Closed gazebos in Almaty

A closed gazebo is defined by its envelope: it has walls, a door and windows. Inside there is no draught, no rain getting in and no dust blown in. If the plot is in a windy spot or next to a road, a closed envelope is the only way to make being outdoors comfortable. The walls also protect from prying eyes if they face the neighbour's fence or the street.

A glazed gazebo is a special case of a closed one, where the walls are made of glass. Every glazed gazebo is closed, but not every closed gazebo is glazed. The wall can be clad with corrugated sheeting, polycarbonate, lining boards, planken, timber, a sandwich panel or brick, and that is two to three times cheaper than double-glazed units. Full glazing makes sense when the plot has a view that would be a shame to block with solid cladding.

A covered gazebo is a roof, a floor and railings without walls. It protects from sun and rain but not from wind. In essence it is a canopy with a full deck and railing. If the yard is in a sheltered spot and the gazebo is used only in the warm season, this option is justified. But on an evening in September or in a dusty wind, the open perimeter soon forces you to move back indoors.

A closed gazebo is not warm in itself. Without insulation and heating, it stays at roughly outdoor temperature in winter. Warmth is the subject of a separate page on winter gazebos. A closed summer gazebo is a workable combination: soft PVC windows enclose the perimeter in the off-season and are removed for summer. Such an envelope costs less than permanent glazing, and for the warm season the gazebo becomes open again.

Who a closed gazebo suits: the yard of a private house, a dacha, a plot out of town, a windy or dusty spot. If the plot is used year-round, a closed envelope protects the furniture, textiles and equipment. If only in summer - a covered gazebo or a frame one with soft windows is enough.

The choice of wall material determines the cost of the whole closed gazebo, as well as its appearance and durability. The perimeter is enclosed by the square metre, so the wall area is the main item of expense. Different materials give different results, and it is more practical to combine them than to choose just one.

• Corrugated sheeting on a frame — from 6 000 KZT per square metre. The cheapest solid enclosure; it goes onto a steel frame and needs no painting. The downside is that it is a little dark inside, so such walls are usually combined with windows.
• Cellular polycarbonate 8 mm — from 8 000 KZT per square metre. A translucent wall. Bronze and opal sheets give a soft shade, while clear sheet lets heat through. Suitable for walls where you want light without a direct line of sight.
• Cladding with lining boards or planken on a frame — from 16 000 KZT per square metre. The most common option. It looks more expensive than metal and needs a wood preservative. It gives a tight, solid enclosure that can be painted or tinted.
• A sandwich panel 100 mm — from 22 000 KZT per square metre. A wall and insulation at once. It installs quickly and suits gazebos intended for use in the cold season.
• A SIP panel 124 mm — from 26 000 KZT per square metre. The same thing, only stiffer: the panel works as a load-bearing element. A gazebo made of SIP panels is assembled in a matter of days.
• A half-brick-thick wall - from 34 000 KZT per square metre. The most expensive and the most durable, it requires a reinforced foundation. About 55 bricks go into a square metre of masonry.
• Soft PVC windows 500-700 microns — from 18 000 KZT per square metre. A removable enclosure. In winter they are taken down and stored rolled up in a warm place. A convenient option for a country house where the gazebo should stay open in summer.
• A double-glazed unit — 42 000 KZT per square metre. The top end, seven times more expensive than corrugated sheeting. It gives full glazing with thermal insulation, but it sharply increases the budget.

The practical takeaway: combine them. A solid wall on the windward side, windows and glass on the side with the view. For example, a closed 3x4 m gazebo can have solid lining-board walls on two sides, soft windows on the third and a door on the fourth. Such a closed-gazebo design turns out functional and does not inflate the estimate.

A covered gazebo differs from a canopy in that it has a floor on joists and railings, not just posts and a roof. It is a full-fledged structure for relaxing, simply without walls. It costs from 400 000 KZT for 3 by 3 metres and is assembled in 7-10 days - the fastest way to get started.

When this is enough: the plot is in a sheltered spot, the gazebo is needed for the warm season, the budget is limited. When it is not enough: draughts in the yard, dust from the road, evenings in September and April, the wish to lay the table in wind and rain. If the gazebo is meant to be used into late autumn, an open envelope will quickly stop being satisfactory.

A covered gazebo can be enclosed later. The frame and roof are done straight away, and the walls and windows are added the following season - this is a legitimate way to stay within budget. What to allow for in advance if you plan to enclose it: the cross-section of the posts, the spacing of the posts for future windows and a door, and the foundation for the future weight of the walls.

Roofed-gazebo designs usually allow for a reinforced frame with a margin. Post timber 100x100 mm, and 150x150 mm for large spans. The frame corners are reinforced with plates — Almaty lies in a 9-point seismic zone, and this is no formality. The floor is a 36 mm board on joists, with waterproofing under the joists. The roof pitch is from 25 degrees, and the design snow load is 150-200 kg per square metre.

The placement of the solid walls and windows decides how comfortable it will be inside. The solid wall is put on the windward side and on the side of the neighbour's fence or the road — it also cuts down dust and noise. The side with the view is left for windows and a door: the point of a gazebo is to look out at the garden, not at the cladding.

In Almaty the sun beats down from the west in the afternoon. The western side is best made solid or shaded, otherwise it will be hot inside in summer. The door is positioned so that it opens towards the house and the short route from the kitchen. It's a small thing, but it is exactly what determines how often the gazebo gets used.

A semi-closed version — one or two solid walls, the rest open or with soft windows. It is cheaper than a full enclosure and noticeably more comfortable than an open gazebo. Such a gazebo with a closed wall is often placed in the corner of a plot: two walls face the fences and two face the garden.

