I must start by saying that I love our backyard! It has many of the things that I have always wanted with a home. We have a decent size pool that’s large enough for me to break out the snorkel and fins and we also have a pool house that we converted to a small gym. Granted we don’t use it as much as we thought we might, but it is nice to have our own private “getaway” anytime we want.
I really enjoy building and fixing things. I guess that comes from growing up pinching pennies and having to do things myself. For the most part I’m pretty handy, but it helps that I am always willing to dive in a little over my head to try new projects. And it doesn’t hurt that there’s a YouTube video for just about everything these days! One of the DIY projects on my to-do list has always been to build a pergola. I think they look really cool and provide polish to a backyard if done right. It also offers shade when hanging out at the pool.
All of the kits I saw advertised at Home Depot and online were way too expensive, so I figured I would be able to build one for much cheaper. I ended up saving a ton of money; spending about a fifth of the cost of the kits. Most of the brochures offered at the hardware stores provided the dimensions and the designs which made it easy to gather the materials that I need. If you are interested in taking on this project, I would suggest studying multiple plans, because not using a standard kit gives you the flexibility to take design ideas from several pergolas to make a custom look.
I decided to use longer poles (12’) that were 6×6 in diameter to provide both a taller and sturdier look. I cemented the four 12’ poles three feet in the ground and then bolted the two 10×2 headers on each side after first temporarily screwing them in place. An impact drill works wonders in punching a ½ hole in 10 inches of board and pole so you can hammer the carriage bolt through. The top is 2×6 inch boards evenly spaced across the top, then topped with 2x2s in the opposite directions. I decided to stick with a simple circular saw cut on the end of the headers and cross beams. They came out perfectly.
Everything from the project can be obtained at Home Depot or Lowe’s, including the 10 inch bolts that I didn’t think I would be able to find. Next step in the backyard makeover is to put pavers under the pergola and make a walkway from the house. Our backyard makes me happy.
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