Garden arch

Screwfix has a number of garden arches too.

Chris J Dixon presented the following explanation :

I'm not sure what you are asking, but....

They give the width between the verticals, the width you would walk through and the depth, how long front to back. The one dimension absent is the height.

Likely the would not have details of the cutting lengths because they will likely buy it in from a supplier.

The add on corner braces look as if they just bolt into place, so should fit. Better might be tenon fixing.

I saw one being built/constructed while on holiday earlier this year, the chap building it had set 4 fence posts in the ground (I assume in concrete) and was fitting trellis panels to it. It was only part finished but looked quite good. It was over the gate into the front garden. While I didn't examine the panels, they seemed to be the like ready made ones you see in Wickes etc.

What do you mean by "freestanding"? I assume you mean that it isn't fixed to a house wall in some way. If you decide to have it standing in the middle of a garden, be aware that after a few years of climber growth it will offer a lot of resistance to wind. The uprights will need to be embedded in a decent lump of concrete or fixed with Metposts or something similar. If you try to fix it by surface mounting on paving stones they will need to be mortared properly (not dot'n'dab!) to a good hardcore base.

Many years ago I put up a small frame made of 2 x 3" treated softwood. It had four 8' uprights in a square of 3' sides, and four crossbeams at the top extending about 2 feet either side. The uprights were in postcrete to about a foot deep. I grew climbers on the uprights until the crossbeams were well covered. In a severe gale one day, only about 3 years after construction, all four uprights were snapped off at the base, just above the postcrete! That should give you some idea of the forces involved, and the need for proper construction.

Simply the lengths of the beams and rails.

If you read the text they say "All rose arches are made to order". I have visited the premises before, and they do manufacture on site.

When I emailed to find out the overall dimensions, they told me there was a 300 mm overhang, as is common on pergolas, but when I rang and checked, they measured one at around 140 mm, which makes quite a difference.

Chris

Having had difficulty with spike Metposts hitting stones, I plan to use the concrete-in type, to give security without the rot risk of directly concreting the timber..

That is interesting. Were there any signs of decay at the point the posts snapped? My site is reasonably sheltered, how is yours?

Chris

Thanks, but hey are pretty much the same ones that most outlets will sell you.

Chris

I have looked at building from scratch, but it can easily end up costing as much as a ready-made one, plus the problem of cutting into pressure-treated wood.

If I want to cut the curved brackets (or add decorative shaping to the beam ends), I guess I might need a jigsaw. As I have no particular need for one otherwise, it might still be cheaper to pay for the expensive set I found.

Chris

No decay at all - the posts had been in only 3 years. The site was only