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How to assemble roof of Mimosa 4.27 x 3.69 x 3.23m wooden gazebo?

We’re having trouble assembling our gazebo, at the point of putting the roofing on. We can’t align the iron against both the ridge and the roof trusses, on the second side - the first went together nicely. There’s almost 2 cm gap between one top corner of the iron and the roof rafter when the iron is lined up with the truss. If we instead align to the ridge then the bottom corner hole ends out in space, past the side rafter, so it can’t be screwed down.

Does anyone have tips on how to nudge the alignments into square, please?

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @FuzzyBo. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about assembling a gazebo.

My first thought would be, is the structure square? If it's out of square, then this is the type of issue you'd run into. Can you take diagonal measurements between your posts and let us know if the structure is square? If it is, you'll have the same distance between the posts measured diagonally across the structure. If this measurement is off, then that needs to be resolved.

From what you're showing, it sounds like the far end of the structure needs to be nudged over a few centimetres.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

FuzzyBo

Hi Mitchell. Thanks for answering. I’ve been over the diagonals and the distances between posts, and they’re all within a couple of mm.

As I said, the first side went together nicely. The rafters are square to the trusses (pic 1), so the roof iron lines up with the trusses and the rafters.

However, on the other side, the rafters are not square to the trusses (pic 2) with a half inch gap between my builders square where there should be maybe 1-2mm at most. If one side of the truss is square, surely the other half should be too?agonals are equal.

MitchellMc

We can't rule out that there is something wrong with the manufacturer of the product @FuzzyBo. However, if your diagonals are the same length, it would be difficult to determine where this issue is being introduced.

Let me tag a few of our members, @Dave-1, @Noyade and @Nailbag, for their thoughts.

Mitchell

Dave-1

Good Morning @FuzzyBo

😕 What a pain. Id say the frame is out of square most probarly. Ive had the same thing happen to me when I was building my gazebo and I would have sworn that I had everything square.

You can see the tin on the roof not following the straight ridge is why I am thinking this (Your first photo) You have lined up the tin with one edge and as you continue across it wants to go higher. I fixed mine by removing and re-attaching the tin at a better angle and then used the right angle trim (along the roof edeg and wall) to "hide" my mistake as it goes over the roof and also down the wall a little.

If your walls are out of true and cannot be straightened then my suggestion would be to "fix" the trusses/ roof suppost so they are square. If you force them into place that presure will warp things overtime. Far better to add a piece of timber to teh sides/trim a piece to make things line up if you get my drift.

Dave

MitchellMc

@FuzzyBo,

I just wanted to add that if we can't resolve the issue here, the next step will be to contact Mimosa to help rectify this issue. I'll stick with you until we have this resolved.

Mitchell

FuzzyBo

Can we replace the roofing material with something like colourbond, so we can attach where the rafters are, without leaving misaligned holes which could leak?

Dave-1

Afternoon @FuzzyBo

If you have a wider ridgecap it could get you out of trouble. The bottom of the roofline may not be so straight is all. The wider ridgecap would cover the gap at the top.

Dave

FuzzyBo

We have only the ridgecap that came with the kit. What can Bunnings supply that would suit the cabana? Can Bunnings supply replacement roofing at no cost to us, since we can’t get one half to fit straight while the other fits? I’ve measured the rafter angles at 88º instead of 90º, so they’re not sitting square to line up.

JacobZ

Hi @FuzzyBo,

There are certainly options available for ridge capping through Bunnings Special-Orders desks, however before we go down that route can I ask a few questions that might help trouble shoot.

Is the surface the gazebo is going on perfectly level?

This gap makes me think it's possible the post at the bottom right of this photo might be elevated from the rest. If this was the case, the posts can appear square, but they are pushing everything above out of square.

Would it also be possible to get a photo siting directly down the ridge beam? If this is not perfectly straight, it may also shed some light.

Jacob

FuzzyBo

Ridgeline photos attached.

JacobZ

Hi @FuzzyBo,

In the second image, you can see the ridge beam seems to change elevation, this makes me think that I was correct that you may need to look at the levels at the base.

Like I said, the posts may look square but if they aren't on a perfectly level surface, everything above can be pushed out.

Have you got access to a spirit level or better yet a laser level that you could check this with?

Jacob

FuzzyBo

I have both. A spirit level on top of the this-end truss shows it’s level there. I’m going wider ridge capping at this stage, because we want the roof on against the coming rain.

JacobZ

Hi @FuzzyBo,

For a quick fix to put in place before the coming rain, you could look at grabbing some strips of Suntuf 1270 x 150 x 150cm Clear Corrugated Polycarbonate Ridge Cap. Just be aware that the pitch of the roof might not be exactly the same as that of this ridge cap.

If you needed something to match, you would need to trace the angle of the roof pitch and take it to the Special-Orders desk who can custom order a ridge cap from one of our suppliers, but please note this would take some time.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need more assistance.

Jacob

FuzzyBo

Jacob for the win! The bottom right post was an inch too high. This was found and confirmed after I had all the roof on, when I used a water level when adding guttering. The final trim covers a slight misalignment on the bottom edge of the problem side, and the ridge cap covers the same at the top. It looks great now!

Dave-1

Morning @FuzzyBo

🙂 Cherring!

Finding where things arnt quiet right is sometimes better then getting it bang on first time!

Cant wait to see the whole lot done!

Dave

JacobZ

Hi @FuzzyBo,

Fantastic!

I agree with @Dave-1, the solutions I've found after days of head scratching always seem to be so much more satisfying.

I'm really happy to hear that I could help, and I hope you enjoy your new gazebo.

Jacob

FuzzyBo

The other side was the troublesome one, but it now looks the same, leaves and all!

JacobZ

Hey @FuzzyBo,

It looks great. I'm so pleased it worked out in the end.

If you ever need more help with anything, don't hesitate to reach out.

Jacob

Dave-1

Afternoon @FuzzyBo

🙂 Man nice job, bet when its raining you will be out there laughing at the weather! 🙂 It looks great!

Dave

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