Advice on Bulding a Pergola

What about those spikey post holder things u just bang into the ground. To level it up u just bang the high ones a bit more job done :hehe:

 

What about exterior "no more nails"? Blinking 'eck. What do ya want-us to do it for ya???

 

Yeah he's just waiting for us to offer :lollol::lollol:

 

I do think u should post a pic of yours Claire

 

no way Jose-it's embarassing

 

Kristens is very "passage from India" whereas mine is very much "a ginnell in Rawtenstall" lol

 

lol it's gone quiet maybe he's gone to do it

 

I should jolly well think so Kelly. I don't know................blooody fellas

 

Yeah gotta stand and look at it for hours before they start lol

 

Amazing what you find on the Interweb, innit?

Nice concrete shuttering. I've seen American blogs use those sort of cardboard tubes before, probably available in the UK



Also found a tidy way of doing it using some simple wood shuttering to get the surface looking smart. I think my holes will be oversized, and thus I prefer the cardboard tube approach - except that this article says the footing should be wider at bottom (cone shaped):

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/gazebo

"The footing holes should average 12 inches in diameter, be at least 3 feet deep and be larger at the bottom than at the opening. Fill the base of the hole with several inches of compacted gravel. In cold climates, footings should extend 6 inches below the frost line or comply with local codes.

Make 12- by 12-inch square wood frames from 2x4 lumber for each footing to contain the concrete at ground level. Restring the gazebo layout now so that the frames can be centered for positioning the anchor bolts and posts later. Level the frames to each other and use backfill or stakes to secure the frames while pouring the concrete."

 

Well it's not gonna blow down Kirsten and I'd hate to be the new owner and decide I didn't want it lol

 

Not going to blow down for sure! I am trying to get my head round why such a depth of concrete is advised here? I can see why the 'wider at the bottom' idea might provide more stability, but isn't the depth really all about load bearing? I mean your fixing bolt thing only goes in a short way, so beyond this point, the concrete is purely acting as a foundation isn't it? (Seems ever so much for a pergola upright!) Also, just wondering...didn't you say your panels were 2"x2" with trellis between? How will you fit them into those 100mm footplates..or will you need some new uprights to fix the panels to?

 

"It all looks over the top to me too, there's more concrete there than in my house foundations!"

:hehe:

I know nought about foundations. The piccies are from USA I think, so probably where there is permafrost or somesuch ...

Anyways, I have a spit of loose topsoil, and then clay. The post isn't going to carry a lot of weight (bit of a struggle for two people to carry one panel; a panel has two legs but only one horizontal, so allowing for the weight of plant I reckon each concrete "leg" will have to support a weight equal to "a bit of a struggle for two to carry". Not much then ...

Dunno about depth though, presumably got to get to the bottom of the spit, and a bit more besides? Put some rubble in the bottom (got plenty of that!)?

Then it needs to cover the area of the two 2x2 members forming the vertical.

I can't put my hand on the scribble of the dimensions I made (and the "panels" are still over-there, rather than transported to over-here), I reckon its got to be 2'6" or so.