Construction has started

The assembly of the patio cover (Gazebo) has started. As mentioned in an earlier post, this Gazebo was purchased at Sam's Club. It is the same Gazebo that is also offered at Costco. Manufactured by Sunjoy, it is sold as the Royal Hardtop Gazebo. This model is 12' x12'. Black in color with a solid top.

The unit was picked up at the store and it came in two large boxes which took a couple co-workers and I to unload from the trailer.

They were placed on some wood in the backyard to keep them off the ground. Once opened, the boxes contain a 3/8" square tubing interior framework to protect the various pieces. The packing was excellent with each piece wrapped in bubble wrap.

Even with this packing there is a dent on one of the columns, which I will turn to hide against the house wall. The parts are well numbered, so comparing the parts to the instruction manual is easy. The construction manual is pretty straight forward and does vary from the construction manual of the same gazebo sold by Costco. The Costco manual recommends construction of the entire roof assembly and lifting (6 to 8 people required) it up on top of the columns. The Sam's manual indicates that the roof framework be completed on the ground and then lifted up onto the columns. Either method will work, but the latter method is the one I will probably use. Still plan on having the 6 to 8 people there to help.
The nuts, washers and bolts that hold the structure together come shrink wrapped to a piece of cardboard. I spent an hour or so taking these parts off the cardboard and putting them into individual marked plastic bags.
To make sure that I get this located properly on my patio and the two footings that I poured a couple weeks ago, I decided to assemble the columns first. Locate them approximately where I think they should go, then put up the "gutters" which are the outside framework of the roof.

I can then square the assembly and mark the location on the concrete and drill the holes in the concrete to anchor the columns.

Then I will take the "gutters" off and assemble the roof frame on the ground. At least that is the plan at this time. I will also make some preliminary steps to install the electrical into the cover (Gazebo).
The plan is to put the electrical into the bottom of the Gazebo column closest to the hose reel, run it up the column into the top of the structure to a fan/light combo. We'll see how the plan goes.