Outsunny 10' x 12' Hardtop Gazebo Canopy with Polycarbonate Roof, Aluminum Frame, Permanent Pavilion Outdoor Gazebo with Netting, for Patio, Garden, Backyard, Deck, Lawn, Black, Beige

I will be doing this review in several parts. I am starting off with 4 stars due to the very bad install manual. It is all stick pictures of the installation steps (aside from warnings on page 1). For the people who rely heavily on words for the install, good luck.The 1st part will be the delivery, unboxing and initial take on the quality of the components as I take them out of the box.The 2nd part will be the actual building of the gazebo and thoughts on that as I go.The final 3rd part will by overall summary of the product and experience as a whole.PART 1 - 4/19/2019I ordered this gazebo, the Aosom Outsunny 12x10 model 01-0865, on 4/17/2019 with free 2 day shipping from Amazon. Prior to delivery I had looked on the internet and was unable to locate the instruction manual. The Aosom website had a link for it but it was dead. I then sent an email to them at [email protected] at 9am ET and by 9pm ET Vera from the customer service department had replied with an electronic copy of the installation manual. Kudos to Vera for the quick reply. Unfortunately, the installation manual is awful. It has no wording whatsoever aside from a warning message regarding wind and snow. Each step is a stick drawn picture of that steps' process. For the folks who really need words this isn't going to work.Delivery came on 4/19/2019 as promised by FedEx. Weird, it actually comes in 4 boxes and the main box #1 came on its own first. the other 3 boxes came about 2 hours later.Box 1, the heaviest box at 141 pounds, came with a large gouge in the side of it. I almost declined delivery but figured I would work it out with the company if there was any damage inside. There wasn't any damage. All parts were well protected with an inside piece of cardboard on both sides.I began to line up all the pieces and checked off everything was present. It is here when I realize that I was missing the other 3 boxes. As I started to write an email to the company about missing the 3 boxes, FedEx delivered them.After confirming all pieces were accounted for I inspected each. All pieces seemed well manufactured and very sturdy. The corner legs seemed strong to support the gazebo. All parts (steel and aluminum) were properly painted with a nice dark brown that matches the yard decor well.Overall I am very pleased with the ordering, shipping and quality of the product to this point. The only concern I have (and may be a deal-breaker for some) is the awful installation manual. I have done construction for years so I am good with it but for homeowners who require it this is the most minimalist manual you will ever see. Aosom should spend a bit on a real author and come up with a real manual.Part coming up this weekend.Part 2 - 4/21/2019So after unpacking and separating all pieces, the build began on 4/20/2019 after a nice rainstorm to clean all the parts. Due to the very minimal installation manual I went over it several times while looking at the actual pieces to make sure I understood how everything fit. I then started putting the frame together. Overall the frame went together easily enough and I moved right to the plastic roof panels. These were another story. The frame seems almost too wide for the panels; meaning to ensure the panels line up at the bottom you need to move them too far down the tracks and they, therefore, do not stay in the tracks. Not quite sure how I will fix this as not having enough of the panel in the tracks will eliminate any strength to the roof in the event of a storm yet, not having them sit at the bottom track will have a nice open slice where rain will get in and leave the bottom weak. I am halfway done with the roof and hope that putting the remaining panels on will help to lock in the roof to a right angle and hopefully solve this mystery of too large a space for the panels. My frustration caused me to stop last night. Plan to continue later today. Took a star off for the roof.Later on 4/21/2019 I finished the roof panels and, as expected, getting in all panels seems to have squared the roof enough to where the panels fit correctly.......for the most part. I wound up having to loosen each screw in the cross members (B's and C's) so that the frame can move and adjust I still have an uneasiness about weight of snow on the roof so I plan to add some metal slats along the bottom portion of each section, for strength. I also plan to use brown silicone caulk to lock in each panel.So after all panels and end pieces (A's and A1's) were installed and I successfully tightened down all loosened bolts, the gazebo is finished. I am keeping the mosquito net and privacy panels off for now.Part 3 - 4/22/2019Overall the gazebo will be strong, once I add my metal pieces to the bottom of each panel section. My biggest frustration were the alignment of the panels. This also took the most time to do. But, it's done and looks nice. Also, the absence of washers for the screws was unacceptable to me and I had to buy my own.Questions:Would I buy it again knowing how hard it was to put together?No. I would spend a few hundred more and get the better ones out there.What are some things people should watch for?- Know the parts and review the instruction manual several times to get familiar with the process.- Follow the process in the order detailed in the manual.- Do yourself a favor and get to the hardware store and but 150 washers. The entire unit has none. This will cause the unit to loosen over time and you cannot get to some key screws once they come loose without removing the roof.- If you are not handy or comfortable in putting together something that is this complex, either hire someone to build this or do not buy this one. I have bought and put together more expensive gazebo's and the saying "you get what you paid for" was ringing in my ears the whole build time.- Build the unit exactly where you intend on it being. Moving this unit after it is done is not an option and will screw up the alignment of the roof.- You should add additional support to the unit at the bottom of the panels and caulk the sides of the panels to lock them into place. Make sure the panels are as high up as you can place them since this will ensure they are as far in the side channels as possible, adding strength to them.Comments to the manufacturer:- Manual is awful. This is not a nightstand or a small computer desk we are putting together. The manual looks like it was created by people who make these types of furniture pieces. This is a complex gazebo with well over 100 pieces in 4 separate boxes. Drawing stick figure pictures of the process steps is bad for something that costs as much as this.- In lieu of a real manual I would rather have preferred a real installation video instead of the 2 or 3 minute one found. Show the process from start to finish. This would completely negate the need for the manual being updated.- For the A and A1 members going across the bottom, I would extend their lower sections by 2 inches (the section that fits under each panel), making them more of a support for that panel.- Where each corner roof side rib (part 6) ties into its respective corner post, using the H pieces, you should have the H unit wrap around the sides of the side rib and screw into the rib on both sides. Having 1 screw that you cannot get to underneath is bad engineering. Once that screw comes loose the person is screwed.- Lock washers......the entire unit has 137 screws and 32 corner bolts; no washers! This will make for some very loose gazebos after only a few windy days. for the pennies it would cost to add them this was unacceptably a bad decision.

