Ah, the wind. Nothing’s better on a hot day than a cool breeze blowing through your backyard. Even in fall, the wind brings the crisp scent of cooler temperatures and the beauty of multicolored leaves dancing in the breeze.

But sometimes, powerful winds can damage your property by downing trees, causing power outages, and yes, even damaging your backyard gazebo.

How, then, do you protect your gazebo from strong gales and storms? Let’s go over a few ways you can protect your gazebo from the ravages of the wind.

Protecting Temporary Gazebos from the Wind

The term ‘gazebo’ can be pretty broad, encompassing not only permanent structures but also temporary ones. These vinyl and mesh gazebos are great when you’re out camping or enjoying a weekend sporting event and want some shade.

These temporary gazebos aren’t so great with the wind, though. They can usually only withstand winds of up to 30 mph (a strong breeze) without turning into a giant kite and blowing away.

In this case, all you can really do is tie it down using anchor pens and rope or weigh it down with gazebo weights like sandbags. This should keep your vinyl gazebo secured long enough to enjoy your outing on a blustery day.

Opt for Wind-Resistant Gazebos

For those wanting a more permanent addition to their backyard, gazebos like the ones we offer at Backyard Discovery are the way to go. Made from heavier materials like cedar wood and steel, these gazebos are intended to be enjoyed year-round.

The advantage is that every gazebo we have, from our modest 10x10 Norwood to our spacious 20x12 Norwood Carport/Gazebo is Pro-Tect™ certified for pro-grade performance. This means that they can withstand thousands of pounds of pressure and up to 30” of snow, and they’re capable of withstanding up to 100 mph winds, rain or shine.

How powerful are winds up to 100 mph? To give you an idea, weather.gov classifies any wind over 75 mph as hurricane-force winds where shallow-rooted trees, both large and small, can be knocked over, the shingles on roofs can be peeled off, and small mobile homes and RVs can be overturned. That makes it almost as secure as your house or any large outdoor shed.

Part of the secret to these gazebos' incredible wind resistance is the powder-coated steel anchoring plates that include four 2” concrete screws that fasten it securely to your property. Additionally, the all-metal roof design ensures that no loose parts like shingles fly off when the wind gets severe. 

As you can see, the best way to protect your gazebo from the wind is to have a gazebo that’s built to withstand it. While making any structure hurricane-proof is impossible, you can rest easy knowing that, unlike vinyl gazebos, your wooden gazebo from Backyard Discovery can withstand heavy winds, gales, and even severe storms.

If you’d like to talk to the experts about adding a wind-resistant gazebo to your backyard, contact us at Backyard Discovery, and we’d be happy to help you out.