On Friday, I posted a note linking to a piece by subscriber and fellow Substacker Joel Walbert, which spawned a discussion with subscriber Jase Berger.
Jase is a builder and we started talking about things that we’ve made. (He builds amazing UFO houses!) I don’t work in construction, but I mentioned the gazebo I built behind my house in 2020, and he asked for pics.
As it turns out, I had posted on Facebook about it back at the time, with a few pics and a short account of the process, so I will post that below, with some mild edits and a few additions.
In the summer of 2019, my 13-year-old son—always full of ideas and proposals—said, “We should build a geodesic dome.” For better or worse, I agreed.
My mind immediately went to a page from a book my aunt and uncle gave me in the late 70s—Huts, Hovels, and Houses:
I loved that book. I loved reading it, looking at the illustrations, and imagining all the things I could construct. And here was a chance—albeit many decades later—to do so.
It occurred to me, however, that if we were to make something out of dowels and bits of old garden hose and cover it in polyethylene, it would be a mere novelty. We would use it a few times and then it would get trashed by the strong winds we get around here during the colder months.
What if, instead, we built a geodesic dome that is more useful and sturdy? At the time, we had a seasonal cloth gazebo next to our patio. What if we replaced that, I thought, with a proper framed structure—something more permanent? Eventually, we chose a 1V icosahedron geodesic design, using the star plates sold by Stromberg’s Chickens.
Naturally, it ended up taking almost a year to get started! And, as is so often the case with such things, it ended up taking longer than expected to complete. We ended up finishing it in September 2020 (with the exception that I had to let a few planks of new pressure-treated wood sit for a while before painting). I have also since added some heavy outdoor curtains, which can be attached to keep out the elements on rainy or windy days.
[Here, I will include the THANK-YOUs I made at the time.]
I have lots of people to thank for help (and understanding) along the way.
Thank you Shane and Heidi for letting me scrounge your old decking. Thank you also for the early use of the miter saw—that saved me a ton of time.
Thank you Zachary for the safe and sturdy ladders and for letting me use them for so long!
Thank you Jeff for the unbelievably helpful array of power tools—the compound miter saw, the high-tech milling machine, the nail gun and compressor—without which I’d probably still be hand-sawing ridiculous double-angles and hand-hammering shingles. Thank you also for the expertise and help at a couple of crucial junctures.
Thank you to my neighbors on all sides for putting up with more than a month of hammering and power-tool noises, and to the neighbors to the north for putting up with the visual chaos of a messy job site.
Thank you to Stromberg's Chickens for the prefab connection plates for the frame.
Thank you Steele for teaching me a ton about framing back in the 90s, and Garrett for fun summer days learning to paint when we were working for your dad. Thank you also to random roofers at Lowe’s for sharing their expertise with me, as I had never shingled anything before.
And speaking of shingling, thank you to Connor for all your work and ideas, and for throwing things up to me while I was precariously perched on the roof—shingles, hips, hammers, roofing cement, even little nuts and bolts, all tossed up with the precision of a major league pitcher.
Thank you to Judy Cook for being okay with keeping the car in the driveway rather than the garage for so long. And for some painting, too.
And thank you to any potential future readers of the book I am writing for the fact it it will be delayed by yet another few months due to the time I took off to build.
(Gosh, I sure hope I'm not forgetting anyone!)
Here are a few added thoughts, from the perspective of having had it for three years…
In the original post on Facebook, I said that I had agreed to build this gazebo “for better or worse.” It has been ALL for the better. The gazebo is dry and sturdy. The shape promotes a circular arrangement of chairs—intimate, but just large enough—which is ideal for social occasions. And we’ve had many in there since.
I also spend a great deal of time in there by myself, working on my iPad and watching the many species of animals that call our back yard their home. I love the rain, so when the weather report says some is coming, I throw up the curtains, bring out a cup of tea, and listen while I work. As the mercury falls, I turn on the propane fireplace, and the curtains retain the heat surprisingly well.
As my son went through the rest of his high school years, the gazebo become a hangout for him and his friends. For a time, it was the place to be, and I think that promoted closer bonds among those in his gazebo gang.
Indeed…
This was the period of time during which our psychotic overlords decided that we were not allowed to have contact with one another. Married adults have developed coping mechanisms, and they have each other, and the reign of the Branch Covidians was still rough on adults. But denying social contact to teenagers—that is truly a form of psychological torture.
The gazebo gave these kids a comfortable place to do what kids do—to talk endlessly, to rib each other, to bond. Y’know—normal human teenager stuff. That alone made building this thing worth every minute.
Here are a few pics.
In progress…
Almost done!
(Mostly) done…
More recent, cabana-style, with the curtains. The curtains have ben through wind and rain and sun and they are battered but still strong.
The “door” is an army surplus blanket. I am almost certain it’s from the Korean War—though it could possibly be WWII. Either way, it is amazing! It can get soaking wet from the rain, dry out, and never smell.
A view from inside, curtains up, with the roasty-toasty fire going.
I enjoyed reading the article you linked to in your note and I love what you did and write about here. The cozy energy is enticing...the rain...the circle of humans, together, held...and the warm fire. The curtains are even better. It reminds me of building blanket forts and how great those felt as well. What a great project in so many ways.
Excellent job! Something to cherish together!