How to Choose the Right Container
When growing vegetables in containers important considerations are:
Potential Root Volume (Container volume)
If you are going to grow crops such as beet greens, spinach and leaf lettuce you can use relatively shallow containers because you will harvest these crops frequently and they will not be in the pot for months and months, nor will they be huge plants. This means they do not need large root volumes, though the greater the root volume available the easier it will be to manage the water and fertilizer programs (Leafy vegetables, particularly when harvested at an early stage do not have extensive root systems below the 6" to 8" levels). Larger containers have their advantages.
If you are going to grow larger plants such as a cherry tomato (these grow great in containers) you will want a large container with at least 12 to 15 inches of available depth, and 18 inches is even better. My daughter grew a cherry tomato and several other plants in containers on her 8'x 8', 2nd story deck in Springdale Utah last year in a 15 inch pot. Though the pot was a little small and she had some difficulty keeping enough water and fertilizer available to the plant she had all the cherry tomatoes she could possibly eat and when the frost struck in November she picked the mature green fruit, placed them in a bowl on her counter and they continued to ripen and provide good fruit until after New Years.
Water and Fertilizer Holding Capacity
The larger the container and its potential root volume, the larger will be the amount of water and fertilizer that it can hold available to the plant, hence the less frequently you will need to add water and fertilize. Also, the greater the root volume in relation to the size of the tops of the plants the less likely an error in watering or fertilizing will be.
Surface Area
If you are going to grow a large plant in a container, the amount of surface area is important as greater surface areas will make watering and fertilizing easier and will also aid in the movement of oxygen into the root zone to keep the roots alive and functioning well. When you wish to plant large numbers of plants which will be harvested when they are relatively small into a container it is important to have a large surface area so you can space the plants properly.
Durability
There are a lot of different materials ranging from plastic, compressed organic matter, to ceramics used in making plant containers. Containers made from compressed organic matter have limited life spans so should be used only for short season crops. Other container materials are usually more durable, though plastic containers often become brittle after a year or 2 of use and tend to loose some of their finish and color components which means a less attractive container. While the brittleness is hard to avoid, the appearance of the container can be maintained with the judicious use of a little paint and/or art work.
The container in which a plant or plants are grown has a great deal of influence on how the plants look and produce so choose your container carefully.
Growing Leafy Vegetables Under a Pergola
As the price of produce has increased many of us have began to consider changes in our diet and life style. Unfortunately, for many, the cost of their food has begun to diminish or remove produce from their diet. This is the exact opposite of what is in the best interest of our health, longevity, and quality of life. At $2.40 for a 6 ounce bag of baby spinach (that is $0.40 per oz.) it is understandable that the consumer makes other choices. The cost of food has led many to consider gardening as an enjoyable way to supplement their diet, while at the same time adding to their lives a relaxing and rewarding hobby. Some have limited area in which to garden so they turn to their deck, patio, or pergola area. If you are just starting, or had less success than you would like, consider the following approach.
There are many leafy vegetables that can be grown in containers in a pergola or deck area. To begin I would suggest that you grow leaf lettuce, spinach, and beet greens. These provide an abundance of greens and the experience that will make your attempts to grow others more successful. Leaf lettuce is the easiest to grow and if done correctly can provide multiple harvests from one seeding and the principles you use in growing it are the same that will determine your success with other crops. So here are the simple steps to success.
Step 1: Select the proper container
Leaf lettuce does not need a deep container, but one with 6" to 8" of depth will serve you well. You will want a large surface area. The material the container is made of is not real important, though you will probably want one that is attractive and will compliment the décor or theme of your area. My daughter uses simple plastic pots then uses spray paint and other techniques to make them more ascetically pleasing. I, being ascetically challenged, will use just about anything and paint it some shade of brown. Make sure you have an open drain in the bottom of the container and a catch pan for water draining from the container.
Step 2: Select a good potting soil and fill the container
This step is important because some of the courser potting soils do not provide the proper environment for seed germination and root growth for these small seeded, rapidly growing, short season plants. Also some of the less expensive potting soils have high salt contents which will also slow or limit plant growth. I would suggest that you use MiracleGro, Scotts or Jiffy Mix potting soil with time release fertilizer added. If you wish to grow your vegetables organically MiracleGro Organic Choice is a very good product. Most potting soils are courser than I would like for seed germination so buy a bag of seed starting mix. Fill your container to within 1" of the top, press it down slightly and then add ½" of the seed starting mix to the surface. Add water to the prepared container slowly until it is thoroughly wet and a small amount drains out the bottom.
