Information and Tips On
Building Garden Arbors
There's nothing quite like a beautiful
garden arbor to dress up an otherwise dull garden or
lawn. Whether it's towering and ostentatious or
small and unassuming, a decorative archway can
highlight the natural beauty of your backyard. In
fact, no garden is really complete without it! Not
to mention, an arbor is a great addition to any home
– improving its value with little cost of money or
time to you.
There are a few projects that just about anyone
can do, despite their limited do-it-yourself skills.
And building garden arbors
from a kit is one of those. You can also build an
arbor from scratch but you will need more tools,
knowledge and an arbor plan would be helpful.
The good news is it is really fun to shop for a
garden arbor – as there are so many styles out there
– and you can do all of your shopping from your home
using your computer. Arbors come in a wide range of
material to suite your tastes and budget. Here's a
list of the different kinds available: cedar, wood,
wrought iron and vinyl.
I mentioned cedar and wood because a lot of
arbors are made with cedar but you can also make an
arbor with different kinds of wood other than cedar.
Cedar is a common wood for arbors because:
If you decide to build the garden arbor yourself,
here is a quick overview and tips on what you need
to do.
You will probably want to secure the main posts
in the ground with concrete. You will want to ensure
the holes are larger than the posts so you have room
for the concrete. You want the concrete to encase
the post water can't get to the posts and rot them.
You should also have enough room in the bottom of
the holes for 4 to 6" of gravel. This is for
drainage. This is where wrought iron and vinyl have an
advantage over wood, they won't rot.
Before pouring the concrete, you should brace the
posts and make sure they are level. Once the
concrete starts to harden you don't want to try and
adjust the posts. If the posts are plum when the
concrete goes in they should be nice and straight
for a long time. Once the concrete hardens you can
remove the bracing. When you attach the brace make
sure you don't hammer the nails in all of the way,
this is to make it easier to remove the bracing.
If you are going to grow heavy vines or plants on
your arbor you will want to ensure your arbor is
very stable. I saw and arbor that was crushed under
the weight of heavy grape vines. Once you get old
vines the weight of the stock, leaves and fruit can
be quite heavy.
After
that, you can connect the posts with two crosspieces
(one on the inner side, the other on the outer
side). Rafters will then be placed on top of these
crosspieces, which will then be topped with more
lumber – perpendicular to the rafters! The sizes and
dimensions of these materials will vary, but the
smaller the arbor, the easier it will be to install
yourself. For example, stick to posts that are about
three and a half by three and a half feet,
crosspieces that are one by six feet, and rafters
that are one and a half by three and a half feet.
If you want to grow vines on your arbor you might
want to add trellis or crosspieces on the side. For
one arbor I build I attached pre-fabricated trellis
and it look great and the grape vines like growing
on it.
As mentioned earlier your garden arbor can be
constructed with a variety of material. It could
also be made using pressure-treated lumber. So just gather
the right sizes of wood for your posts, rafters,
etc. As well, you'll of course want to invest in
some mixed concrete, screws, bolts, etc. There are a
number of other tools you'll need as well, including
a shovel, circular saw, level, drill, tape measure,
and a hammer.
This is a simple overview for how to build a
garden arbor. As there are many kinds of garden
arbors and of course detailed, complex steps to
accomplishing the task of building them, you'll want
to investigate further. But if this sounds like a
project you can handle, then why not get started
today? It might be the best decision you ever made,
as it will breathe new life into your backyard and
make it all the more welcoming for you and your
guests.
To learn more, please read this article on
cedar arbors.
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