Essex Collection Gazebo
4.5
5
46
46
Easy to put together
We purchased this and erected it with just 3 older people between rainstorms and strong winds. It looks fabulous and we have had many complements on it. We only partly did the roof, then put the legs under, inserting the panels after and it worked well that way. Only rocked a little in strong winds. Some say the roof weighs over 500 pounds, but the whole thing only weights 364 pounds.
May 31, 2013
fingers crossed for durability
Just purchased and set this up last weekend. it took 2 of us about 7-8 hrs to put it together (followed the advice of other reviewers and put the panels on when roof frame was up - thank you!) My only concern is that it is fairly wobbly (used lag bolts to attach to wooden deck) so I'm hoping it will hold up. I had thought it was all season but unfortunately it is not ... won't be taking it down though so I am very much hoping that it can withstand snow load in northern ontario and some wind too.
Will have to update after winter and will increase the stars in my rating if it is still standing. waiting for the screen to arrive next week, word to the wise - do not miss the step for the screen rods - it is not easy to put them up once it is built, everything needs to be loosened and adjusted (another few hours!).
May 31, 2013
Essex Gazebo 088-1336-8
We purchased this gazebo for the same reason as everyone else - tired of purchasing the canvas tops every year or so.
My husband put the tent together while I opened all the packages of nuts and bolts and sorted them in yogurt containers and labelled them. I told him what nuts and bolts and screws to use for each part he picked up. We made a great team. When it came time to move the gazebo in place he went next door and got four of the young high school students and they came and helped him move it. It was difficult because they were not tall enough and neither was my husband but they got the job done.
Now, we live in the country in New Brunswick and to be honest we should have investigated this further because to us, there is a major design flaw in how the curtains and netting fit in the gazebo....its more that they don't fit. We have black flies, mosquito's and midges/no-see-ums and there is sufficient space at the very top of the roof, over the rungs where the netting hangs and the netting is about a half inch too short.
We are considering taking this one apart and purchasing one with a better "no-bugs" design and we've only had this since May (2013)
The canvas tents were much better even though we had to replace the top now and then.
May 31, 2013
Essex Gazebo
I purchased the hard top Essex gazebo after years of replacing the canvas canopy tops. I am absolutely thrilled with it. Now that I have the curtains and netting too, it feels like I have added another room for the beginning of many social times ahead. I also added an indoor/outdoor rug and of course a couple more accent chairs. I topped it off with a hanging solar light which is so convenient. Next comes a heater....hmmm
Thank you Canadian Tire!!!!
May 27, 2013
EXCELLENT GAZEBO
I PURCHASED THIS GAZEBO MAY 2013...HAD IT DELIVERED AND SET UP....THRO THE LOCAL CANADIAN TIRE STORE HERE IN NIAGARA.....THE CHAP AND HIS HELPER...A REALLY NICE LADY.... CAME 8:30 A.M. SUNDAY AND WAS OUT OF HERE BY 12 NOON. I WILL TELLYOU THAT MY HUSBAND AND I NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ERECT IT OURSELVES....[SENIORS]....THERE A LOT OF PARTS FOR.....AND SOME OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT BUILDING THE ROOF LAST ARE NOT QUITE RIGHT.....BUILD THE FRAME FOR THE ROOF AND INSTALL THE TOP PORTIONS OF IT FIRST......THEN ONE BY ONE PUT THE LEGS UNDER EACH SIDE AND YOU HAVE IT STANDING TALL....SQUARE UP THE LEGS.....PUT IN THE LAG BOLTS....THEN FINISH THE ROOF...... I READ ALL OF THE REVIEWS.... AND I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT SOME OF THE POSTED MATERIAL..AND I WILL ADDRESS THOSE HERE..... "OUR" GAZEBO WAS NOT DAMAGED AND THE CHAP THAT PUT IT UP REALLY KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING....HE WAS A PRO. WE ANCHORED TO A CONCRETE SLAB AND THERE IS STILL SOME MOVEMENT..... BUT THE C.N. TOWER MOVES TOO.....AFTER 3 REPLACEMENT CANOPYS FOR OUR PREVIOUS GAZEBO......I AM GOING TO ENJOY NOT HAVING TO FIGHT GETTING THEM OFF AND ON THE FRAME TWO TIMES A YEAR WITHOUT TEARING THEM. THIS TRULY IS A GREAT GAZEBO AND I THINK WE WILL ENYOY FOR MANY YEARS.
May 27, 2013
Best Gazebo for your Buck
Bought this gazebo a few weeks back. After about 10 solid hours I had it up. The clearances on the product could have been a little tighter but the overall result was good. Read through other reviews and write down tips and tricks for putting it together. I put this together myself. No need to get 6 guys together to lift the roof on or any of that. Just change the sequence in which its put together and you`re good. You`ll need a good ladder and a good cordless drill is a must. Roof panels are not light which is a good thing, should stand up to some serious weather. I bolted mine down into concrete footings, a must for high wind areas. I can`t begin to imagine the damage this thing would do if it ever took flight. It does wobble and juggle in the wind a little more than my liking, I would have thought this thing would be quite rigid but anyone can walk up and grab onto one of the legs and wiggle the whole structure around. Overall this is a great product and I would buy one again, seems fairly well constructed and has held up to some very strong winds already.