Step 3: Planting the Seed
Using a dibble stick make holes in the surface of the container 1 ½" apart and about 3/8" deep. What is a dibble stick? It is a stick you use to poke holes in the soil in which you place seed, so the eraser end of a pencil or a short piece of ¼" round wood dowel does the trick. At 1 ½" apart the plants will be much closer than you will read in most recommendations, but that is alright, because as we begin to harvest we will space the remaining plants, giving them more room to grow and allowing us to harvest much more from our somewhat limited area. Now place 2 or 3 seeds into each hole and then gently close the hole (I like to do this using a gentle pinching action).
Step 4: Germinating the Seed
If the container is in an area where the temperature is in the 70 degree range during the day and 50 degree range at night you should see the plants emerge in 4 to 6 days. Evaporation of water will cool the surface, so germination and emergence can be speeded up by placing a film of plastic wrap on the surface for the first 2 days. This must be removed before the plants begin to emerge and should not be used if the container surface is in full direct sunlight. Once the plants have emerged, thin the plants to 1 or 2 at each site.
Step 5: Maintain Proper Soil Moisture
If the soil mix is thoroughly wet when planted you should not have to water before the plants are 1" in height (usually about 12 to 14 days following planting, if the soil surface does dry out before the plants emerge use a spray bottle filled with water to keep the surface wet). When the plants are 1" high, rewet the soil with water to which 1 tablespoon of Miracle Grow soluble plant food has been added per gallon. Don't mix more than the 1 tablespoon per gallon and only water with this fertilizer mix one time per week. Use straight water for watering between the weekly fertilizer applications.
Step 6: Thinning and First Harvest
At about 2 weeks following planting you will notice that the rate of growth in the plants increases significantly. That is because just following plant emergence there is not a lot of leaf surface to harvest the energy of the light. Once there are enough leaves to completely cover the surface, the amount of photosynthesis begins to increase rapidly, hence the rate of growth increases. When the plants reach 4 inches in height you will find that they are beginning to crowd, that is, the tops begin to compete for space. When this happens you are ready to begin harvest. At this stage we harvest by pulling, gently every other plant. That will provide space for the other plants to grow larger. If you can not pull the plants without disturbing their neighbors too much, take a pair of scissors and cut the plant as near to the soil surface as you can. We do not want these plants to grow back. Take the harvested plants, wash the leaves and store them in the refrigerator. HINT: If your lettuce has a slight bitter taste to it, let it set in the sink submerged in the cold water for 4 to 6 hours. Enjoy!
Step 7: Harvesting
I would recommend that you harvest ½ of the plants in the container in your first harvest thus leaving room for the remaining plants to grow and expand. At this point, if the container is in full sunlight along the edge of your pergola area I would suggest that you move it into a partial shade area. Here it will continue to grow excellent lettuce which will have less chance of having any bitter or off flavors. The bitter taste results from water stress, plant heating or other factors associated with high temperatures. Moving the container to a partial shade area will avoid most of this (see hint above).
Following the first harvest continue harvesting as you need more lettuce. At this stage harvest the leaves by cutting them off about ¾" above the soil. When harvested this manner more leaves will develop for a second and even third harvest from these plants. In any case, harvest the lettuce before the leaves are more than 6" high. This will keep the plants from beginning to bolt, or form a seed producing stalk, and will also lessen the chance that the lettuce will become bitter.
Step 8: Looking to the Future
When you have harvested your lettuce, recycle the potting soil and plant residues by composting it. If at any time you end up with more lettuce or other green leafy vegetables than you can use at the time consider placing the washed leaves in zip loc bags and freezing. These frozen leaves make great material for green smoothies. ENJOY!
Growing Tomatoes on a Trellised Pergola
Growing tomatoes on a trellis can be one of the most exciting experiences a gardener can have. Imagine a tomato plant, grown with a single stem (vine), on a trellis or string that is 7' high or more. It has clusters of tomatoes at various stages of development, ripening fruit on the bottom 2 clusters, then 6 to 8 clusters of decreasing maturity spaced up the main stem at 6" to 8" intervals until you see bloom and small fruit on the second cluster from the top and newly opening blooms on the top cluster. Now imagine being able to maintain that growth and production even as you harvest all the tomatoes off the lower cluster, then the next and the next.
