Pergola in place.

Both my brother and I were tired on the day the pergola was supposed to be assembled, so it was put off until this moment. Thanks to all our pre-cutting, it went up quickly once Chris used the hammer drill to drill the bases into the concrete. One thing that would have helped was if I had large clamps. They would have been easier to use to keep the vertical supports square as we put the horizontal supports in place. We used bungee cords and my muscle.

Chris puts the final top support in place.

I was very, very excited to see the finished result. I love the way it looks and feel very proud that my planning worked so well.

When drawing up plans for things, I always turn to The Carpenter's Manifesto by Jeffrey Ehrlich and Marc Mannheimer. (ISBN 0-8050-1299-0) College Boyfriend John Bita bought it for me years ago and I'm forever grateful. It's out of print, but I just checked on Abe Books and can be had for less than $10.00. Less than $5.00 in one case. If you are designing anything, it's worth every penny. In very simple terms, the authors take you through steps of design from rough sketch to scale view to 3-D view. Other chapters explain about structure, tools, and techniques. There are also plans to build things: bookcases, coffee tables, loft beds (the first thing I built using this book) potting table. Their can-do tone and clear information inspire confidence.

The plan for this pergola is to plant hardy kiwi in the box in front and let it grow up and around the pergola. Hardy kiwi supposedly produces in shade, though less, and I'm hoping for some hardy kiwi. However, I will take some good growth on the pergola which I think will make our front porch much less "out there."