Building an arbour

An arbour is a great way to enhance an entrance to your backyard. Besides making your guests feel comfortable, covering your arbour with climbing plants will give your yard a country look.

Get your own free plan for this stable as well as the list of materials required for the project. For viewing and printing, you will need to use Acrobat Reader software.
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Practical tips
1. The posts
2. Making the arch structure
3. Assembling and installing the upper part of the arbour
4. The doors
5. Assembling the frames
6. Installing the frames
7. The benches

Practical tips

  • The list of materials enclosed with the plan recommends using pressure-treated wood for this project. However, some sizes may be hard to find in smaller hardware stores. In that case, you can either place a special order or use regular pine that you will treat later on. If you do choose that option, you must necessarily buy pressure-treated posts.

  • The plan also says to insert the posts in holes filled with crushed stone dust. If you want a more durable installation, it is possible to choose shorter posts and set them in concrete.

  • Read carefully each step and study the plan well before starting your project.

1. The posts

1.1 

Take four 4 × 4 × 10 posts and cut them to a minimum length of 8 feet 6 inches. Drill or dig four 3 feet 6 inches holes in the ground and fill them with 6 inches of gravel. Position the posts in the holes and set them in place with crushed stone dust.

1.2 

Using a screwdriver, fasten the first four 1 ¼ × 4 planks to the sides of the posts. Those planks are all 30 inches long.

2. Making the arch structure

2.1 

The structure of the arch is made of two semicircles. Each semicircle is made of cut-out planks. In order to create the shape of an arch with those planks, you will first need to draw it on a kraft paper sheet. The inside of the arch has a radius of 20 ½ inches while the outside has a radius of 24 inches. You will be able to trace the shape with a long compass or a string. Cut out the paper sheet in order to have a quarter of a circle in hand.

2.2 

Cut 8 pieces of 2 × 12 to an approximate length of 35 inches. You should be able to transfer the cut-out shape onto those pieces. With a jigsaw or a bandsaw, cut the arch shape out of the planks.

Prepare two additional pieces, this time in a sheet of ½-inch plywood. This will be the centre of your semicircles. But this time, instead of making quarters of circles, trace and cut two semicircles of the same radius.

2.3 

Glue the pieces of pine planks onto the plywood semicircles. You should then have two 3 ½-inch thick semicircles that will make the structure of the arch.

To obtain a nice finish, sand your pieces only once they are assembled together.

3. Assembling and installing the upper part of the arbour

3.1 

Using a screwdriver, fasten seven of the nine upper 1 ¼ × 4 planks that hold the two semicircles together. Those planks are all 2 feet 6 inches long.

3.2 

In a sheet of lattice, cut a piece of 6 feet ¼ inch by 23 inches. Using the screwdriver and some 2-inch screws, fasten the lattice to the planks installed at the previous step.

3.3 

Install next the arch on the posts next and fasten it in place by screwing the two remaining 1 ¼ × 4 planks both to the arch and to the posts.

3.4 

Finish screwing the lattice to the two planks installed at the previous step.

4. The doors

4.1 

Each door is made of four 1 × 6 planks all cut to a length of 54 inches (8 planks altogether). However, the planks located on the exterior sides of each door will have to be split to a width of 4 ¾ inches in order to obtain 20 ½ inch wide doors. Once put and fastened together with the 1 × 6 planks located on the back of the doors (section C-C), they will have to be cut to create the round shape of the top.

4.2 

In order to create the round shape, a compass or a 10-inch string will do. Also, the decorative holes in the doors have a 5-inch diameter.

5. Assembling the frames

5.1 

Trace the shape of the side frames on a ½-inch thick sheet of plywood. To make sure they are both identical, you can first draw the shape on a sheet of paper and transfer it onto the plywood. You will have to prepare four frames in all.

5.2 

Use the same sheet of paper to trace and cut out two shapes in a sheet of lattice. Using a screwdriver, fasten the lattice sheets between the frames.

5.3 

Place the frames against the posts, and mark out the area where notches will have to be made in order to leave enough space for the 1 ¼ × 4 planks located on the side of the posts. Please note that the frames will be installed at a height of 6 inches from the ground. Then make the notches.

6. Installing the frames

Cut two 4 × 4 posts to a length of 5 feet 6 inches. Install the decorative post caps of your choice. Fasten the frames to those posts, making sure to leave a 6-inch space between the base of the posts and the base of the frames. Then fasten the frames to the central part of the arbour.

7. The benches

Start by cutting and installing the horizontal planks that will make up the frame of the benches. By starting with those pieces, it will be much easier to determine the lengths and angles of the planks installed diagonally. Once those are cut and fastened to the structure of the arbour, install the 2 × 6 planks that will make up the seat of the benches. Then, install the plank on the front of the benches.
All that is left to do is install the hinges and doors and let climbing plants grow all around your new arbour!
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