So how do you get one or more tomato plants that look like that described in the above paragraph? You begin with the right pot, or container, and the proper potting soil, and the right plant in terms of how it has been grown and the proper variety. If you are going to grow your own transplants begin with the right seed. You will need an indeterminate tomato variety such as beefsteak, better boy, or big boy. There are a number of good selections, it must be indeterminate.
Step 1: Container for Potting
Once you have selected the variety of Tomato and have the plant grown or purchased, you will need a good sized pot filled with a good potting soil. I would suggest that you use a pot which is 18" or larger in diameter at the top and 15" or more deep. Yes, that is a big pot, but you are going to grow a huge tomato plant with a lot of fruit on it, and keep it growing for 4 to 8 months depending on your location. Fill the pot with the planting soil and gently pack it down as you fill it, so that when you have planted the tomato and watered it, the soil will settle so there is between ½" and ¾" of space between the top of the soil and the top of the pot. You want to have the largest soil volume possible for your plant to grow in, there will be no chance to repot.
Step 2: Seeding your Pots
Plant the plant in the center of the pot and place it in the area where you want it to grow. You will need someplace to anchor the string between 6' and 8' (or more) above the base of the pot. If your pergola has good sunlight exposure on the south side, or at the south east corner that would be a great place to grow your tomatoes. If you want to grow some cucumbers or pole beans in pots you may have several containers sitting next to each other. This can make a very interesting and productive wall of plants which will provide a lot of good produce, and shade an otherwise direct sunlit portion of the patio or pergola.
Step 3: Create the Trellis
If you are under or close to the edge of your pergola place a medium eye screw into a member of the pergola above and slightly behind (about 1' behind) the plant. If there is no overhead structure you will need to make an overhead frame which will support the weight of the plant and fruit (will be between 30 and 50 pounds at its peak).
Then take a piece of twine or heavy string which is approximately 1 ½ times the height between the top of the container and the eye screw and tie it around the base of the plant using a knot which will not tighten around the plant. For this purpose I like to tie a simple not in the end of the string, then tie a loose loop about 3" from the end. Then pass the end of the twine with its knot around the base of the plant and through the loop. When you tighten the loop in the twine you will have formed a loop of twine which will not tighten when the twine is pulled.
Now, run the other end of the string up through the eye screw and bring it back down and tie it around the string between the base of the plant and the eye screw at a comfortable height. You will need to adjust this knot slightly from time to time so keep that in mind.
Step 4: Train the Plant up the Trellis
As the plant begins to grow wrap the string loosely around the vine, being careful as you do to not damage the leaves, nor snap the top off the plant. As you begin to do this you will notice that the plant is being held in an upright position and you will see flower clusters at 6 to 8 inch intervals up the main stem. You will also see at each leaf axis (where the leaf originates from the stem) a new shoot begin to develop. When these shoots are approximately 2 inches long, take hold of the main vine and the new shoot and bend the shoot at right angles to the leaf axis until it snaps off. If, for some reason you snap off or damage the main growing point of the plant you can replace it with one of these shoots from the leaf axis. If this happens it will probably be when you are wrapping the string around the plant so don't remove the shoots before they are 2" long so you will have a replacement if needed. By pruning these shoots off you will cause the growth energy to all center on the main vine and it will grow rapidly; about 1/2" to 1" per day depending on the sunlight, temperature, water and fertilizer.
Step 5: Taking Care of the Plant
Fertilizing: If you use a potting soil which contains fertilizer, that is great, but don't believe what it says on the bag about that fertilizer lasting for 3, 4 or more months. You will need to fertilize with a small amount of fertilizer often. I like to use Miricle-Gro all purpose, soluble plant food. Dissolve 1 tablespoon of this material in a gallon of water each week, beginning approximately 2 weeks after you transplant the plant and apply this solution as part of your irrigation.