A setback from the plot boundary: the roof slope and the runoff must stay on your own side. A closed gazebo with a veranda — part of the area under the shared roof is left open. The result is two modes in one building: an enclosed room for cold days and an open terrace for summer.

The main mistake closed-gazebo owners make is a sealed envelope with no vents. Over the winter, moisture builds up inside, the wood turns black and the fasteners rust. A closed gazebo without heating runs at outdoor temperature, and the dew point wanders over the inner side of the wall. Condensation settles on the cladding, and after two seasons the walls have to be opened up.

What we do during construction:

• Vents in the roof soffit - so warm, moist air escapes upwards.
• A ventilated gap between the cladding and the frame - so condensation doesn't come into contact with the wood.
• Top-hung or tilt-and-turn sashes on at least two sides — for cross ventilation.
• A floor on joists with a gap and vents in the plinth so the underside is ventilated from below.

In winter it is enough to open the gazebo for a half-hour cross-draught airing once every two or three weeks. Condensation on the glass in the off-season is normal when temperatures fluctuate; the matter is covered on the page about glazed gazebos. Antiseptic is applied in two coats before assembly so that the product reaches the end grain and the joints. This is included in the price of the structure, and the coating is renewed every 2-3 years. Galvanised fasteners are used - rust does not come through on them.

Interior finishing of a closed gazebo with lining board costs from 14 000 KZT per square metre - cheaper than external cladding, because no windproofing or weatherproof fasteners are needed. Finishing is optional: in a timber gazebo the wall is beautiful from the inside on its own, whereas in a frame or metal one it is not. If the frame is metal, interior finishing helps hide the posts and give the space a lived-in look.

The wiring and sockets are laid before the cladding, not chased in afterwards. A connection costs from 25 000 KZT. Lighting: overhead around the perimeter and a separate light over the table, otherwise a closed gazebo is dark in the evening, unlike an open one. Outdoor light does not pass through solid walls, so interior lighting is a must.

A built-in table and benches are more convenient than portable furniture: they don't wobble or block the walkway, and in a closed envelope the walkway is always narrower. If the gazebo is small, for example 3x3 metres, built-in furniture saves space. A grill inside a closed gazebo requires an extractor hood and a chimney above the ridge; the layout of the grill area is covered on the neighbouring page.

What not to do: clad the walls with plastic panels and lay laminate on the floor. Over two seasons they will warp from the damp. For the floor it is better to use decking boards or the same lining boards on joists.

At a country house a closed gazebo beats an open one for three reasons at once: it protects the furniture and textiles, keeps out dust and lets you sit outside in April and October. An enclosure that can be shut solves the storage problem: garden cushions, dishes and tools no longer have to be taken away each time. A door with a lock is a minimum of protection from strangers on a plot that is not next to the house.

Covered gazebos for a dacha are chosen when the plot is used only in summer and budget matters more. If the dacha is visited in the off-season too, a closed gazebo for a dacha becomes a more practical investment. Closed gazebos for a dacha are often made with soft windows - this is cheaper than permanent glazing and allows the gazebo to be quickly turned back into an open one.

On-site assembly: the structures are made in the workshop and assembled on location, so delivery to the region is charged separately. What we need from the client by the time the crew arrives: access for unloading, an agreed location and, if possible, electricity.

Winterising: remove the soft windows and textiles, leave the sashes on trickle ventilation, check that snow is not piling against the door. If the closed gazebo has a veranda, the open part is best covered for winter with boards or heavy fabric so snow doesn't drift inside.

The price range for structures at PROFI-DOM:

• A covered gazebo on a steel frame with no walls 3x3 m - from 400 000 KZT.
• A timber gazebo with soft PVC windows 3x3 m - from 480 000 KZT.
• A closed one of corrugated sheeting on a steel frame 3x3 m - from 520 000 KZT.
• A closed frame one with lining-board cladding 3x4 m - from 580 000 KZT.
• A closed one from profiled timber 3x4 m - from 760 000 KZT.
• Timber one with double-glazed units 4x4 m - from 880 000 KZT.
• A closed winter one with a grill 4x5 m - from 950 000 KZT.
• A closed brick one with solid walls 4x4 m - from 1 100 000 KZT.
• A closed one with a barbecue complex 4x5 m - from 1 400 000 KZT.

The cost is driven not so much by the floor area as by the wall area and its material: the perimeter is enclosed by the square metre. That is why the same 3x4 m gazebo can cost differently depending on what the walls are made of.

You can save on the wall material, on the interior finish, on the complexity of the roof and on the sequence of works. You cannot save on the foundation, on the size of the posts, on ventilating the enclosure or on the wood preservative — redoing the work costs more than the initial saving.

A closed gazebo is heavier than an open one, so its foundation is costed separately. Brick and timber need a monolithic slab from 75 000 KZT. An insulated entrance door - from 65 000 KZT, a steel grill with an extractor hood - from 90 000 KZT. Developing a custom design - from 30 000 KZT.

The most expensive mistake is an airtight enclosure with no vents: after two seasons the walls have to be opened up. Construction times: a roofed gazebo 7-10 days, one in corrugated sheeting 10-14 days, one with soft windows and a frame one 12-16 days, one in timber 14-18 days, one with double-glazed units 16-20 days, a winter one with a grill 18-20 days, one with a barbecue 20-24 days, a brick one 20-26 days.

PROFI-DOM builds gazebos in Almaty and the region: Kaskelen, Talgar, Issyk, Uzynagash. Its own production - they cut the timber and weld and paint the metal themselves, so the ready-made closed-gazebo designs are not tied to other people's components. The structure is guaranteed for 5 years, and the site visit for measurements within Almaty is free. Delivery within Almaty - from 15 000 KZT, to the region - from 25 000 KZT.