Backyard Discovery Norwood 20 ft. x 12 ft. All Cedar Wooden Carport Pavilion Gazebo with Hard Top Steel Roof

I bought the 20x12 NORWOOD. One of the major features that led me to ths product was the fact that the corrugations in the roof panels run from the peak to the eave, instead of the numerous competing products that have the corrugations running parallel to the roof peak - - incredibly-stupid - designed to HOLD snow rather than shed it. The other major feature was that it is evident from the pictures how attractive, well engineered, and sturdy it is. The kit was delivered in 8 separate cartons, all in the same shipment. Each carton was very-well packaged, very well organized, and individually inventoried. Every structural piece is identified with a number. The fasteners and connectors are packaged in well-labelled plastic bags. It pays BIG dividends to spend the time to unpack all the components (structural, fasteners, connectors) and organize them on flat surfaces before beginning construction (as shown in the pictures). I matched each item with the in-box inventory sheet as well as with the complete inventory in the instruction manual. I was only short a few fasteners, which the company replaced immediately. SUPER. I was VERY impressed with the quality of the kit, the excellent instructions, and the fact that all the hundreds of pre-drilled holes aligned perfectly. AND it pays big dividends to read through the instruction manual a couple of times to get familiar with the assembly process, component organization, and overall layout. THEN follow the instruction manual and the build should go well. As I did the assembly, it was evident how well engineered this structure is - designed and implemented with strength AND stiffness. I assembled it (mostly) myself over the course of about 2 weeks of part-time days. I needed help from a friend to lift the the four completed roof panels into place, but other than that, fundamentally a one-person job. I made one small engineering change: as shown in the picture, there is a diagonal brace added to each of the rear sections. I did that because the concrete pad on which I installed the carport is slanted down at about 2.5 degrees. The instructions are pretty explicit about building the kit with the columns set perfectly vertical. However, if I did that on a slanted surface, there would have been serious alignment problems with the horizontal components and the roof structure. So I built it perpendicular / parallel to the slanted surface, and then, to counteract any collapsing forces caused by a large snowload, I installed those diagonals (paired pressure-treated 2x6's on each side). {Snowload is a real issue here - one year, a single snowstorm COLLAPSED the roof on my work-van.}

We love our 12x16 pergola. It has a "state park" type look and feel. We ordered ours in June of '24, so we have seen all seasons. Here are some comments to things we saw in several reviews: 1). Kudos to the husband and wife teams that took on this build! You are amazing. My wife and have done lots of projects together and we took a pass on this one due to the overhead work and weight of structure (1,644lbs total). We hired a carpentry crew (5 man) and it took them a full day. 2.) Delivery: 6+ big boxes and not in your back yard. Delivery to curbside. Empty out 1/2 of your garage and get indoors prior to inclement weather. Furniture dolly or 4 wheel flat cart helpful. 3.) Comments about cedar: this is an engineered cedar product, not actual cedar board from a mill. The 6x6 posts are hollow. If they were not you wouldn't be able to pick them up. A good analogy would be Trex decking or composite patio furniture. The boards are straight, true and will last forever. 4.) We used 5-6 foldable party tables to arrange the hardware and boards adjacent to our build site and at waist height. They are all labeled in a manner such that you use (a) 1st, b 2nd ect. Ideally, your set up area should be 50% larger than the size of what you are building or you will be stepping over, tripping and wasting time. Unboxing and organizing took us 3-4 hours. 5.) Our installation was on an existing concrete patio that we leveled prior to installation. (Mud jacked). Kit includes brackets for tap con installation of 6x6's. We used vinyl planking cut into 6x6" squares to shim. Build must be plum. If installation is adjacent to an existing structure as ours was, account for overhang. 6.) Drip edge was not included and I was a bit surprised by that. I did not notice this until a heavy rain left the facia boards wet in areas. I resolved the issue when I installed gutters with screening. 7.) Cord for power pack is 24". Have a small extension cord at the ready to your outdoor GFI circuit. Some communities may require a permit for backyard construction like this and some HOA'S will not permit so again, research. We added a 42" fan with light kit to 1 of our roof supports upon completion. 8.) We've had 12" snows and several severe storms. No issues or leaks. We had no missing parts to kit. A few extras actually. Hope this helps. I will answer any questions posted to the community promptly. Enjoy! EK.

We live in an area that gets lots of snow and unpredictable heavy winds all year round. This gazebo is extremely sturdy and can withstand the elements. We hired a crew to assemble it for us- we would not have been able to manage it. But now that it’s up, we love it! Highly recommend!

The 3d instructions on the BILT app were fantastic, and made assembly much easier. The materials are all high quality. We felt a little bad covering up the cedar with paint as it looks really good. However, we decided to make everything white to go with the beach house theme. The only part that was somewhat tricky was the roof panels. Make sure to leave things a little loose until you fully assemble and ensure everything is square. Even then, be prepared to adjust a bit when you put the panels up on the frame. We had some really big furniture framing clamps that helped to apply pressure in the right places to be fully square while we bolted down. Take extra care when assembling the center ridge beam with all the T nuts embedded in it. I didn't realize we missed a couple until trying to attach the roof panels and had to take everything down. The roof panels need at least 2 people go put up. I could lift one on my own, but the edges are sharp and the size makes it difficult. 3 or 4 people would be ideal. We did it with 2 people and some ropes for safety.