Watering: When you plant make sure you water enough so that the entire container is wet. Keep adding water until some drains from the bottom of the pot into the catch pan the container is setting in. During the first several days, the roots of the plant will still be mostly in the soil which was in the small pot. Because of this it is important for the first week to water just a little each day right around the base of the plant. After one week you can increase the interval between watering the plant to 3 days if it is warm and 4 or 5 days if the temperature is below 75 degrees. As the plant grows and the weather warms the amount of water and the frequency will need to increase. You should expect the plant to use 1 to 1 ½ gallons of water per day by the time it is 4' high and the weather has warmed to 80 degrees. It may use a little less in a humid climate. Each time you water add enough so that a small amount drains from the pot and as mentioned above. Add soluble plant food at least once a week beginning in the 3rd week following planting.
Pollinating Blooms: If your tomato plant is in a site the breeze does not reach well, or if you see any of the blooms dropping without setting fruit you will have to do a little pollinating. To do this, take a pencil and using the eraser end tap the flower cluster several times every other day. That can be done while you are watering. If you watch closely you may see a little puff of yellow pollen fall from the flowers when you tap the main cluster. I hope you like wonderful slicing tomatoes; you will have a surprising number from one plant. Good Gardening!
How to Garden Under a Pergola
Growing vegetables and flowers under and around your Pergola can add significant positive elements to your life. The vegetables can add variety and economic savings to your diet while also being of tremendous esthetic value. In addition, while you are growing your vegetables you can also grow some flowers to further enhance or compliment the appearance of your outdoor environment.
The first step in growing plants in the pergola environment is to sketch out the pergola and surrounding buildings and tall upright trees or shrubs (or you may be able to visualize it in your mind). With this sketch in hand, spend a little time contemplating where the shadow of buildings, shrubs and trees will be during mid morning, at noon and at mid afternoon. Then sketch in the shadows in various areas around and over your pergola. Even though the pergola provides broken shade, thereby decreasing the average sunlight intensity, there will be a range of the duration and depth of the shadows. That can be important in determining where and what you grow in the shaded area.
If there is a large tree or a home that shades part of the pergola area during a period in the day, that will further reduce the average light intensity, possibly enough to preclude growing certain plants in that area. Divide the areas where there is full sunlight for 8 hours or more, those areas where there will be 4 to 6 hours of full sunlight, and the areas where, because of the Pergola, buildings or tall upright plants there is less than 4 hours of full sunlight. Then note the areas where the shade is constant.
Once you have the diagram showing how much full sunlight each area will experience during the day you are ready to choose the vegetables or flowers to be grown in each area. For example vegetables such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers do best in full sunlight, but can be grown in areas of 4 hours of full sunlight and broken sunlight during the remainder of the day. To grow these vegetables in these areas, certain techniques such as growing them on a trellis, providing reflective ground covers and judicious pruning can help grow great crops of these fruits and vegetables in moderate light environments. Of course, if you wish to grow these high light plants in a low light environment, the judicious and proper use of supplemental lighting can help grow most any plant under any ambient light environment.
Fruits and Vegetables to Grow Under a Pergola
A pergola will reduce the direct sunlight in an area around and under it. Generally, depending on the location of the pergola in relation to other structures there will be zones of significantly decreased sunlight. These areas offer great opportunities to grow vegetables which have a degree of shade tolerance such as spinach and lettuce. Often, during the hottest portion of the summer these crops do not grow well or they tend to become bitter or develop off flavors. Growing them in containers in the partial shade of the Pergola can give you a very good source of green leafy vegetables, and add variety to your surroundings. They also can provide conversation pieces when you have company.
Usually at the edge or just outside of the reach of the pergola there will be an area of full or nearly full sunlight. For example, if you have a pergola on the east side of the house near the south east corner you will have a zone, just outside of the pergola on the south side with full sunlight for most of the day. On the east side of the pergola there may be an area where the sunlight is direct for 4 to 6 hours in the morning. If the pergola is on the west, or south side of the house there will be areas of full sunlight for most of the day. These areas offer opportunities to grow sun loving plants and vegetables such as tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers and fruits such as raspberries and strawberries.
In most cases you will want to grow the vegetables under or next to your Pergola in containers. These annuals are well adapted to this type of culture, and the planting, tending, and harvesting of these vegetables make a great hobby, provide some peaceful moments in our hectic society, and also can provide a lot of good produce and food along with the other benefits.
