A pergola is a shaded walkway or passageway which is primarily used in gardens. It is mostly made up of pillars with beams across the top and an open lattice on which vines are usually trained to run. A pergola is at times used as a walkway to connect two buildings, or as an addition to a building and affords shade and even protection from rain if the overhanging vines are very thick.
Pergolas can be made of stone, brick, or wood and are typically roofed by any kind of vine one chooses like bougainvillea, grape vines, or bamboo. Wood is often favored when building a pergola because it looks more natural than stone or brick pillars, and is more reasonably priced. Thus if you are thinking of building a pergola in your own backyard, wood is probably the best alternative for you.
Required Tools
Post-hole digger/two-person auger
Jigsaw (optional)
Clamps
Drill
Hammer
Screw driver
Required Materials
Gravel
4x4 posts
2x4 bracings
Fast-drying cement
2x10 boards
3-inch lag bolts
2x6 boards
3-inch galvanized deck screws
Instructions
The first stage in building a pergola is picking a suitable site, a level area with good drainage is preferred. Choose whether or not your pergola will be made as an extension of your house, or to stand on its own. Measure out the size your pergola will be and mark the 4 outer corners of the measured spot as where you will place your 4x4 posts. Use the post-hole digger/two-person auger and hollow out holes 24 inches deep and 9 inches wide for the 4x4 posts. Throw a couple inches of the gravel into each hole to aid with drainage and then put the 4x4 posts inside the hole, making sure they are level and aligned with each other.
Use the 2x4 bracings to hold the poles in position, mix and pour the fast-drying cement inside the holes around the poles and leave it to harden for at least 24 hours before doing anything else.
Then cut joist beams out of the 2x10 pieces of board, long enough to cross the 4x4 posts. If you wish you can use the jigsaw to cut a decorative design into the ends of the joist beams but this is not a necessity. Use the clamps to hold the joist beam in position while drilling a hole through the beams and the posts, use the 3-inch lag bolts to fix the beams to the posts.
Finally, cut stringers out of the 2x6 boards, long enough to overhang the joist beams. Again you can use the jigsaw to cut a decorative design into the stringers if you want. Evenly space the stringers apart and fix them in place with the 3-inch galvanized deck screws.
Tips and Warnings
The amount of materials you will need will vary depending on the size of your pergola, smaller pergolas may need just 4 main posts, while larger pergolas will require additional support.
If you do not wish to dig holes for your chief posts or you just do not wish it to be noticeable that you did, you may do one of two things. First you may bury the posts and subsequently purchase hollow-core columns to set over them, or if you are building on a concrete pad, you can fasten the posts to the concrete with steel post-base anchors.
Make sure that all the wood you use to make your pergola is adequately treated and solid or your pergola will decay quickly and will not last very long.
There are several variations to making a pergola thus it would be a good idea to look at a few of the designs available on the internet to find one that suits your requirements.
Recommend : Civil Engineering Forum Civil Engineering Webboard Civil Engineer Plan of Construction Foundation Engineering
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น