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"World's First" Floating Gazebo
When Thomas Mueller and his wife decide to leave their gazebo and head back to the house, they first have to start up an electric trolling motor and drive back to the dock. That's because their gazebo floats on a two-acre spring fed pond.
"The pond is 20 ft. deep and stocked with fish," says Mueller. "I can take
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"World's First" Floating Gazebo FARM HOME Miscellaneous 30-5-27 When Thomas Mueller and his wife decide to leave their gazebo and head back to the house, they first have to start up an electric trolling motor and drive back to the dock. That's because their gazebo floats on a two-acre spring fed pond.
"The pond is 20 ft. deep and stocked with fish," says Mueller. "I can take the gazebo out fishing any time I want."
The gazebo deck consists of eight 4-ft. by 4-ft. by 18-in. encapsulated Styrofoam floats around the outside of the 14 by 14-ft. base. The floats are held in place with 2 by 6-in. treated planks laid flat over the floats and anchored to them, and spaced about 16-in. apart around the perimeter. Mueller used ironwood (also called Brazilian walnut) for decking.
"I used discarded waste where I could," he says. "The uprights for the screened portion were sections of aluminum light poles that were being removed from a nearby parking lot. The uprights for the railing around the outside of the deck were recycled from weed whacker shafts."
Mueller cut the top 8 ft. from the 19-ft. poles to make his 6 uprights. The tapered posts were welded to base plates attached to decking, with plates at the top to anchor the roof. He built the roof out of 2 by 4s sheathed in plywood and covered with shingles. At the center, the screened enclosure is 10 ft. high with each of the 6 sides measuring about 54 in.
The railing around the outside of the deck consists of pressure treated 2 by 6-in. horizontals with the weed whacker shafts in place. The top pieces are dressed up with ironwood decking.
Mueller built the gazebo on skids prior to filling his pond for the first time. Using a backhoe, he dragged it into position, removed the skids and let the rising water set it afloat.
"I put a solar charger on the roof with a 12-volt battery under a bench inside the gazebo," says Mueller. "It powers 12-volt lights and a trolling motor. When I am close to our dock, I can plug it in for more lights, radio and a ceiling fan."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Thomas Mueller, 3902 Bellhaven Rd., Belton, S.C. 29627 (ph 864 964-0491).
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