How to make a gazebo from a corn crib

Myra Glandon, who lives and gardens near Prospect, Ohio, is a true Flea Market gardener.  Her talent and vision led to a spectacular project that is the ultimate in reuse, recycle and re-purpose. You’ll think it’s genius!  Here is the story in her own words:

“This is our gazebo made out of an old metal corn crib. We positioned it outside the kitchen door of our old brick house. We enjoy sitting out here in the evenings, listening to the sounds and enjoying the breeze. It’s very nice to sit out here when it rains, and listen to the rain on the metal roof. It has a salvaged stone floor, and a vintage rustic chandelier. It’s earthy and simple and reminds me of my life growing up on a farm. We have brown wicker chairs, a bench made from an old crib, and a round table made from a large red tile and salvaged deck boards.”

She says, “We call it the cornzebo!”

Myra’s cornzebo snugged up against the house, surrounded in flowers

“I have wanted to convert an old corn crib into a gazebo for many years, but the right opportunity hadn’t presented itself.  A friend whose husband is a farmer knew his brother had a corn crib he wanted to tear down. The corn crib was originally very tall, but the farmer wanted to keep half to use instead of rebar in some cement work he wanted to do.  So they cut the corn crib just above the door access.

Here she comes….

Here it comes!  Oh, I got so excited I could hardly stand it.  It was moved on a hay wagon.  You can see from the pictures it was hanging off both sides. Below,  you can see us unloading it and placing it where we wanted it.”

Many hands position the corn crib

“I had asked my sister and her family, my daughters and sons in law to come help, so we had a crew, in addition to the 3 men who delivered it.  We had decided to place it close to the house so it would be easy access to sit and enjoy coffee in the morning, or a meal in the evenings.  We already have a wooded picnic area, with a pond and circular brick patio, but it was out at the back of our property.  I already had a couple of roses growing near the house, were I had removed plants the night before, so I wanted to set the ‘cornzebo’ as close to the house, and roses as possible. ”

A paver edge was laid, gravel spread over weed-block

The gravel is raked out

“We try to repurpose as many things as possible.  We started gathering rocks from ditches, people who didn’t want them and an abandoned property nearby.  We also found a large rustic terracotta drain tile, planned to use as a table base.”

“We didn’t have a doorway, since the corn crib had been cut just above the doorway.  So, we decided where we wanted the door, how wide and how tall.  We used bolt cutters to cut out a door.  We attached 1 x 4’s to each side of the doorway, both inside and out.  I then painted the boards brown to blend with the rusty metal corn crib. ”

“We had a coupe of tears and holes in the metal roof so we used rubber roofing tape to patch those.  The dome lid was hanging by a wire, and had some rips and dings.  We pounded it out to fit better and reattached.”

Old sandstone sidewalk stone pieces act as flagstone

“I got a skid of large brick shaped gray pavers at Habitat for Humanity that I had been saving for a special project.  We jacked up the corn crib and we laid the bricks under the edge to support the corn crib, and prevent it from sinking into the dirt and deteriorating.  I borrowed my son in law’s truck and got gravel at the quarry for the base.  We laid weed barrier cloth over the compacted dirt, spread the gravel, and then laid the old sandstone sidewalk stone pieces on top of the gravel.”

Flagstone is set

Inside the cornzebo, showing a handmade table and tile base

Here, above, is a picture of the inside of the ‘cornzebo’ taken from our kitchen doorway. It’s only steps away for easy access. I still have one of my trash picked wicker chairs to get painted brown.  The table is an old terracotta drain tile and table top made from salvaged deck boards someone threw out but a spool, barrel, stump, large pot or table legs would work.

The finished ‘Cornzebo’ surrounded by roses and cleome

Climbing roses reach for the corn crib’s ‘trellis’ sides

 Details

A chandelier in the attractive patterned ceiling

“Once the stone was laid hubby hung an old chandelier in the top of the ‘cornzebo.’  We also wove outdoor lights around the roof line on the inside. We started collecting wicker chairs from yard sales, a trash pile, and curbside.  We also got a couple from Big Lots to finish it out. ”

Old floorboards cut to size

Floorboard tabletop,..the perfect shape and what interesting colors!

“We made a table top out of old deck boards someone threw out.  We added rocks around the outside to define an area for flowers, and transplanted perennials, and cleome.”

Myra’s Cornzebo at night

The Cornzebo at night…stunning!  Myra tells us, “Anyone can have a beautiful space with lots of money but creating unique and inviting spaces with very little money and lots of imagination is what Flea Market Gardening is all about.”

Photos by Myra Glando

Another corn crib gazebo:

How to make a garden gazebo from an old corncrib