Pergola Nearing Completion

19 years ago

After many years of planning, our Pergola is finally resting upon our patio. We planned for it when building the patio (in 1998), then went through numerous designs, meeting resistance from the Village and now can relax in permanent shade.

Photos are linked from "My Page".

We designed and built it ourselves. It took about 3 weeks for fabrication, 9 minutes to assemble and another week to secure, trim and paint. All exposed surfaces are cedar.

Yet to be added is a ceiling fan above the table, rope lighting which will set into pre-cut grooves on the outer rails and outdoor drapes to glide between the outer rails with tie-backs to the corner posts. Probably will be next season before all of this is completed.

For any DIY'er contemplating something similar, it really wasn't difficut to build. One just needs to think backward from final assembly and measure/cut carefully.

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Comments (3)

unclewilley
19 years ago
I am planning to build a pergola over our to-be-build patio. Any chance you have a set of plans that you would be willing to share?

Also, did you build/install the patio? A "paver" patio is next on my list after I finish a 320 foot cedar fence (about 1/3 complete).
fnmroberts
Original Author
19 years ago
unclewilley

Sorry, no plans. Ours was built for the piers which were set before the patio was laid.

If you look at the photos taken during the install, you can see how the various notches were cut. You'll want to reason backward from how you would install to cut them correctly for yours. Basically I just drew it on paper, then measured from the center of each board length. The ogee is just parts of a circle and elipse which I sized to fit, cut into a piece of plywood, then traced onto each end.

Yes, we built the patio too - in 1998, that't how long it has taken me to get to constructing the pergola. The village approved the piers when I built the patio, then wouldn't allow a pergola sized correctly. We'll be making drapes to better shade the eating area because the roof overhang is insufficient.

If you have any specific questions as you get underway, I'll try to answer.
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Jenn Fenn
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Beautiful pergola! I've read from your other threads (or comments on other threads) that you skinned the posts with cedar. I'm a newbie, so I'm wondering what this means exactly. Is it a way to cost-save without having to build the posts from cedar and use a less-expensive wood instead? How do you skim? How did you create the posts' design. Thanks in advance!