Pergola

Last spring, we started a project in my back yard building a patio and pergola. I needed a place where I could sit and see the whole back yard, the kids playing and be able to relax and entertain. After many hours of researching materials, sifting through pergola pictures on Pinterest and changing our minds one hundred times we came up with a game plan.

First we decided on a space and tried to envision the grass gone and the shape we wanted, etc.

Next, we removed the grass.

Deciding on the right material for a patio was tricky. I fell in love with a natural look so we opted for Flagstone.  Then there was the challenge of trying to match up enough similar shades, sizes and thicknesses and finding a supplier with enough rock to form a full patio . We also wanted to make sure to pick the right shade of Flagstone to compliment the color of the house. Our final decision was about 4000 lbs of a Rose Flagstone.

My stepfather was the builder on the pergola project. Lucky me - he retired and loves projects (and is a great wood worker)! Once he arrived we quickly put ourselves to work. Neither of us had any experience building a pergola but my stepfather had just finished up a big sauna/deck/overhang on his own house so he had some ideas where to start!

And the building began! We decided on a 10x12 pergola at an angle facing the back of the house.

We used thin strips of wood to cover the entire top with the same size gap in between to make it a little more of a shade structure since we live in the central valley.  This was definitely an added cost and quite a bit of extra time spent because I wanted to paint the entire pergola versus staining in hopes that it would require less yearly maintenance....but well worth it!

 So while I spent a good portion of my work painting, my husband and stepfather were pounding away at the structure. Fortunately my neighbors loved it and didn't think it was an eyesore considering it was only a few inches away from our fence... I have great neighbors!

 

Probably the most time consuming part was the extra strips added as a lattice type feature on top. We had to measure each one, make sure they were even on the ends, make sure they were evenly spaced between eachother and nail each one to all 11 support beams.  Of course not all of the strips of wood were perfectly straight either....I mean why would lumber stores sell straight wood, right? Oh ya and they were 8 ft long, which wasn't long enough so we had to use two strips to stretch across the 12 ft pergola after trimming some of them.

I believe the whole building of the pergola took us 3 1/2 days..... 3 1/2 longggggg days!! Fortunately my mom came too and helped with painting and keeping the kids entertained! But it was done and we were ready to relax under it!

The next phase was the patio. We hired a great landscape designer to do the work mixed with a little bit of help from us.

The final product was exactly what we had hoped for!!! A place to sit, relax and entertain!!!!!

It was a big project and we tried to do it inexpensively but still tasteful. In the end I think we made all the right decisions! I love how it turned out! The next phase is to plant the right plants, hang lights and find the perfect patio furniture!!!