right now, Amazon has the best price on this model by about $500.) The materials are very sturdy and the boxes (5) arrived in great shape. The only thing not included were anchoring bolts. If your gazebo will be installed on cement, pavers, or decking you will need the appropriate anchors. This model came with lawn spikes only.Installation would have taken us a day or two, but we opted for a professional installer (search under "assemblers") who took about 3 hours to complete the gazebo.Our Sunjoy gazebo looks really pretty and added to our very plain back yard.Some things to consider:1. Choose a size that fits the space and does not overcrowd it. We have a very narrow back yard so opted for the 9x9 rather than the 11x11 foot gazebo.2. Placing the gazebo right next to your roof line may cause a drainage issue or will make your patio area too dark. Ours is about 3' from our porch.3. Decide whether the posts will set on your patio pad or outside of it so your installer can bring the proper fasteners.

I bought this one (with wooden posts) in the hopes I could use the posts to attach wood frames with fiberglass panels to enclose it a bit. But the posts are SO LIGHTWEIGHT, that I (60 year old, slightly built woman), could easily pick up an 8' post. I could probably have lifted it in one arm if not ungainly to do so. It is laminated cedar (1/2" layers) with a hole drilled out of the center - probably to keep it from twisting or cracking. The cross pieces are also very thin, the only thing that is probably keeping this together is the great engineering and the heavy metal roof. I have it in a protected area, and we usually don't get strong storms. But I wouldn't trust this in the open with any type bad weather. Also, they only give you 2 anchor pins per post, even though the metal base has 4 holes. The pins are weak, smooth, and only 6" long, so my advise is buy your own anchor pins. The metal roof seems to be quality, but the paint is so thinly coated, that it scratches easily, and the few places it was scratched in shipment, was rusting already. So, if you are in a sea coast or wet area, be Really careful about not scratching it. The hardware was very good, and directions to put it together were also fairly good. I put this together all by myself, except had my 83 year old Dad there to help me put the 4 cross beams up (he had to steady the posts). I did use a lot of ladders and a tractor bucket as my assistants, and I have a lifetime of building things for experience. Good thing, too. There were many times the "picture only" directions weren't quite clear enough, and I had to use my common sense and experience to figure something out. It looks great though, and keeps the rain off. I have it sitting on thick railroad ties, and there is enough of a "ledge" to build an interior wall system for what I was wanting to do. If you use it as a cover for the sun and rain, in a protected area, this is a good gazebo. If you are looking for something sturdier, better build it yourself from scratch.

The media could not be loaded. This is a nicer unit than expected. I can easily see a coastal resort ordering ten of these and using them as poolside cabanas. Posts are quality cedar. Top supports and roof panels are painted aluminum.Took me three days at six hours per day to assemble with only one day of help when hoisting the vertical legs up and placing them in location with a tape measure.The best feature- Very pleasant sound when it rains.