Day 4: More Than Halfway Done

The pergola project is really taking shape and is looking great!

So many times the projects I envision in my head never quite look the same when they begin to take shape.

But not this time. The pergola actually looks even better than I had hoped.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry (see "Archives" below), my pergola spans a flagstone walkway leading to our front door, as well as a concrete patio beyond it. On one side of the 10-foot wide walkway is our house; on the other is a large flower garden that Leigh Ann keeps expanding each year. One thing I did not realize the pergola would do is to make a visual connection between the house and the flower garden, bringing each closer to the other.

Jon and I made quick work of the final section in Phase Two of our project, that being the south third of the 75-foot long pergola. The smartest thing I did this week was to make a template from oak plywood that I could lay over the end of each joist and trace out the precise location of the two notches and the angle of the rafter tail. The template not only made our task easier and faster, but it insured that the protruding ends of each joist would be uniform (see photo, use your cursor to magnify).

Once again our afternoon was punctuated with scattered thunderstorms as the thermometer flirted with ninety degrees. We would no more than put our power tools away than the sun would pop back out, sending both the temperature and the humidity soaring until the next line of grey clouds raced in to save us.

Before calling it a day we were determined to get the first rafter in place for Phase Three - the final third and that being directly over the front door. One portion of our pergola in Phase Three will be nearly twelve feet in the air, so tomorrow we will be testing our legs as we scramble up and down the ladders carrying each header and joist - dodging pellets of rain.

Thanks!

- Bruce

Note: To see additional photographs and more detailed instructions, please go to our new Beginner's Guide section under Resources in the Navigation Bar at the top. Since building regulations, requirements and structural issues vary from situation from situation, first consult with government officials and qualified individuals regarding your particular circumstances.