It looks great! It was very difficult to install. No directions just pictures and they were not very clear.

Update: well, we had an extreme wind event and the gazebo roof tore apart. It began struggling after a full year outside - the weatherproofing started coming out during rain events, and the panels were drying out from the summer months. The frame is still in one piece so we will be purchasing cloth as a replacement for the roof. The structure is still sound, but ultimately I am disappointed about the marketing for this gazebo. We do live in an extreme environment, but it had a hard time with normal weather patterns which ultimately led to its demise during our extreme weather event. If you live somewhere with seasons, be cautious.Original: I love this gazebo. To be clear - this thing was not the easiest build we've ever had. It took my husband and myself about 8 hours over 2 days to finish, and we would have preferred a 3rd person just for safety. The directions were vague, so you have to pay close attention, and the roof was easily the hardest part. We bought the 12x10, and we didn't realize the netting panels, which are all the same width, needed to be put on certain corners so that the ties at the bottom would meet the poles. As such, we have 2 panels that need to switch places, but we haven't had issues with them flying everywhere because our furniture holds them back. That is a pretty easy fix, and one we will likely do once we get the gazebo fixed to the deck. We have not done this yet, as we have it on a second story deck so getting it screwed in will take some effort, but the hardware for that task looks good. We've had plenty of wind and rain over the last month and a few bungee cords and blocks of wood have held it in place just fine. We had no issues with leaking (getting the roof just right is worth the effort), and it's a sturdy and highly functional gazebo. I've always wanted a sunroom, but opted to spend about 1/15th of the price, and I am so glad we did. I love this gazebo! My favorite thing is that it has placement for (and comes with) both bug netting and privacy screens - that was important for us and really hard to find. That, and something snowproof! We live in the mountains - we require rugged, sturdy, and all-weather things, and this fit the bill perfectly. I highly recommend this product.

I wanted this for shade in my backyard patio. I like that it has the hard top however with this style it still gets very warm due to some light shining in. Assembly took 3 of us and took about 4 to 5 hours.All of the parts and pieces were labeled well.We anchored to the concrete with heavier duty screws to make it more stable.I am very please with the product espicially for the price I paid for it.