“We are loving our new gazebo! The covered roof is great when it is raining or just too hot outside. It has enough room for our grill, lounge couch, fire pit and chairs. It comes with mosquito netting type curtains that are easy to open and close. It's created a whole new living area in our back yard. Love it!”
“I was so excited to set up my new gazebo that I couldn't wait to get started. I'll admit that I was a little overwhelmed when I unpacked it, but the instructions were extremely easy to follow and with the help of my teenage son, assembly was pretty straight-forward. The first thing I noticed was the quality and detail of each piece of the structure. The wood finish on metal is amazing. What really sold me is the wrap-around mosquito netting. I love how i can open and close it like a curtain. What a great idea!! Overall, it took us about 2 hours to put it together and totally worth it. I love it!!”
“We finally finished building our new gazebo and are really enjoying it. It wasn't hard to build. We had 3 people and it went up fast. It is very good quality wood and metal and is made very smart. Should last us many happy years. We definitely recommend this gazebo!”
“Unboxing
The gazebo arrived in two boxes on a single 8ft long palette. Boxes arrived undamaged. There were many pieces that had been rubbing against other pieces in the packaging and showed signs of metal on metal wear digging past the paint and into the aluminum. There were also some pieces that had 2-3" spots where there was no paint. Another piece was fairly bent, and required a rubber mallet to hammer out.
Initial Impression
The overall quality of the gazebo was well designed and constructed. The painted roof looks to be a nice thick powder coat and does not scratch easily. The wood grain paint finish was very nice except the spots that had manufacturing flaws. The thickness of the brackets were heavy duty, but the main beams and post, and footing were a bit on the thin side. Time will tell how they will survive in strong winds. The hardware used for assembly was not the best quality but none of them had any issues.
ASSEMBLY
Assembly went smoothly per the instruction manual except one major issue. The brackets for the braces we received did not match the design as shown in the manual, and there were brackets with labels that were not mentioned in the manual. This had us puzzled how the braces needed to be attached, but we found a youtube video documenting the install and they showed the parts we had, and that clarified things. Looks like the manual needs to be updated as they changed the part designs. All the machine screws used for assembly had high quality rivnut inserts in the parts, which was very nice to work with. The top of the vertical posts where the roof attaches though, had tapped threads instead of rivnuts, and the threads easily stripped when you tightened down the screw. This isn't the best place to have stripped threads as it's supposed to hold the roof to the frame. They should have considered adding rivnuts there too for strength. All in all, the parts went together and holes were in alignment and the frame was perfectly squared when I measured it.
Final Thoughts
One thing that has me worried is rain water drainage. I tested it using a cup of water on the roof, and noticed that the water does not run down the sides. Water works it's way towards the corners, and slowly drips out the seams between the posts of the frame (see image). I'm not sure how this will hold up, or if it will cause any mold to form inside the frame.
The gazebo really looks sharp with the wood grain and matte black combo. Overall we are very happy with the gazebo, minus all the flaws in packaging, manufacturing, and design.”
“This gazebo was fairly easy to assemble, took us 2 days total at slow pace with two people. After it was built, it was super sturdy and well-balanced. I love the roof and shades of the gazebo, as it can protect you from the elements. The steel feels very high-quality and durable, and does not bend easily. Feels like it will last for many years to come”
Hello,
Thank you very much for your analysis and thoughtful feedback. We are very happy to see that you are pleased with your Sojag Valencia Gazebo Wood Finish 12 x 12 ft. (500-9166606). We would like to thank you for taking the time to leave this revie
Hello, thank you for your message! We are very happy to hear that your wife is enjoying the gazebo. Customer satisfaction is very important to us, so thank you for sharing this!
,CS,ShelterLogic