I would suggest that when you begin to grow vegetables around or under your pergola that you start with leaf lettuce, spinach, and red beets for greens or small beets. These can be easily grown in the broken or partially shaded areas under your pergola. In fact, during the hot part of the summer these crops will grow better and be of higher quality than if they were grown in the full sunlight with its attendant heat.
Growing cherry tomatoes, or salad tomatoes on a string or trellis, or cucumbers on a string trellis is relatively easy and will produce an abundance of produce while being ascetically attractive and rewarding.
If you would like to grow raspberries or strawberries along the side of a patio or pergola they can be highly productive and rewarding. Since these are perennials it is best to grow them in the soil or a raised bed in most areas so they will over-winter properly. In many areas if these plants are grown in containers above the ground the freezing temperatures of winter may kill or damage the root systems.
How to Build a Pergola
Step 1: Planning and Design
As with any construction project, perhaps the most important work begins before you ever even make the first cut or hammer the first nail. The design of your pergola is going to set the upper limit on how appealing it looks, as well as how it functions. Your skill in creating it can hopefully meet that bar, but is never going to exceed it.
The pergola you build is going to be an important part of your landscaping and the way your home looks for years to come. It's also going to play into other aspects of your yard as well.
A pergola will affect the comfort and enjoyment you have outdoors by creating an outdoor living space. It can also help increase the beauty and productivity of your garden if designed so as to allow trellising of vines.
Set the Plans in Stone before Pouring the Footers
One common mistake that is made by many do-it-yourselfers is to get into too much of a rush at the beginning. This can lead to costly mistakes, both in regards to time and money. Realize that this isn't a race, and you'll probably finish faster and with less expense.
The most important thing is to make sure you have a well designed set of plans ready before starting the construction. While a pergola may seem like an easy build because of the simplicity of it's structure and visually obvious nature of it's components, it's deceptively difficult for those very reasons. There is little in the way to firm up the structure, so the design and joints have to be perfect. There's nothing to cover up your mistakes, so each component has to be just right.
Invest in some professionally designed plans if you're unsure of yourself here. You can find high quality pergola plans for less than $100, and it can save you a lot of headaches down the road. In any case, make sure you have those plans finalized before you start the build!
The Right Wood Makes all the Difference
Understand that not all types of wood are created equal, especially for outdoor use. While pine is a very inexpensive material which generally has good grain and doesn't warp too much, it simply isn't going to hold up outdoors for very long. Keep it for interior framing, not for pergolas.
Redwood and cedar are two of the more popular choices for building outdoor structures. Both have good resistances against insect pests such as termites, as well as a measure of protection against water damage. Plus they both have beautiful rich colors. Either is a great choice for building a pergola.
Step 2: A Strong Foundation
The footers for building a pergola on are perhaps more important than they are for any other outdoor structure. This is because the open nature of the pergola doesn't allow for much in the way of support against swaying horizontally. Set the footers deep so that you can eliminate as much of that swaying as possible.
How deep you need to go is going to depend on the consistency of the soil. Hard and rocky soil will help the footers remain stable, even though it makes digging them much more difficult. In such cases 2 feet deep footers may suffice. Sandy soils can mean trouble as the cement footers can more easily wobble in their holes as the sandy soil compacts. To help avoid this problem, ensure the post footers are at least 3 feet deep and that the bottom and sides of the hole are well compacted before pouring the cement.
One way to help firm things up on softer soils is to make the tops of the footers extend out or connect into a patio. You can visualize such a footer as a T shape, where not only is the depth of the footer working to prevent wobbling, but the width at the top is as well by pressing down on the soil below it. For this to work well, you should incorporate steel reinforcement into the footers, otherwise the extensions at the top may be prone to cracking at which point they lose any effectiveness they had.
Incorporated Footers into a Patio
If the pergola will be installed with a new concrete patio, you can do away with the need for deep footers in some cases. Pergolas are rather lightweight structures relatively speaking, and so don't apply a whole lot of downward force. A steel reinforced 6 inch thick slab should be ample foundation for most pergolas. Though again the firmness of the sub-base can be a factor in how thick the slab needs to be.
The determining factor as to whether to use the patio as the footers or not generally depends on whether or not you want to give up the usable area of the patio to allow for the pergola's posts, as well as if the patio will have steel reinforcement. Without that reinforcement cracks in the patio can cause the posts to wobble, and the leverage of the posts can exacerbate the cracking as well.
