Installing a Pergola

Installing a Pergola Amy Matthews: We’re going to build ourselves a pergola. The first step in building the pergola is to lay it out. Dean and Mark selected a site nestled in the back woods area of the yard with the view of the back of the house. Next, Mark Dean and Linnet’s brothers Mike and Danny dealt four posts 30 inches deep. Now it’s time to place each of the post. Since rain is expected Dean decides not to premix the concrete. Dean: This is our first post. We’re going to go ahead and set this, we’re going to get the level and then every other post that we have is going to be based off of this one so there is the level let’s go ahead and cracked that peg and concrete it and we’re just going to dry and pour it in the hole and we’re going to wet the rain and mother nature take care of hardened of course. Amy Matthews: Next, Dean gives Mark and Jim a quick lesson in cutting the joys and stringers for the top of the pergola. Dean: These are the beams for the top of our pergola but we have to come up with an end detail for all of these beams and basically we’re going to have two on each side but we’ll attach them together so we’ll give us the impression of a 4 x 8 I suppose to actually one piece of wood 4 x 8 okay. Amy Matthews: After measuring the notches at 2-inch increment Dean uses a trick to soften the angles. Dean: Anything that has something close to being the correct radius to give us that curve that we want and all we’re going to do is we’re going to line up our top line with this mark here and we’re just going to draw that radius. So you try and cut it out. Amy Matthews: Mark learns a quick lesson about operating a jig saw, patience. Dean: Remember let the tool do the work for you, you’re not going to push that thing any faster than what it wants to go. Mark: I’ll push it a little bit too. Amy Matthews: It looks like Mark and Jimmy have their work cut out for them. They have four sides of the floor joist boards and seven stringers to cut. Large stones will create a border for bit outside the pergola, while small stone gravel will be used for the flooring inside. It just needs a frame. Dean: That looks good right there. We’ve taken a piece of pressure treated 2 x 4 and we’ve attached it to the outside of our post. This is going to be the top level of our gravel floor. Amy Matthews: Dean carefully measures the height of the post and trims the excess wood. The support beams can be left as is giving them a more natural look but Dean wants to mimic the stately wide columns on the front of the house. It’s time to lower the columns over the floor post. The base goes on first. It will be attached to the frame with galvanized screws after the columns are set. The columns are bulky and can break if dropped. This is a brand where you want to have plenty of help to lower them slowly. Dean and Mark spread the gravel ground cover evenly inside the pergola frame. Now it’s time to raise the roof. To attach the joists to the beams Mark drills a hole through the wood. He uses 10-inch leg bolts to secure them into place. Stringers out of finish look. It’s important that they’re evenly spaced across the top. Dean: I need to come to you quite of bit. Amy Matthews: The pergola with its stately white columns changed it’s a neglected corner of the yard into an inviting outdoor room. Female: I have hope for some place that we could go out into the backyard and enjoy the kids and enjoy being together out in the backyard. I think we have that now.