May 23, 2013
Very durable
Last spring I installed the Gazebo on an 18 inch raised deck on the coast of Northern NS. The location is fully exposed to the weather and wind. Over the winter we had wind and gusts in excess of 100 km/h. When we built it I was prepared to only get a single summer out of it, but surprisingly it survived in very good shape!
We did take some precautions which may have helped. One we put a bead of silicone on the roof panels prior to installing to help reduce vibrations. For the winter we also added cable tie downs to each corner and cargo ties over the top. The only problem we encountered was that every bolt on the legs vibrated loose over the winter. We tightened them back up using loctite and aside from a little corrosion all is well. Corrosion is light given the Gazebo gets hit with salt spray during storms.
Overall I'm very impressed with the Gazebo and strongly suggest using some loctite or similar during installation.
May 20, 2013
Solid, but a project
Followed previous posters' instructions about building the legs first, then boxing it in. We went one step further and built the roof spars in place, and then balanced the completed roof cap on a 16' A-frame ladder, then bolted it in place.
Here's what we've learned beyond what was already discussed:
-get it delivered - the boxes are insanely heavy. The CT delivery guys put it right in the backyard at no extra cost. There was a lot of grunting and moaning as they dutifully thumped the two boxes onto the patio. That was easily the best $45 I've ever spent :-)
-This is at a minimum a two-person, 2-day job.
-The roof panels scuff easily on patio stone/pavement, one has to watch out for that, and use touch-up paint where needed.
-The packing was done really well, no damaged pieces, even though the biggest box took a catastrophic-looking forklift hit.
-Don't lose too many bolts, there isn't too many extras in the package. Use sorting containers and label the bolts before you start for sure.
-The legs have to be dead square and level or the roof panels may not line up well.
-The centre roof spar caps don't have a top bolt and tend to jut upward slightly, but noticeably, toward the roof cap, I might have to put a roofing screw in there to hold it down later.
-the stickers are completely and utterly evil
So far, so good, we'll see how it holds up after a few years. Rust is a definite concern. It seems watertight at this point, but we haven't had any torrential downpours yet...
We're also using the throw-away powder-coated metal frames that protected the parts as a trellises for clematis plants and beans in the garden, so that's definitely a bonus :-)
May 20, 2013
Initial Assessment - May 2013
I bought this gazebo on sale ($100 savings) in May 2013 based upon the many positive reviews I read on this site and after having examined a floor model in the store. I liked that it: is made mostly of steel (vice aluminum); appears to be quite sturdy (compared to other models I looked at); was a lot cheaper than the models sold at Costco by the same manufacturer (Sunjoy Industries); and that it was an all-season gazebo ... or so I thought ... it's not. You might be able to leave it up in climates that get little to no snow but the manfacturer clearly states several times in the assembly manual that THIS IS NOT AN ALL-SEASON GAZEBO.
It took me approximately eight hours to construct this gazebo on my deck. While the assembly instructions are fairly clear (read them carefully#, it took longer than it should have to construct due primarily to ill-fitting components, a damaged corner roof panel cover #which I've contacted the manufacturer about for a replacement part - I'll let you know how that goes#, and four missing washers.
I was a bit surprised to find a damaged part when assembling this product as it comes very well packaged - two large boxes each with a metal frame inside #quite heavy - you need a truck to move them# to protect the components from being crushed. In addition to the damaged roof cover, there were numerous paint scratches and chips on many of the parts. I used touch-up paint to cover these in order to inhibit rust.
Although I have yet to bolt this gazebo to my deck, I find there is more sway in this model than I had anticipated given its weight #it is comparitively heavy#. I'm hoping that because it is so heavy it won't succumb to high winds like my last gazebo did #a lighter-framed Sunjoy product that collapsed around day 70#. Having said that, the supports that attach from the four corner posts to the roof make this model signficantly more stable than my last one.
In additon to the ill-fitting parts, my biggest complaint at this time is with the poorly designed middle roof panel covers. These can only be screwed down at the bottom and middle. Because the top third isn't fixed I'm concerned that it will allow rain water to trickle into the interior of the gazebo. The corner roof panel covers are secured the entire length so no concerns with those.
If you can find four other people to help you raise the roof to place it onto the posts, I would STRONGLY recommend you assemble the entire roof - including the roof panels - at ground level as per the manufacturer's instructions #vice mounting the roof framing onto the posts and then installing the roof panels afterwards using a ladder as recommended by others on this site). It is much easier to build the roof on the ground as numerous adjustments are required to get the panels to fit together properly and then screwed in place.
While I like the look of this product and the fact that I won't have to deal with torn canopies, I was disappointed in the way many of the parts fit together which is why I only gave it 2 stars for Quality. I give it 3 stars for Durability at this time but that remains to be proven. I will provide more feedback in the coming months. I hope this review is helpful to those of you who are considering buying this product.
May 19, 2013
Annoying to build without a group of people
If you have no help when building this good luck to you. Its painful and slow. With 4 people it may take 2-3 hrs. Try doing it alone and you can imagine it takes alot longer.
May 17, 2013
- More Essex Collection Gazebo Reviews
- Essex Collection Gazebo reviews (page 2)
- Essex Collection Gazebo reviews (page 3)
- Essex Collection Gazebo reviews (page 4)
- Essex Collection Gazebo reviews (page 5)
