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How to Build a Pergola
A pergola is a series of arches. Pergolas usually span a pathway, which is how they got their name. The term 'pergola' originally meant a covered walkway. Today, a pergola includes any garden structure with a series of upright columns or posts supporting crossbeams over which climbing plants are trained. They can follow the line of a curving path, and give welcome shade in hot spots where trees and large shrubs don't fit in. A pergola can be supported on one side by the wall of a house, garage or boundary. Pergola posts can be built from brick, concrete, stone or timber. Here, we show you how to build a timber pergola.
Dimensions: start by drawing your pergola to help work out the timber you'll need.
Height: if you plan to grow plants over it, leave enough headroom to walk beneath the pergola; 2.15m is the minimum, 2.5m is better. Add the height below ground, if setting in mortar, and the height of the posts above the cross beam - 10cm, as you'll see below.
Width: allow plenty of space for the growth of plants. Add the width of the path - you need 1.2m for two people to walk side by side - plus an extra 50cm on each side.
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All timber must be pressure-treated posts: 10cm x 10cm x 3.2m - 60cm to be sunk in the ground, 10cm to stand above the cross beams - enough for two each side of the length of your pergola space; tape and pegs to mark out; spade; hardcore and concrete or Metposts; sledge hammer for Metposts; cross or roof beams: 2.5cm x 15cm planks, length - allow 20cm to overhang the posts; bolts, screws or nails to fix - these must be rustproof; steps; spirit level.
Optional: side beams to link each arch: use 2.5cm x 15cm planks enough to fit the length of your pergola; rafters: use 2.5cm x 2.5cm or 5cm x 5cm for rafters laid over crossbeams; trellis panels to fit between uprights for totally enclosed look; a post hole borer or a powered aul for making post holes - these can be hired; a drill if using bolts; joist shoes or hangers if attaching pergola to a wall on one side; paint or timber stain; post caps and finials to finish the post tops.
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Painting or staining timber a colour: paint all parts of your pergola with two coats before building begins. It’s easier to cover every part before you have put them into place. Mark where the posts are to go in the ground. Either dig each hole to a depth of 60cm and half as wide again as your posts, or put Metposts into position, hammering them into the ground so that the tops are flush with the soil level. Make sure that pairs of holes line up across the pergola.
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Using mortar: Put the posts in the holes and keep them in position using hardcore. Check they are vertical with a spirit level. Add mortar to each hole and push down around the posts. Finish the mortar about 5cm below soil level. Leave to set, and cover with plastic if rain is forecast. If you're using Metposts, put posts into the metal brackets and tighten them, making sure they are vertical. Complete the posts in pairs, to ensure they are square with each other.
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When you have installed all the posts, fit the cross beams. Measure 10cm down from the top of each post and make a mark. Take the first crossbeam and fix it to the front of the first post so that the top of the plank rests on the 10cm mark you've made. You may need some help to support beams while you work. Then fix the other side of the cross beam after you have checked that it is level. Repeat this for the second cross beam on the same post. Carry on until you have fitted all your pergola cross beams.
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Side beams: add these now if you are using them. You could make a notch joint in them so that they fit snugly under the cross beams.
Rafters: add rafters to fit on top of the pergola cross beams. These can also be given a notch joint for a neater finish, otherwise use rustproof nails.
Side trellis: add panels of trellis to the posts along the sides of your trellis if they form part of your design.
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Fill in with soil around the top of each post hole if you have mortared them. Or rake soil around to cover the top of the Metpost brackets. Check that all post tops are level - you may have to trim them. Sawn ends of treated timber should be given a coat of wood preservative. Add post caps and/or decorative finials now if you are using them. Your pergola is now ready to plant up.
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If you're building a pergola supported by a wall on one side, install a single row of posts to fit your site, making sure they are at 90° or perpendicular to the wall. Lay a plank of timber as long as the pergola on the ground along the posts. Mark where each post is on the plank. Use this piece of timber as a wall plate to take the joist shoes, which will support the cross beams. Secure it to the wall at a height so that the cross beam will rest on it and be the right height. Fix the wall plate to the wall.
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Mark out the position of your upright posts |
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Secure the crossbars to the fixed uprights |
Put in plants next to the uprights |
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