Easy To Do: Building Your Own Pergola

This is a structure that will still get you wet in rain, exposed to wind and direct sunlight. Then what is the point of pergola? It sets boundary of an outdoor space without using walls or roof. It defines a place without constraining it.

As a common feature in Renaissance gardens, pergola will bring your backyard landscape to life. It often built to cover walkways, and can be used to place climbing plants. Pergola will become the focal point of
your yard.
The pergola we will build fits on 8-feet square. You want to use cedar wood because it resists decay. You can leave the wood unfinished until it turns gray, or you can apply sealer.

Building the posts:
Use steel anchors to secure the post cores, either to concrete pad or set them in the earth using longer posts. Mark the screw locations according to the layout, and drill it. Set the posts to anchor, hold them plumb, and drive nails through the wood.

Support beams:
Cut the cedar beams, clamp them in place, then secure each end to the posts with screws. Check that each pair of beams are level across the top.

Crossbeams:
Cut notches into crossbeams with a table saw or jigsaw. The notches are there so the crossbeams can fit over support beams. First, install the pairs at the posts, then bore screwholes through their tops and screw them to the support beams. Add the remaining crossbeams with similar spacing.

Braces:
Cut the ends of a 2×6 stock at 45 degrees. Fasten these braces to the posts and beams using screws.

Top slats:
Clamp each slat in place, mark the notches, and cut with table saw. Attach the slats on top of crossbeams with screw.