Our History

In 1989, Rick Salm was a one-man crew with a cargo van. His first gazebo was for a local customer – a 16' site built gazebo with a deck. The next year, an interested party said to him “I see you build gazebos” and the crossover to multiple gazebos was complete. Of course, one gazebo a year is not nearly enough income to survive on and Rick stayed involved with remodeling, additions and also framing and finishing work for his father’s home building business.

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The gazebo business advanced at a steady pace, keeping Rick and his wife, Barb, busy as they operated out of a rented warehouse, and by 2000 Garden Getaway Gazebos moved into their new 10,000 square foot facility in the Fond du Lac Industrial Park. From the facility’s inception, plans were made for additions to the building and by 2005 steady growth allowed for a 12,000 square foot addition and a gazebo park (shown above). The current facility has 2,500 square feet of in-floor radiant heat and two twelve-ton heating/cooling units that move 8,000 cubic feet of air per minute (4,000 cubic feet of exterior fresh air per minute). This allows all cedar wood materials to dry and be painted under controlled conditions. 

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Barb and Rick have been involved in the design, sales, marketing and day to day office details since the beginning of Garden Getaway Gazebos. Their son, Brett, began running the shop and installations in 1999. 

 

If you are in the area, we invite you to stop by and tour our facility and visit our gazebo displays.