Garden Accessories | The Essential Points To Remember When Building A Garden Pergola
A well designed and constructed pergola is a feature which will add considerably to the appearance of a garden. It will also give you a great deal of satisfaction in building it yourself.
When designing a pergola, it is important to consider its appearance in relation to the general layout or ” atmosphere” of the garden. For example, the design could be rustic or contemporary. What will it’s function be? Will it have to divide or partition off part of the garden or be used as a decorative screen to provide privacy.
Whatever it’s purpose, there are certain essentials to bear in mind both in the choice of materials and it’s construction. Larch or pine poles are ideal either dressed or with the bark left on. Squared deal, oak or cedar wood are other suitable timbers can also be used. Oak is an extremely durable timber but difficult to work with. Cedar wood on the other hand is a soft easy to use wood which has a natural resistance to rot and insect attack. It will however weather to a grey colour unless treated every year or so with suitable preparation which helps to retain the original warm beautiful colour. It should be used in fairly generous thickness as it is relatively weak. Brick or stone can be introduced in the design of a pergola and for the main uprights or supports. This obviously provides considerable strength and durability. Rough textured and coloured stone can obviously the appearance of the pergola can be really outstanding.
There are several important points which must be observed during the design and construction.
The base of each upright should be thoroughly treated with a wood preservative.
Each upright should be inserted at least half a metre in the ground and for larger pergolas 50% more than that.
Joints for cross pieces etc must be kept as simple as possible to ensure strength and rigidity.
Where squared timber is used for uprights. The ” fill in” wood which forms the design can be notched and joined. Joining baulks of timber on brick can be done with a long threaded bolt cemented into the top of each pillar.
Many different designs can be constructed, especially with larch or pine poles. Double pergolas are very effective in forming a covered walk.
A simple line of timber will provide an efficient screen or division in the garden. Squared timber can be used in the same way and is very effective when constructed as a covered walk.
Larch or pine uprights should be about 10 to 12 cms in diameter at the base and the design or fill in sections about 8 cms in diameter.
The more intricate designs should be carefully sketched out on paper so that with the minimum number of pieces in the structure an eye catching design is produced.
Whatever the design of the pergola it can turn a very ordinary garden into something special. Click on garden accessories for more ideas.
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