May, 19 10 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



75 



solid foundation. A con- 

 venient height for the posts 

 of a pergola is eight feet. 

 1 he posts should be set in 

 two rows, seven feet apart, 

 on centers. A simple capi- 

 tol is made by nailing a one- 

 inch board to each face, 

 with a cap board at the top, 

 and a bit of molding un- 

 der the cap and at the base 

 of the capitol. The beams, 

 which are supported on the 

 caps, should overhang 

 three feet at each end of 

 the pergola. The over- 

 hangmg ends may be pat- 

 terned somewhat as shown 

 in the drawings. 



As the beams are set on 

 edge, they cannot very 

 readily be nailed in place. 



A convenient way of fastening them is to use iron dowel 

 pins. Procure from a plumber the requisite number of 

 pieces of half-inch iron pipe, six inches long; then drill in 

 the top of each post a hole not more than three and one- 

 half inches deep and just large enough to receive the pipe. 

 An expansion bit had better be used, because a half-inch 

 pipe has an odd-sized out- 

 side diameter. When all 

 the pipes have been seated 

 in the posts, set one of the 

 beams in place on them, 

 and then, on striking the 

 beam with a hammer, they 

 will indent the under side 

 and show where the holes 

 must be drilled in the beam 

 to receive them. In a 

 similar way the two by 

 four-inch rafters may be 

 secured to the beams, 

 though in this case shorter 

 pipes- would be preferable. 

 The rafters should be 

 twenty feet long, so that 



A broad, low pergola of simple design 



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Pfiacipal dimensions of the pergolas here pictured 



they will overhang each 

 side of the pergola two and 

 one-half feet, and they 

 should be set twelve inches 

 apart on centers. A low 

 seat may be built along 

 each side of the pergola, as 

 shown in the photographs. 

 In the other pergola 

 here illustrated, six by six- 

 inch posts are used to sup- 

 port the beams, but they 

 are concealed by the twelve 

 by twelve-inch box posts 

 built around them. The 

 posts are finished off at the 

 top with a plain cap four- 

 teen inches square, and a 

 bit of molding The 

 beams and rafters are 

 three by six-inch timbers, 

 and may be fastened in the 

 method described above. In this pergola the posts are set 

 in rows nine feet apart on centers, and the beams and 

 rafters have an overhang of three feet, so that the rafters 

 should have a total length of fifteen feet. Quite commonly 

 round posts and columns are used for pergolas, but these 

 cannot be made by an amateur, and cost far more than the 



square posts, which can be 

 bought from the mill 

 planed to the desired di- 

 mensions. 



Sometimes a lattice is 

 laid on the rafters, to sup- 

 port the vines, but a 

 cheaper way is to stretch 

 wires across the rafters for 

 the vines to cling to. 



A very attractive per- 

 gola can be made, and at 

 no very great expense, by 

 using rough concrete col- 

 umns. The columns can 

 be cast in place, and should 

 be reinforced with ex- 

 panded metal or the like. 



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A home-built pergola at the end of the lawn 



A nearer \ie\v, showing constructional details 



