I need some ideas please ladies and gents. Part of the frame of our gazebo has failed, a week from us hosting a family gathering, so I kinda need to fix it or replace it ASAP. It is a bolt together affair, shaped as below: (Excuse the rotten drawing skills!) The 'straights' are split in the middle and are held together by a plate being placed across the join on either side of the square cross section tubing, and then bolts pass through the plates and the tubing to hold it together. The corners have an angled piece that wraps around the upright of the leg (also square cross section tubular steel), and that is then also bolted through. The red circle above shows where the angled piece is located. It is the welds on this angled piece that have failed. The above shows the profile of the broken part as you would see it looking down, with a side view showing where the bolts pass through for the rest of the frame. I can't see a way to repair it without a welder (which I don't have), or even bodge it together somehow (although I dislike bodges anyway, and wouldn't be happy with something that wasn't properly repaired. I thought about bolting something around it to hold it together, but that is a non-starter due to the bolt holes already there, and the fact that the cover would get fouled by any bolt heads, almost certainly tearing it. Any ideas?
Where are the supporting legs on this structure? oops, meant to say do the corners of the leg hit where the weld has failed? or am I visuallizing this all wrong....
The upright of the leg slots into the open ended part that is at the left hand side on the image (where the red arrow goes through), and then two bolts pass through this open ended 'jaw' and through the box section of the leg at the same time. It is the open ended jaw that has broken off the end of the bit of tubular steel EDIT - The first image shows what the gazebo frame would look like if you were looking down from above. The short angled sections at the corners are the legs.
Not quite understanding the problem I must admit FC, but just wondering if ali plates, self tapping screws are of any help. Its my usual way of bodging such items
Is there room enough to get an L bracket, bend it to the correct angle and place it beteen the two bolts then as@pete said, screw into the bracket to form a new, strong join? You might call them corner braces
Let me try a different drawing - I'll be back soon. I don't think there is enough space to use additional plates.
OK, hopefully this will make sense. There is nowhere for me to bolt/screw onto to use ally plate - this one has got me really stumped. If I had a welder (and could weld!), then I could fix it, but I have neither the equipment or the skill.
Would that stand up to the movement of the whole frame with the wind? I presume that fencing wire would be the thing?
Since it is in pieces and you have a week before guests come, would you be able to find some shop where they can simply weld it back together and then you paint it to fix the cosmetics?
It currently isn't in pieces - it is still up, albeit very unsteady on its feet; whether I would be able to find somewhere during the week or not, I don't know, but I can give it a try. @wiseowl - possibly might be just the thing, depending on there being something of the right size to go around the upright of the leg in an inverted T shape to attach to the side. I have this horrid feeling that I am going to end up having to replace this gazebo all for one failed weld.
You know them expanding nut thingies you find in bike handle bars where they slot into the forks? Where the very action of tightening the central bolt in the neck expands the nut thus clamping the handlebars very securely you the forks? Can you not use the same principle to stick the broken off jaw thing back onto it's box tubing?
Possibly - I will have to go and speak to my local hardware man I think. If anyone will have a solution to it, he will. Proper old school hardware shop, stacked to the rafters with all sorts, and really narrow wee aisles to get round - - I love the place.