With existing patios it's probably just easier to pour the footers outside, rather than have to drill into the cement to attach the post connectors. This will help avoid any potential issues that might arise from the old patio not being strong enough to support the pergola too.
Choose the Proper Attachments
As we keep mentioning, a pergola doesn't have great lateral stability. What it does have comes from the small area of the joints, as well as the tie-in to the footers. This means there's a lot riding on the metal strips you choose to tie down your pergola's posts.
Bear in mind that water is going to be the biggest enemy to your pergola. Not only will rot and mildew affect the looks, but it will also cause the joints to become loose and wobbly. This is important to consider in regards to how you attach the post to the concrete. Concrete acts something like a sponge, absorbing moisture. This moisture, if in direct contact with wood, can cause a lot of problems.
For this reason, we suggest you go with posts bases that have built in standoffs. The standoffs ensure that the moisture in the concrete won't affect the posts, and that moisture in between the metal and the post can drain or evaporate off as quickly as possible.
These are flat metal that have been formed to cup around 2 or more edges of the post. Then they are set in the cement themselves, often with an anchor that extends deep into the footer (or can even be tied into the steel reinforcement of a slab).
We also recommend bolting the footers rather than nailing or screwing them. This will ensure that the metal remains firmly pressed against the wood posts, maximizing stabilization. If you do choose something other than bolting, definitely use screws rather than nails. Over time nails will become loose and the stability of the pergola will suffer for it. Just be careful not to strip the screws as you may need to tighten them from time to time.
Step 3: Mass Production Of Components
Once you have the footers or patio poured, you should let them cure before installing the pergola. This will maximize the strength of the foundation.
During this "down" time you can be fabricating the various components of the pergola. Because pergolas are generally very simple structures, with a lot of repetitive components, it makes sense to mass produce as much of it as possible. Some people will go with prefabricated pergola kits for this very reason, as these types of components lend themselves to factory production.
However, you can achieve much the same thing with the standard "DIY Toolbox" that most handymen will have at their disposal. A table saw, chop saw, and jig saw are good to have, though a skill saw can cover for the table saw and chop saw in a pinch. (Or if you have the skill!) Other useful tools are a planer (hand or table) and for more intricate pergolas a router can come in very handy.
The Easiest Work is Work You Avoid Adding
One thing to bear in mind is that you can avoid the lion's share of the work simply by selecting your building materials carefully. Don't just go into the nearest home center and take the first two-by stock you see. Check to make sure the boards you select are straight.
Warped lumber is going to be difficult to work with given how you can't just cover up the irregularities with siding. A few minutes carefully selecting your lumber can avoid hours of work on the table saw and planer. It also will help ensure that your pergola looks as beautiful as it should.
Guides and Jigs
While it's great to be able to free hand scallops and 90 degree cuts, most of us handymen are going to mess up more often than not. The key to getting perfect cuts every time is to do the work beforehand.
A guide or jig to help steady the power tools is going to make a big difference in how well the pergola turns out. You can use these simply to mark the cuts with a pencil beforehand, or actually to guide the router as you make intricate scroll work at the ends of each runner.
With a skill saw, part of the "skill" is in how you set up the cut. Simply marking a line to cut can help out a lot, but if you take the time to set your framing square right you can use it as a guide to make a perfectly square cut every time. This can take some practice since it requires one hand to hold the square. If you're having trouble with keeping it steady as well as making the cut, you can always lock it in place with a couple of clamps.
Helping to Firm Up the Pergola
One thing you can do that isn't always shown in pergola designs is to notch the joint on each runner where they will attach to the main beams. This allows the runners to help stabilize the structure, as well as to give themselves a better attachment to it.
If you are mass producing the runners, it can be a rather simple thing to set up a jig to create these joints. Doing so should not affect the visual appeal of the pergola at all, but will greatly enhance it's structural integrity. This is especially true in pergola designs where the main posts are parallel to each other, without lateral posts to shore them up.
Step 4: Erecting the Posts
This might seem like a simple step, but it's actually one of the most complicated and important aspects of building a pergola. Each post needs to be well-seated in it's attachment point to the footer, plumb, and square.
While you can force the tops a little bit to fit with the components you've already cut, doing so is going to add a lot of stress on the footer and attachment. This could cause a failure, or at the very least for the footer to wobble more later on.
