We had an unsightly concrete drain with a manhole cover in a low spot in the middle of our back yard that was such an eyesore. For several years I'd been imagining what I could do with that space. One day I had the idea to build a deck over top of it. And then I took it up a notch (or two!) and my original idea blossomed into the full-blown pergola. The dimensions are 12' wide x 10' long x ~ 12' tall. There's still enough space underneath the deck to reach the drain (galvanized wire mesh screen was added to keep out animals), but now we don't have to see it every time we look out the window or relax in the backyard!
The estimated time of 60 hrs is for one person doing it. I was originally going to do this project with the help of my dad when my parents came to visit, but they had to leave our house several days early when my mom went to the ER for an emergency appendectomy! After that, I had to complete the entire project alone, so I'm sure the time would be less if you had another pair of hands to help!
I am still going to add corner braces and stain the pergola a rich chocolate brown, but I ran into the contest deadline so I wasn't able to get those details finished before the contest ended. Even unstained, though, I still think it looks practically perfect! This was a super fun project that added instant value to our property, and we can now enjoy and use the once-wasted space for relaxing and entertaining!
We had an unsightly concrete drain with a manhole cover in a low spot in the middle of our back yard that was such an eyesore. For several years I'd been imagining what I could do with that space. One day I had the idea to build a deck over top of it. And then I took it up a notch (or two!) and my original idea blossomed into the full-blown pergola. The dimensions are 12' wide x 10' long x ~ 12' tall. There's still enough space underneath the deck to reach the drain (galvanized wire mesh screen was added to keep out animals), but now we don't have to see it every time we look out the window or relax in the backyard! The estimated time of 60 hrs is for one person doing it. I was originally going to do this project with the help of my dad when my parents came to visit, but they had to leave our house several days early when my mom went to the ER for an emergency appendectomy! After that, I had to complete the entire project alone, so I'm sure the time would be less if you had another pair of hands to help! I am still going to add corner braces and stain the pergola a rich chocolate brown, but I ran into the contest deadline so I wasn't able to get those details finished before the contest ended. Even unstained, though, I still think it looks practically perfect! This was a super fun project that added instant value to our property, and we can now enjoy and use the once-wasted space for relaxing and entertaining!
