Gazebo Designs

Anyone have insulation and cooling solutions for a gazebo-turned-bedroom room with loft?

Looking for someone who might have a little more expertise than I do on this subject. I'm looking to rent a house with some roommates. It has a large gazebo in the back, separate from the house, which is sealed and enclosed. It's basically all windows. There is electricity to the gazebo, but it isn't insulated. The roof is metal (Except for one triangular side, which is a large plexiglass window) and the flooring is tile, the kind you'd find in a nice kitchen or bathroom. It's the size of a decent-sized bedroom, but it's much taller. (I'd guess it's 12 or more feet from front to back in any direction and 15 feet to the point of the roof.) I haven't counted the sides, but it's probably octagonal or so. It has a very sturdy loft that starts where the roof starts, (Maybe 7 or 8 feet up) which is plenty large enough to put a full-sized mattress there. The loft takes up exactly half of the width of the room -- (half of the octagon shape). Of course, the roof tapers to the middle, so you can't stand toward the wall/roof edges of the loft, but it would be a great place to sleep. The problem is that it isn't insulated at all and I live in central Florida. The windows look and feel like house windows. They're pretty thick and they feel sturdy, but they're single-paned. Beneath the windows, there is just plexiglass. It's sealed very well all around the plexiglass, but there are a few cracks in the plexiglass itself. Obviously, at the very least, these portions will have to be replaced and re-sealed. I'm also thinking of replacing that part with nicer wood and trying to insulate the area some. The roof isn't insulated, either -- it's just the bare metal overhead. I'll definitely need some kind of window AC unit or standalone portable AC unit. (Never had anything but central heat & air, so I'm not sure of the advantages and disadvantages) but I'm wondering how well that would be able to cool a room like that and how much insulation would be necessary. I'm also worried that it will skyrocket the electricity bill. Would a unit like that efficiently keep moisture out of the room and keep it cool? How much insulation will be necessary for that, if any? I'm a little worried that the large amount of glass in the room might create a bit of a greenhouse effect, although I definitely plan to put blinds or curtains on every window/wall. (Including the roof window. In fact, I may even try to find another metal section for the roof, in order to close off the roof window.) Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a real place to put an AC unit that would blow air directly on the loft, so I'm worried about how hot it might get up there (I can tell right now with no insulation or AC that during the day, the loft is 5-10 degrees hotter than it is 7 or 8 feet below it.) It seems logical to me that I'd want to put the AC unit on the side of the room that DOESN'T have the loft overhead, so that it doesn't get completely trapped underneath the loft. There's a fan attached to the bottom of the loft, which circulates the air for the bottom part of the gazebo, but I don't think it would bring any air up into the loft itself. Due to the way the roof tapers up, I don't think I can hang a traditional fan from the middle of it unless the fan blades are very short, but I was thinking about mounting a small oscillating fan on a roof beam somewhere. Would that effectively move cooler air from the ground to the top of the loft? Or would it be better to put something below that's pointed up? Does anyone have any suggestions? Also, do you think insulating the roof and/or portions below the window would have much of an effect with a room that is essentially all windows? I have zero experience with this, but I'm hopeful that it can work. I've never seen someone turn a gazebo into a habitable room, but this one seems like it's pretty close already, and I like the way it's set up. I think it would be pretty cool if I can figure it out. Feel free to burst my bubble if you don't think it's feasible, but either way, I'd like some input on any of these issues. Thanks for the feedback. The landlord is definitely fine with it. In fact, the previous tenants did the same thing, apparently. And the house is a bit of a fixer-upper already, so we're planning to do some work in exchange for a deal on the rent. As for code enforcement, I'm not sure how that all works. I think it probably wouldn't qualify as a habitable space because it's so close to the river without being raised up or anything. That's the main problem I think I'd run into if I tried to get the place up to code. I figure if the previous tenants had someone living back there, though, the neighbors must not care, and I don't really think many other people would even know someone was living back there. I'd put some blinds or something all around it so no one could see that I had furniture and stuff in there. There are police boats that cruise up and down the river occasionally, but I don't think they're looking for code enforcement kind of stuff.

Public Comments

1. Just because it has electricity, doesn't mean that it's meant to be a habitable structure. I would bet you that the gazebo does not have the correct permits to be considered a dwelling. If you move into it and the landlords object, they can throw you out. Or if the neighbors notice, they can report you to county authorities, and fine you. If the entire thing is sealed and enclosed, are you sure it's a gazebo? It could be a greenhouse. In that case I can understand why it would be enclosed and why there's electricity running to it. Greenhouses are meant to house plants in an enclosed environment and often have "windows" in order to adjust humidity levels for plants. If the structure is a gazebo, I can see why they may run electricity to it. The owners may have used it as an outdoor dining area to be able to look out at the yard, but enclosed most of it in order to keep bugs at bay. And the "loft" area could be storage for patio furniture. Check with the landlords first to determine what they used the structure for and if you think they would be open to someone living in it, then heck, go for it. I've heard of people living in sheds to save on rent, so if it's cheap and you think you can hang, go for it. As for an air conditioning unit, I would not alter the structure. The owners could slap you with repair fees or not give you back your deposit. You are better off purchasing a portable air conditioner.
2. forget about it. Even if (as stated) it is legal to live in it, it just won't work. You'd need to replace all glass with double pane glass, rip out the floor and put in floor insulation, rip out the roof and put in roof insulation and new roof material, make sure it adheres to fire codes, building codes, etc. etc.. Would almost certainly be a lot cheaper to tear it down, get the permits to put up something new, and build a new house there from scratch.
3. You have some very good ideas there,but first check For permits that way you won't be spending until you know you can.And with the landlord,they may not want the changes you want to make to the property.