Building A Deck And Pergola

You ll find a wide variety of shapes and styles for pergolas here as well as plans for both free standing and deck pergolas.

Building a deck and pergola.

In this project our pergola will be built at the corners of an existing retaining wall. Start designing your deck pergola at the backyard showcase. Pergolas are top heavy. However the pergola build process is the same with or without the wall in the design.

Building a pergola on top of a deck is a bit more complex than building directly on the ground. Most deck builders bolt pergola support posts to the frame of the deck using 2 1 2 x 6 lag screws with washers per post. Step 1 measure out and mark a 16 foot by 20 foot outline on your deck using a tape measure and a pencil. Without lateral bracing they can sway in the wind and experience strong uplift forces as the pergola acts as a sail.

The dappled sunlight created by the overhead latticework creates a cool relaxing environment perfect for backyard entertaining like standing in the shade of a tree on a hot summer day. Your local building codes should specify a recommended depth for post holes in your area. This technique is the same as attaching a rail post. When you build on the ground you can bury your posts in the ground and use gravel dirt or concrete to give them more stability.

Building an attached pergola 16 feet by 20 feet on your deck can be done by first determining if your deck is big enough for this size of pergola. Whether you want to buy your pergola online have a conversation with one of our experienced exterior designers or stop by our backyard showroom we d love to help. To dig the post holes you can use a clamshell digger power auger or a shovel. Building a pergola can be a simple to challenging building project depending on what.

These free pergola plans will help you build that much needed structure in your backyard to give you shade cover your hot tub or simply define an outdoor space into something special. Add a heavy dose of charm to your pergola or porch with this diy wood and rope swinging seat. Learning how to build a pergola attached to the house or on your deck is a little different from learning how to build a pergola that sits on the ground in your backyard. The first thing you ll need to do is determine the placement of the pergola.

On a deck you re going to need to connect wood to wood which can potentially make the pergola less stable.