Well, now that the build is finished, glad we did it. I am a carpenter and jack-of-all-trades; however, this was a long process. We DID stain/seal every piece before hand. My only complaints/suggestions are: 1. The roof panel instructions are not great. One side of the corrugated metal should be flush against the frame and the other should overhang the next panel. This can cause a HUGE issue during installation. Take your time on this!!! 2. The roof cap design is garbage. The rubber center connector should be thrown away. Buy another metal connector and replace it. Assemble in one big piece and have a couple people help lift it into place. This design is absolutely crap. Customer service/part replacement is great! The finished product, material and cost are amazing. Recommend if you are a glutton for punishment.

I am writing this review after 6 months of owning this Gazebo and want to share information that I didn't see in other reviews. The picture was taken after Hurricane Milton Cat 1 storm we went through. Here are the key points to know. 1. Even though the company is based in the US the wood for this Gazebo/Carport is a product from China. It has been kiln dried substantially so each piece of wood is lighter than you would expect. The shipment will arrive on an Oversized pallet. It was difficult to move the pallet even with a pallet jack because of the oversized pallet. 2. The wood is a very soft wood so extra care needs to be taken that you don't strip out or over tighten bolts going through the wood. 3. It is a pain but you will want to check that no wooden parts are missing. I had this happen to me during the middle of the build and had to wait for those pieces to be shipped. 4. I believe it is an absolute MUST that you should stain or apply a water sealer to all wood parts before assembly. Some other reviews have mentioned that they had third parties install their Gazebo/carport and shortly after the wood was cracked all over. In my case I used three gallons of the (Defy Extreme Wood Stain Light Walnut 1-gallon) and I had stain left over. I gave every piece of wood two coats of stain prior to assembly. Yes it made the initial process longer but 6 months in all the wood looks great and is holding up well. There are no cracks in the wood. The wood will soak up the stain very quickly but again 3 gallons of the stain will be enough for the entire project. 5. I built this by myself but had a little bit of help when it came time to lift the four roof sections up and onto the frame. It took me 2 weeks to build this Gazebo/Carport and that also included two coats of stain on all wood parts. 6. Living in Florida I was concerned how this would hold up to strong winds/storms/hurricanes. As of 10/18/24 We have had two substantial storms move through. One was a Tropical Storm and one was Hurricane Milton (Cat 1 hurricane when it passed over). We had severe winds that ripped siding off our house and knocked the antennas off the roof of our home. The Gazebo/Carport was fine and no damage. The roof held without any issues. The picture I'm attaching is the Gazebo after the second storm. 7. Customer support from this company is excellent. When I had pieces that were missing they were right on it to get the parts shipped out to me at no cost. The support team is based in the US so no call center in India to deal with. The wood replacement parts also ship from the US. 8. Based on all of the above experiences I would recommend this company and product with the caveat that Staining the wood prior to assembly is an absolute must for the Gazebo to last and stand up to weather. Hope this review helps others get the most out of their Norwood Wooden Gazebo. Finally, I purchased this Gazebo myself and this review is not sponsored by the manufacturer.

Just finished installing a 12 x 16 gazebo. For the money you can't go wrong with this product. I fully expected to spend 7k plus to build my own. I couldn't buy the rough cut cedar for less than what I paid for this. Is it perfect? No but it's awfully close. When you have a 16' main beam made from six separate boards it's not going to be perfectly flat so there is a barely noticeable sway in the roof line but you have to look for it. I'll probably buy a 16' 2 x 6 to go under the main beam that will take care of that. Lots of instructions and even an app to help guide you with assembly. Speaking of assembly, I'm 74 and only needed help with a standing and joining the base and a few roof panels. I did make a few mistakes but was able to go back and fix them at the end. I highly recommend this product and even though I did a lot by myself, plan to have help.

Gorgeous and sturdy

Really happy with how it turned out. Build quality is excellent Not difficult but is a big project. I did stain all the wood with a clear Oil based product in the heated garage because of the time of year. Did most everything myself except when it came to erecting the frames and installing the roof panels. Recommend 3 people for those steps.

I have put together numerous products over the years and this was probably the best quality as far as precision drilling in the pre-cut parts. Package included extra nuts and bolts which were all of good quality. Very good instructions but make sure you follow them closely, especially the squaring of the roof panels. We tightened up the majority of the bolts as we assembled but in hindsight should have left more a bit loose until completely assembled then tightened them. Went to three different stores for recommendation on sealants and had three different recommendations. Went with Thompson Water Seal and happy with decision. It looks great.

If you lack helpers, an alternative is to first install all 4 wooden roof frames separately, without the metal sheathing. It's even easier to bolt them together at this stage. Then, working from a ladder, you can add the metal panels individually accessing through the frame openings, following the manual's sequence. I was able to complete this solo using this method.

As I was building it, so many people stopped right in my driveway to ask about it: where I got it, how much it cost, all the specs, etc. It's like they never saw a gazebo/carport before. At least 3 people I don't even know have actually had the nerve to come up to my door when I wasn't outside and knock to ask the questions. It is gorgeous, and you will have everyone in town noticing it. :-) I did a lot of research before making my choice, and even though I could find cheaper ones, I could not find any with the wind rating and snow load that this one has, so I think it's worth the extra money not to have to worry about it collapsing if I don't go out and clean off snow accumulation.

I did not know it would turn out so nice. The whole carport is very robust, the quality of materials are very good. Just follow the instructions closely, and you will have no trouble putting it together.