Predrill for Bolts or Screws
Depending on what type of attachment you are using, you're going to need to predrill for the bolts and screws. You need to make sure these holes are drilled perfectly, because if they are off, the post won't be plumb when you tighten things down.
Because of this we recommend you use a drill press after carefully marking the holes to be drilled. This is doubly important for when using bolts.
Have a helper around to keep the post lined up while you mark the holes. If you don't have a helper, you can rig up temporary braces that will keep the top of the post steady while you concentrate on marking the holes. Double check to make sure whatever notches or miters that you've made for attaching the beams are aligned correctly before marking!
Tighten Securely, Don't Strip the Screws
This is one area where bolts have a clear advantage over screws and nails. You can tighten the bolts almost with impunity, because they won't strip. Nails you can hammer in, but they will pull out over time. Screws you can tighten to a point, but then the head will strip, or worse yet, it will strip out the wood and lose any holding power it had.
With bolts you can tighten it down, and re-tighten later if you have to. Use self-locking nuts to ensure than they will stay tight over time. In general, a pergola which is attached to the footers with bolts is going to be much more stable than one using screws or nails. Don't skimp here!
Step 5: Beams and Trusses
If you've done everything correctly up to this point, this should be one of the easier steps to complete. Most pergolas have only 2 or 4 beams to set up, and you should have already straight, notched, and ready to go.
However, if your posts haven't been set right, you could be in for a big headache. Try not to force things too much, as with a lever several feet long you are applying tremendous force to the footers and connectors. If worst comes to worst, replace the post. It's more cost and work in the short term, but will save you lots of time and worries later on.
Firming up the Joints
Various types of joints can be used when framing a pergola. However, because of how critical it is to get the joints right, not all of them are actually suitable.
Half lap joints between the posts and beams can really help to firm things up, especially if they are used in conjunction with waterproof wood glue or an epoxy suitable for outdoor use on wood. Miter and butt joints are generally not good ideas because it's difficult to stabilize them and they don't work well with bolts.
We also recommend using bolts to tie the frame together. Lag screws could also be a good choice. In both cases you can recess the head and washer, so don't skimp on the size of the washer. The larger it is, the tighter you can tighten.
The key here is to make sure that the joints are firm and don't wiggle. If you've notched the runners, make sure to check at both ends to make sure the width is just right before tightening it down.
Step 6: Adding the Runners
This is really the simplest task, even if it involves the most work. By this point you've got everything firmed up pretty well and it's just a matter of measuring the spacing right, and screwing it down.
If you have notched the runners where they meet the beams, consider a little wood glue or epoxy in each joint. It can really firm up the structure, especially against twisting. In general though, the joints on the runners aren't that important. Little in the way of stresses will affect the deck of the pergola.
Step 7: Staining and Sealing
Now that you've gotten the pergola constructed, it's time to lock in your investment. Even though Redwood or Cedar will hold up pretty well outdoors, you can extend the life of your pergola immensely by protecting the wood. The right stain and sealer will highlight the natural beauty of the wood. Also it will help protect against UV rays bleaching out the beautiful reddish color of these two types of wood.
Step 8: Enjoying Your Pergola for Years to Come
Now that the work is done, sit back and enjoy the beautiful lines of your well-built pergola!
Inexpensive Pergola Design
Plans for a Beautiful Pergola For Only $19.97!
When shopping around for a pergola, it's easy to get distracted by the beautiful looks and forget that often the price tag is terribly inflated. While pergolas have to be constructed to high standards to ensure that they are sturdy, the materials and work involved are not really that expensive. So why pay thousands for something you could build yourself (or have built) for a few hundred dollars?
One reason people often turn to high priced pergola kits or custom construction is the difficulty in laying out the design plans. While pergolas aren't terribly complex structures, they do leave any mistakes completely exposed. There's no covering them up with siding or a roof, now is there?
That doesn't have to mean you are stuck with high priced retail pergolas though, because you can find well thought out and beautiful pergola plans rather inexpensively. One such offering is available here for only $19.97, and can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars when adding a pergola to your landscaping.
You can choose from a wide selection of dimensions from small 8' x 10' designs up to a large 16' x 16' plan to ensure you get a pergola that fits your yard perfectly. These are sturdy pergolas, with simple yet stylish looks that don't require a lot of skill to build. With a grape vine or bougainvillea crawling over it, your new pergola will look as good as any high priced pergola kit without costing anywhere near as much. Get your Pergola Plans now!
