Can You Leave a Gazebo Up The Whole Year?
While choosing the best outdoor structures for outdoor entertainment, one must go through a tough decision to select the suitable structure that matches their design goal. There are numerous structures that can be placed in your outdoor space and it entirely depends on your liking and desires.
Adding a gazebo or pergola to your backyard will give you and your guests a warm and inviting place to hang out all year long. During the hot summer months, when there is wind and heavy snowfall these structures will protect you from the sun. In the colder months, they will protect you from different and harsh weather conditions.
If you add a gazebo or pergola to your property, it will be worth more and give you years of pleasure and satisfaction from how it looks. From a temporary or portable gazebo, composite wood gazebos, metal gazebos, fabric gazebos, and wooden gazebo are different types from which you can select.
But, Can you leave a gazebo up the whole year? Having such a structure requires protection and care so it stays with you for a long time and for that you must know how to protect and use it all year long.
Can You Leave a Gazebo Up The Whole Year?
Yes, you can leave a gazebo up the whole year, but it depends on various factors such as the weather conditions in your area and the quality of the gazebo.
Types of Gazebos
Here is a list of different type of gazebo that is usually bought and installed!
1). Metal gazebo
Metal gazebos can stay all year if rust sealant is applied to the metal twice a year which helps prevent rust. This gazebo withstand year-round because don’t need much care or attention and they will last for many years in your garden or backyard.
You can put a new coat of rust protector on your gazebo every year or two to keep it from getting rusty. Depending on the amount of humidity and rain where you live, you will also need to check on your gazebo three or four times a year in winter and in warm climate as well.
You can utilize steel wool to get rid of rust on your gazebo metal frame but if there is a lot of rust on it, it will be very hard to clean to give it a good shape.
2). Treated wood gazebo
You can leave a gazebo made of a treated gazebo or composite wood gazebos for year-round use. If compared to wood that is not treated, treated wood last much longer. It can also handle high heat, high humidity, and direct sunlight without cracking or fading.
This material is much easier to take care of than untreated wood, so it’s among the better types of gazebos for your use. Pressure-treated wood is the most popular variety of treated wood, adding safe chemicals and preservatives to the wood makes it last longer.
Water or oil-based sealants can be used for treating such wooden gazebos and you can do this to your gazebo yourself, but it’s a time taking job.
For smaller pieces of furniture like tables and chairs, water-resistant seals and oil-based sealants are more sufficient because using pressure-treated wood will ensure that your gazebo lasts a long time and looks great.
3). Vinyl Gazebo
You can leave your vinyl gazebo in your outdoor space all year round if you clean it once or twice a year during the spring and summer months.
Vinyl gazebos for your backyard are a great way to spend your money as it is easy to change the way they look, and they don’t need much care because they are low maintenance.
Vinyl gazebos are a little more expensive than wooden ones, and as they are easy to take care of that the cost is well worth it. So, it is a must-have gazebo.
4). Untreated Wood Gazebo
Leaving a gazebo made of untreated wood up all year is not a good idea as they are fragile and have can a canopy tent that is prone to high winds that will break down quickly in harsh weather.
Even though treating the wood will add to the cost, it will be well worth it if you want your gazebo to last for many years and it is recommended that you should build a gazebo out of wood that has been treated with chemicals and allows high water resistance.
5). Fabric Gazebo
You shouldn’t expect a fabric gazebo to keep you warm in the winter but if you live somewhere in a warm climate, you can leave fabric gazebos up all year.
At least twice a year, you should clean the roof’s dirt, leaves, and other junk if you want it to last, choose a gazebo made of metal, vinyl, or treated wood to make it stand firmly.
6). Temporary gazebo
Having a temporary gazebo or portable gazebo all year round is not a good idea. When strong winds blow, these gazebos can be easily blown away since they are not anchored to the ground like a permanent gazebo.
Fabric can also make temporary gazebos lightweight and such pop-up canopy easy to transport. But, it isn’t very sturdy and can easily rip or fade with time.
7). Hard top gazebo
These hardtop gazebos have solid roofs and four or five pillars that hold them up, one stands in the middle, and one stands in each of the four corners. As the name suggests, these structures look like pergolas, but instead of a built-in floor, they have a roof.
Most of the time, the materials used to build this kind of gazebo make it possible for it to last all year round, even in the cold winter weather.
These hardtop gazebos can stand up to snow in the winter because they have strong roofs than most gazebos. You have to remove snow from the roof often to make the snow load and its weight on the rafters gone.
These permanent structures can stand up to the worst summer weather and even the worst winter snow. So, you can say that your hard-top gazebo can stay up all year round.
8). Soft-top gazebo
This gazebo design is similar to a canopy, with four posts in the four corners.
All of it, except for the soft roof, could be mistaken for a traditional gazebo as there are many brands of soft-top gazebos, but almost all of them can be damaged by bad weather and how much wind is strong.
The accumulation of snow causes significant damage during winter months, with most having been ripped. When rainwater collects on them, they can also become brittle and rip.
Strong winds, which also dislodge and break them apart, are their primary adversary.
When viewed from above, it is clear that such type of gazebo cannot remain in place for the whole year round. For this reason, many homeowners advise keeping them out of the way throughout the winter and during severe winter blizzards.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
1). Is treated wood better than untreated wood?
Even though treating the wood will add to the cost, it will be well worth it if you want your gazebo to last for a long time. It is recommended that you build a gazebo out of wood that has been treated with chemicals to make it resistant to water.
2). Does a fabric gazebo stand year-round?
You shouldn’t expect a fabric gazebo to keep you warm in the winter, but if you live in a warm place, you can leave it up all year.
3). Are vinyl gazebos inexpensive?
Vinyl gazebos for your backyard are a great way to spend your money because they are easy to change the way they look and don’t require much care. Wood gazebos are a little cheaper than vinyl ones.
4). How to protect a metal gazebo?
You can keep your gazebo from rusting by giving it a new coat of rust protector every year or two. Depending on how much it rains and how humid your area is, you may also need to check on your gazebo three or four times a year, both in the winter and in the summer so it stands year round. So, In this case, you must check the Best Gazebo for Winter.
Conclusion
It seems like a great idea just to put the gazebo outdoors up year-round, as it provides shelter from the sun and rain, no matter the season. But, Can you leave a gazebo up the whole year!
Most of the time, you can leave a gazebo up all year round, but there are a few things to keep in mind such as the materials used to build the gazebo will also determine how well it holds up in bad weather. Also, you should think about where and what the gazebo will be used for.
