Have you ever thought about expanding/remodeling your home to add a porch or an extra room for entertainment? It’s a great idea…until you find out how much it will cost. To get things the way you want, you may have to knock down a few walls and disrupt your entire family while the project is going on. And not only does it cost a bundle, it is also a major hassle to pull all the permits needed to proceed with such a project. At Rick’s Sheds, we have the perfect solution; a gazebo.
Gazebos are one item that keeps our guys busy here most of the year, and for good reason. They fill a need that homeowners have when wanting to expand their living space. Have you ever gotten an estimate to do an add-on to your house? If you have, you were probably in sticker shock. A simple porch will cost you at least $15,000 to $20,000 or higher. And don’t forget that once you add on to the structure of your home, your property taxes will be re-assessed and you will be paying more on an ongoing basis. 
The easiest way to overcome this challenge and give you the extra living space you want is to go get a gazebo. When you compare apples to apples on square footage, gazebos are usually less than half the cost of a comparable structural addition. On top of that, you will not have to worry about building permits, other construction fees and the aforementioned property tax increases.
A gazebo is a portable structure that can be placed anywhere outside your home. Because it is portable and not attached to your home, you will not be messing with the structure of your main dwelling. Normally, we place our gazebos on a stone base to keep them level and ensure that they are sturdy and will stand up to even the most adverse weather conditions.
If you’re looking for a gazebo that is maintenance free, we recommend going with vinyl material. Vinyl cleans up real nice, it’s smooth and every part of the structure is strong and free of any maintenance. The decking can be composite (essentially plastic wood) with a wood grain that resembles real wood bolted together with quality stainless steel hardware.
The ceiling on our gazebos is done with all soffit and vinyl and wired up so it can be lighted for nighttime entertainment. Another option many of our customers go with is a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans not only provide needed cool relief for hot and humid summer nights, but they also help keep the bugs away. All our gazebos come with a cupola that goes on the top of the roof to let the heat out of the ceiling rafters. This makes them even more comfortable on warm summer days.
Some customers may be concerned about the possibility of moisture getting into the gazebo and causing an electric shock. To address this issue, our gazebos come with a waterproof switch to safely turn your lights on and off. It also comes with another waterproof outlet so you can plug in a radio, TV or whatever other electronic device you want to have out there.
If you are working with a tighter budget, you may want to consider one of our wood gazebos. Our wooden structures are built solid and have smooth and stylish look. In fact, our owner has a wood gazebo at home because he prefers the way it looks. We build these structures with solid materials that are smoothed and polished so there are no splinters. We also apply four coatings of a commercial water repellant to protect and seal the wood for weather and keep it free of bugs, termites, carpentry ants, and other such pests. The roof can be shingles or royal cedar shakes, whatever your preference (the price is the same either way).
Our gazebos come in three shape options; rectangular/square, oval, or the traditional octagon (8-sided). We can make your gazebo screened in to protect from bugs or you can opt for open air. Also, you may choose to start with an open air model and have it screened in later. Our stock model gazebos can be available in a week (or maybe two), so if you want something fairly quickly to entertain during the spring, summer or fall at an affordable price, a gazebo may be the ideal choice.