Pergolas are great outdoors as they can give shade and add uniqueness and luxury to an outdoor setting. Pergolas have wooden posts and overhead rafters that can be decorated by cloth or gorgeous vines. Underneath the pergolas can be a setting for a comfy outdoor couch, patio chairs, table, bed, or swing set.

How do you go about making a pergola?

First of all, you’ll need to make a plan of what you want your pergola to look like. There are many ideas you can find online, so do your research to see what will suit you and your family’s needs. Figure out where you’ll be putting your pergola and prepare the area. You can either put it as part of your deck or patio or you can put it by itself on the ground in your yard. You’ll need to anchor the pergola in the ground so it doesn’t move. Make sure the area you’ll be anchoring it doesn’t have tree roots. Have city or local municipal services check for and identify water and gas lines so you won’t hit them when digging into the ground. Check to see if you’ll also need a permit for the type of pergola you build.

If it’s a free-standing pergola, you’ll need to have it at least three feet into the ground but four feet is better. Check with the local building code to see what the minimum and maximum requirements are for building pergolas. If it’s attached to a deck, you’ll have to mount it and anchor it to the frame of the deck to secure it.

Once you’ve got the plans ready, gather the materials and tools you’ll need to have on hand to build your pergola. Cedar is one of the best types of wood for building pergolas because of it will last a long time and is naturally resistant to rot, but it will cost you. The next best thing would be to use pressure-treated wood.

After you’ve decided on what type of wood you’ll be using, measure where you’ll be putting in the holes for your posts. Next, dig the holes for your posts. Digging is hard work by hand and can be really frustrating so use a hand auger for this or hire a skid steer with an auger attachment for even an easier way to dig holes for your posts.
Put in your posts and level them. Use a cement mixer (also can be rented) or mix one or two bags of cement with water with a shovel before putting the cement in the holes with the leveled posts in them. One or two cement bags are good enough for these holes depending on how big your posts are. Do this for all the posts. Make sure they are level and straight and make adjustments before the cement sets. It helps to have a temporary plank attached to the posts connecting them at horizontal level lines to keep them straight until they set.

When the cement has set, fill in the leftover space with soil. Install the measured and cut rafters and cross beams according to the plans you’ve made for your pergola. The rafters should sit on the crossbeams which are attached to the posts. The crossbeams should also be secured to the posts.

For the easy part, choose plants that you’ll want to climb on your pergola or just plant bushes to make a living wall for your pergola. Plant those where you want them to cover your pergola and set up your chairs or other outdoor furniture inside the pergola once the area has been cleaned of all building material.

If you are unable to do it yourself, hire professionals like The 2 Men Property Services to build you a beautiful one.

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