Pergola Construction Materials
In order to design a pergola to be sturdy and beautiful, you first need to know the types of pergola construction materials that you will be working with. The strengths and weaknesses of different materials, and especially in regards to the ratio of weight to that strength, can dramatically impact design decisions such as length of spans, thicknesses of structural components, and even the color schemes that will be available to choose from.
Pergolas can be built from a wide range of materials. Countless types of wood, various metals, and more modern man-made materials such as PVC and vinyl are all options. Before you ever pick your building plans you should at least narrow down the material you are going to use to a general category of construction materials so that you.
Another aspect of construction materials that needs to be taken into account is how they will fit in with the general look and feel of your home. While an industrial steel pergola may look very modern and appealing on it's own, next to a more traditional house it would look very out of place indeed. While there are some tricks that you can utilize to blend in divergent materials, often it's just easier to start with those which are visually compatible in the first place.
Wooden Pergola Design Considerations
Wood is perhaps the most common material used in pergola construction. Easy to work with, relatively inexpensive (for most types of lumber that is commonly utilized), and possessing a natural beauty, it's not hard to see why that would be. Paradoxically, a wooden pergola brings a look that is both uniform due to the structural components, and flowing due to the grains of the wood.
When working with various types of wood though there is a huge variation in weight of the materials, suitability for outdoor use, and the look of the grain. Some types of wood like cherry or rosewood have very pronounced grains with wonderful coloring, whereas others such as teak have much more muted tones and difficult to distinguish grain. (Teak is a very popular choice still for outdoor structures and furniture due to it's natural resistances to weathering and pests.
In general, because of relatively low strength to weight ratios, wood pergolas end up more stocky than their metal counterparts. This can mean that some styles of pergolas just aren't suited for wooden construction, especially those which incorporate wide spans with lithe beams and posts. Often though, the type of look one would want with wooden components is easily achievable, as the "natural" look tends to be more substantial.
Using Metal In Pergola Designs
The use of metal structural elements in pergola designs have really opened up a lot of possibilities as far as design features are concerned. That "opened up" is literal in fact, as the types of pergolas that can be constructed by metal can be far more svelte and open than what can be achieved with wood. Beams can be smaller and/or extend further over spans, while posts and even slats can be much smaller dimensions without losing their strength and rigidity.
The main drawback with metal is how to incorporate it into more traditional designs without the look of the material causing dissonance with the style. In some cases, such as with wrought iron, the look actually goes well with more classical or traditional styles. Of course wrought iron isn't a lightweight material like aluminum or steel, and so will necessarily result in a much more bulky structure.
Classic Design with Stone or Concrete Pergolas
The first pergolas were probably nothing more than some wooden poles extending from the eves of roofs, but the ones that exist from antiquity certainly had to be made of more substantial materials. This is perhaps why when we think of pergolas from Ancient Greek or Roman times, we tend to picture massive stone or concrete columns, arches, and a general sense of solidity.
Stone is a very expensive material to build with in most cases, and very difficult to work with as well due to the weight. With concrete though the difficulty of building large structures is drastically reduced. However, you may end up using more steel in a concrete pergola post than you would in a steel one, due to all the reinforcement necessary!
Often the slats or runners on a pergola of this sort will be made of metal or wood though. It's only for the posts and beams that stone and cement make much sense. The thickness of the runners would have to be rather substantial to span much more than a couple feet.
Modern Materials for Pergola Construction
More recently man-made materials have become popular for building outdoor structures such as pergolas. Due to very high strength to weight ratios, along with resistance to the elements, uPVC and vinyl pergolas are often available in kit form from local hardware stores and home centers.
Using Varied Materials for their Strengths
When designing a pergola, bear in mind that using the same materials for all components isn't necessary. Dramatic and beautiful looks can be achieved by contrasting different materials with one another, or by utilizing the suitability of one material for some structural components, and using another for decorative elements. In this author's opinion, not much can beat the look of wrought iron posts and beams, decked with a rich, dark hardwood for the slats above.
Understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the various types of components can help you to visualize and design a truly unique and gorgeous pergola that will be as sturdy as it is beautiful.