# Anchoring a gazebo



## First timer1

I recently purchased a 10'x10' aluminum gazebo to be placed on my raised paver patio. I am trying to figure out if I need to pull up some pavers, dig a hole and pour concrete to anchor the gazebo. Or maybe just anchoring the gazebo directly into the pavers. The base to be anchored has four holes. I can position it so that each hole is on different pavers. That would mean 16 pavers would be holding the gazebo(4 columns x 4 holes/column). It seems to me that it would work. That would be a lot of weight holding the gazebo. Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.


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## Dugger52

Depends on what's under the pavers. If it's dirt you could use a duck bill or screw type anchor and strap or cable to that. If the pavers are over a concrete base and the base has decent thickness, say 4", I use a Red Head or similar system and strap to an eyebolt. 

I'd got by the local hardware and see what they say. If you're in FL it'll have to be anchored and grounded. Also since it's alumnium it'll need to be grounded probably in two places.


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## First timer1

There is dirt under the pavers. Good point about grounding. I did not even think about that. I will stop by the hardware store to see what's available.


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## nojobtakesjust5

*Anchoring gazebo on interlocking pavers - gravel/sand base*

I know this is an old thread but I'm looking to revive it as I, too, have questions about anchoring a metal gazebo.

The gazebo in question is the Pacific Casual Family Garden House sold at Home Depot. It is a 12 x 12 metal gazebo. The gazebo has 6 poles that can be anchored to the ground AND rope tiedowns for the 4 corners.

We are installing this gazebo on a paver patio (patio is detached from our house). The pavers are Old Castle interlocking concrete pavers in a pattern using 16 x 16 and 8 x 8 pavers. Paver base is 1 inch of sand on top of filter fabric, then 4 inches of compacted gravel on top of soil (clay soil in NJ) and another layer of filter fabric on top of the soil. We intend to use Sakrete polymeric sand to lock the pavers but haven't done that yet as we're holding off until we know what we need to do to anchor this gazebo.

Should we pop out pavers were the gazebo poles would rest and create footers and anchor using some type of masonry anchor? Do we still need the tie downs then?

Anchor direct to the pavers using some type of masonry anchor AND get some mobile home tie downs?

Note that we'd like to be able to take the gazebo down in winter time to protect it from the elements.

Thanks in advance for your help!


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## First timer1

*Gazebo*

This was my original post. What I ended up doing was to use masonry anchors directly into the pavers. My pavers are also 2 different sizes in a herringbone pattern. There are 4 posts that have 4 holes at the base. I made sure each hole was on different pavers. That way each post is essentially held down by 4 pavers(16 total). So far, so good. We've had some windy days here in NJ and I have not had any problems. I will leave mine up year round but will take the canopy off for the winter. Hope this helps


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## nojobtakesjust5

Thanks for the reply.

We had also come to the conclusion of masonry screws into the pavers to anchor the gazebo. I'm pleased to learn it's working out for you esp. as you're also in NJ.

The gazebo goes up this week as we were FINALLY able to finish the patio. The rain really delayed things.

Thanks again for your reply.

PS - Did you end up grounding the gazebo? How/With what?


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## First timer1

I have not grounded it yet.


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## kwdreams

*Looking for an update on how well this worked for you...*

bump... Looking for an update on how the masonary screws worked for you...


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## nojobtakesjust5

*Update*

Worked great for us. No problems with any of the storms we had last year. We took the canopy, netting, panels and 'roof' off for the winter. We just put everything back up. Looking good. :thumbsup:

We have the Pacific Casuals Family Garden House, which came with rope tie downs. As our patio is a repurposed play area with railroad ties all around, we also used the tie downs by securing them to hooks sunk on the side of the railroad ties. 

Between the masonry screws in the pavers and the tie downs in the railroad ties, I think that if we had very high winds, the fabric and netting would be shredded before the gazebo goes anywhere. 

Best of luck!


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## AllanJ

I would think it would be a stroke of luck for the mounting holes to line up to get all 16 mounting holes on 16 different pavers.

Depending on the style of the gazebo, it may be possible to put concrete blocks on the floor inside or on a flange like part of the frame underneath to weight the gazebo down more.


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## nojobtakesjust5

Luck sure but planning works even better. Depends on your pavers of course (and that should be part of one's planning) but it worked for us.

We had some very high winds last week (blew our hammock over). No problem with the gazebo. Almost time to take it down (to just the support columns) for the winter. Summer passes more quickly every year.


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## Scuba_Dave

This year I replaced the poles on our screenhouse with PT wood
Poles were too light weight to support the screenhouse
And it was not supposed to be left up per MFg for long periods
I had most of the wood, so only spent about $60
Its bolted into 8x8 landscaping timbers at the bottom
Just about time to take the material off for the winter

I also added rope lights & LED lights inside
Plus a misting spray setup along the front
This pic is before I added all the straps on the inside to hold the canvas down
...you can see the black clips in the 2nd pic 
...and the pile of old poles


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## dud283

I'm new to DIY, but I was wondering if filling the columns with sand would be enought weight to hold down my 10X10 Aluminum Gazebo. Each column is a hollow 4X4X96 inch extrusion. I don't want to drill holes in my concrete patio as over the years things change.


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## mike-g

No it wouldn't be, at least in my opinion. You need to anchor it down somehow. Don't fill the poles with sand because that sand will put too much weight near the top and could cause it to tip over easier.


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## bakermo

I don't like the thought of drilling holes in my pavers either.

What do you all think about sand bags in the corners of the metal frames? They are just L shaped and open at the bottom and I could build a platform for the sand bags.

Thanks


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## tee2nu

*Did it work?*



bakermo said:


> I don't like the thought of drilling holes in my pavers either.
> 
> What do you all think about sand bags in the corners of the metal frames? They are just L shaped and open at the bottom and I could build a platform for the sand bags.
> 
> Thanks


Hi, I am thinking of using sandbags as well. Did you try it? If so how did it perform during high winds? Thanks.


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