Garden arch

[Chris J Dixon]

I'm looking to put up a freestanding wooden garden structure, sort of a cross between a small arch and a full size pergola, set into my lawn to grow climbers over.

A local supplier offers what they describe as rose arches (scroll down)

and the next to largest size seems about right, though they have an odd way of describing its size, and when asked what lengths of timber are on their cutting list seem strangely unable to answer the question.

That, ready made and pressure-treated, seems a reasonable price.

SWMBO would like nice curved corner braces, so that the overall effect is more like

or

neither of which are as deep as I am looking for.

I have found corner braces sold separately, but they are comparatively expensive for the larger size.

I know it would be possible to make them myself, though I don't have a powered saw for curve cutting, and treating the timber suitably and to match could also be difficult.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Chris

[Tim Streater]

Screwfix has a number of garden arches too.

[Harry Bloomfield]

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.

[Brian Reay]

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.

[Jeff Layman]

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.

[Chris J Dixon]

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

[Chris J Dixon]

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

[Chris J Dixon]

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

Chris

[Chris J Dixon]

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

[Jeff Layman]

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

5 metres of so from the back (north-facing) wall of the house. I think the problem isn't so much the strength of the wind in one direction, but that buildings cause it to swirl in different directions. This introduces torsional forces as well, and those added to the direct ones put paid to the frame. I replaced the frame with 4" square uprights. These were fixed into metposts rawlbolted to the concrete. Those hadn't moved after another 10 years (when I moved).