Sunjoy Ion Collection 13 x 13 ft. Cedar Framed Octagon Wood Gazebo with Brown Double Tiered Steel Hardtop Roof and Ceiling Hook for Garden, Backyard Shade

Love this 13x13 ft cedar gazebo! It’s sturdy, spacious, and looks beautiful in our backyard. Perfect for relaxing underneath during the day or gathered around the fire pit at night. The wood frame is strong, and the natural cedar finish is a nice touch. Assembly took some time, but the instructions were clear. We added string lights, and now it’s our favorite spot!

It took a day to build with 2 people (one is very good at building stuff like this, the other (me) is good at writing checks, carrying water, and fetching parts and tools.)We chose not to put the top section of the roof on as we will use a large golf umbrella to cover the hole when we want it closed but most of the times we want to be able to see up through it to the stars and sky, as well as we'll put a small firepit in the center and want the smoke to have a place to waft up. This kit worked will for us and allowed us to make that modification easily.Things I like: All of the lumber parts were straight without warps, cracks, splits or other. They were all pre-cut and pre-drilled to make installation easier. The roof panels are quality steel panels and the assembly of the roof was pretty straight forward. The instruction manual was easy to follow, the parts were all labeled and there were more than enough washers, bolts, nuts, and screws to finish the job We did the steps in a slightly different manner but all in all it was an easy build that took about 8 hours on a hot Texas day with plenty of cold water, shade, and AC breaks to avoid heat exhaustion.Things I didn't like: As with most factory manufactured kits like this, not all of the parts are perfect fits (i.e. the top wooden rail doesn't 100% match up at the end of each side, there are small gaps but it really doesn't hurt anything). The roof panels weren't perfect fits either, but the seam caps on the roof covered things nicely.All in all, this is a solid gazebo that wasn't difficult to build with well laid out and labeled parts that matched perfectly to the instructions.

Not wanting to pay for a custom built pergola, I decided on this Sunjoy pergola as it was a fraction of the cost and had the high end look of a custom one. After I ordered it, it shipped quickly and arrived in days without damage. As I unpacked the two boxes that contained the parts, I was completely impressed by how well everything was individually labeled with letters and numbers that corresponded perfectly with the assembly instructions. Two of us worked on putting it together, one person read instructions and unwrapped the protective packing on all the parts, and one did the assembling. Raising the roof onto the frame was the only time it took both of us working together but not because it was heavy, it was just easier for two people to keep it level. Over all, the pergola went up quickly with no problems and looks amazing! We’ve received so many complements on the how well it’s built, the finish on the wood posts and how much it adds to our patio. We’ve had a couple big thunderstorms roll through since it went up but even with winds 45mph+, the pergola had no issues. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another product from Sunjoy.

My husband and I put this up in 2 weekends. We are both in your 50's. Probably could've done it in one but I had to dig a footing to bury railroad ties into the ground to attatch it too. We thought we would use 3' ground stakes for 4" posts but these posts are pentagon shaped so that's didn't work. It was doable for us although the roof can be tricky. A little cussing and it was done. It came with rails for curtains which I am using for my solar lights. OxyLED 49' solar lights. Purchased here on Amazon. Delivery arrived earlier than expected. Heavy pallet 500 lbs. Note to seller, you could make it easier by packing the heaviest roof parts on the bottom of the second box instead of on top since that is the last part and hard to move.

This is my new favorite place to be. I built this deck specifically to accommodate this gazebo, which I then assembled on the deck. It's very solid and sturdy. The instructions say you need four people, but other than having my wife help me hold up some of the posts while I was securing them to each other at the very beginning, I did it by myself. I would say you need two people to assemble it, not four.I then created some modifications to the base gazebo, putting in "walls" that will have vines growing up them come springtime, and some shelves. I have a little chiminea in here and it drafts decently well out of the vents in the roof. Haven't tested it against strong wind yet, but I highly doubt it's going anywhere. The wood is not cheap, in it's solid. It's cedar, so it's a soft wood so you have to be gentle with the but I'm once it's together it's not going anywhere. The feet that attach to the bottom of the posts are metal, and they have holes that can accommodate structural screws, which I used. If something fails in wind, it's going to be the provided screws that go laterally into the posts, but I'm doubtful. If I were putting this on the ground, you would NEED to get some concrete blocks or pour some basic footers if you expected strong winds. The tent stakes this comes with to secure it to dirt are a joke. The person who said this "blew apart in two days" probably just had it sitting on the ground, with those stakes.Before I assembled this, I asked a question about whether or not I could probably string up a hammock between two of the beams. Now that it's assembled, I don't think that that would be a wise decision at all because there would need to be a lot more lateral support in the roof, which there isn't because it's just metal panels with machine screws. I would not recommend someone try to put up a hammock between two beama in this gazebo unless they modified it even more heavily in the roof department, by putting in rafters or something like that.Steel roof seems to be high quality. This sat unassembled in my yard for a month, and through a hurricane. I was worried that when I'd start assembling it I'd find a bunch of rust on the panels, since they were essentially constantly wet for that entire month. Did not find any rust on them.Very glad that I bought this for $1,500 instead of trying it build it from scratch. Great value for money.