Build a garden bridge

A small bridge is a very attractive way to highlight a brook or a water feature. It is easy to build and will blend in with your garden simply and discreetly.

Get your own free plan for this garden bridge as well as the list of materials required for the project. For viewing and printing, you will need to use Acrobat Reader software.

Difficulty level :
Tools list
Material list
PDF Plan
Project guide service
Related Projects
Page 1/1
Wood preparation
1. Decking boards
2. Supporting arches
3. Final assembly

Wood preparation

1. Decking boards

Measure the exact length of your 3 boards of 5\4" × 6" × 12'. The shortest one will determine the final measure. You will need 12 equal length pieces of 30" or less.

If you are to use a circular saw, place your boards on your workbench with the good side facing down. This will allow you to have a clean cut on the good side of the board. If you are using a hand saw, place your board with the good side facing up.

Sand all cuts and coat them with clear wood preservative.

2. Supporting arches

Tie a pencil at one end of your string. 50 inches away from the pencil, tie the thumbtack. This will be the string compass you will use to draw the 50" radius on your 2" × 10".

Cut your 2" × 10" × 10' in two equal length pieces. Their final length should be close to 60".

Mark the top centre of the board, this mark must remain visible after you have cut out the arches.

Set your first board in order to be able to pin the thumbtack 50" away from the outside of the board. The board must be perpendicular to the compass line. See position #1 in drawing #4. Draw the top line of the arch. Move the thumbtack 4.75" away and draw the second line. Position #2, drawing #4. Repeat with the second board.

Clamp one end of your board on your workbench. More than one half of the board should clear the bench.

Using a jigsaw with an appropriate blade (a 10 teeth per inch blade will work fine) cut along the lines. Move slowly to maintain the blade perpendicular to the board.
Sand and put clear preservative on all cuts.

3. Final assembly

Stand the two arches 22" apart. The mark you made at the centre top of both boards should be clearly visible. Place one decking board aligned with these marks. Measure in order to have 4" of board exceeding from the outside of the arches. Screw in place using four 2" deck screws. Place screws 1" from the edge of the board and well centered with the arches. See drawing #5.

Now place all remaining boards and adjust the exceeding 4" on both sides as well as the distance between all boards. Keep the distance between boards to a minimum. Fresh lumber will shrink when it dries thus increasing the space between your decking planks.

Screw all boards and set in the garden.
Page 1/1