When summer rolls by, it’s time to fire up the grill and enjoy a fun barbecue with your family and friends. If you have a gazebo in your backyard, it’s a great area for all your guests to gather and chop it up. However, can you grill under a gazebo too?
Grilling under a gazebo comes with some safety concerns. They mainly revolve around having sufficient airflow and enough space for the hot air to cool down.
Read on to learn more about the things to keep in mind if you’re thinking of firing up the grill under your gazebo.
Is It Safe to Grill Under a Gazebo?
While you can fire up the grill and barbecue under a gazebo, I definitely don’t recommend doing so.
I say this because there are many safety concerns involved with grilling under a gazebo. For starters, the space under a gazebo is limited. Therefore, it’s going to feel quite cramped. As a result, you’re better off having a separate space dedicated to cooking.
Safety Concerns With Grilling Under a Gazebo
The main problems related to grilling under your gazebo are temperature and ventilation.
Naturally, there’s a lot of heat involved when you fire up the grill. In turn, all that hot air needs to have an outlet for release. When you grill under a gazebo, there isn’t enough space for the air to get cooler before it comes in contact with the gazebo.
As a result, grilling under a gazebo could damage the structure itself. It can even potentially be a fire hazard.
Additionally, cooking on a grill produces smoke and other byproducts of combustion. If there isn’t enough airflow, these gases can accumulate and make the surrounding air dangerous to breathe.
After all, the last thing you want to do is put your own, and your loved ones’ health in jeopardy.
Things to Consider Before Grilling Under a Gazebo
If you do decide to grill under your gazebo, there are several factors to keep in mind.
Here are some of the most important ones:
1 – The Height of Your Gazebo’s Ceiling
One thing to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to grill under your gazebo is how high its ceiling is.
Generally, the higher a gazebo’s ceiling is, the safer it’ll be to grill under.
Due to the issue of hot air having enough space to cool down, I’d advise against grilling under a gazebo with a ceiling that’s not at least ten feet high.
Even then, you’ll notice discoloration in your gazebo’s ceiling as a result of all the smoke and soot the grill gives off. However, this isn’t a problem since you can clean the ceiling easily.
2 – Where You Place Your Grill
Another factor to consider is where you’ll place the grill.
The most important thing is to keep the grill away from any potentially combustible objects. This includes your gazebo’s posts. It’s essential to do so because, over time, the fire will dry out combustible objects and make them ignite.
The rule of thumb is to have the grill at least three feet away from your gazebo’s posts and walls.
3 – Having Sufficient Airflow
The smoke and gases that grills produce are potentially dangerous and should be dealt with properly. Therefore, your gazebo must have vents to allow these gases to escape.
Ensuring sufficient ventilation reduces the risk of carbon monoxide build-up and the serious hazards associated with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions people often have about grilling under a gazebo:
Is it safe to grill under a pergola?
Generally speaking, you should never have a grill going at a distance of less than two feet away from your house or other structures and plants in your backyard.
Therefore, I don’t advise grilling under a pergola because pergolas are usually attached to your home.
Can you use a fire pit in a gazebo?
Using a fire pit under your gazebo comes with the same safety considerations as grilling. If you properly account for airflow and temperature, you can use a fire pit under a gazebo.
However, I recommend going with a propane fire pit instead of a wood one so that the flame is more controllable.
How do I clean my gazebo’s ceiling if it gets discolored due to smoke from grilling?
To clean your gazebo ceiling, use a mild detergent or a bleach solution. You can use a long broom with a metal sponge attached to scrub the dirt off the ceiling.
Final Thoughts
If you’re having a barbecue in your backyard soon, you might be wondering if you can grill under your gazebo.
It’s possible to grill under your gazebo. However, that doesn’t mean you should.
If your gazebo ceiling isn’t high enough, this can pose a fire hazard because the hot air from the grill doesn’t have time to cool down before coming in contact with the structure.
Therefore, it’s a better idea to grill in an open space in your backyard.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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