After work today, Liz and I decided to race the light and try to get the trellises built for the arbor. We had all the material lying around from our materials run, so it was just a matter of doing the measurements and making the cuts.
Our goals for the arbor today were pretty modest: get in the bottom 2×4 cross braces (with pocket screws) and also get in the top 4×4 cross beams.
Despite it being a Friday, Liz and I opted to suit up after work to put in a bit more time getting the arbor in order. We wanted to get some concrete in for the posts (and to also figure out how much more concrete we needed to purchase, in the event we needed more).
At the end of the work day today, Liz and I headed out to do a bit more work on the arbor. The weather turned on us, and we ended up working a bit in the rain.
With our post holes dug, today we focused on getting the arbor posts situated and fixed in place (mostly). We spent a good portion of the morning talking at the kitchen table, going over our approach and how to best figure out the placement of things.
Liz, clearing out some roots and rocks. We learned that whenever the augur would bind and jerk, that was our cue to stop it and remove whatever obstruction was down there with a post hole digger.
This was a lesson I didn’t quite learn when I was going solo – I’d hit a snag, and just keep trying to power through. When what I should have done was stop and clear.
Liz and I both scheduled a half day on Friday, with the goal of getting all our arbor materials ahead of the weekend. In addition to that, we needed to rent a power augur. We figured if we could get all this settled Friday, we could hit it early Saturday morning – and just go to the backyard and get to work.
Initially, I had us getting 10′ beams. But re-doing the math, realized we were going with the 10 footers for a difference of 2″. If we were ok reducing the depth of the post holes, we could us a full 8′ beam instead.
We had a lot of backwards math to do: start with the overall height, then reduce it down to where we wanted it to be. Then figure out the height of the posts themselves. And then also factor in how far the posts should go into the ground.
Liz has been talking about building an arbor in back, and the two of us have been researching a lot online. We’ve landed on an example we like, and I’ve been running over the specs a lot.
More to come.