Advice on building a pergola

**Pauls321** · 7th October 2013, 05:37 PM

Hi all, I am visiting with my son in western nsw and my project this time was to assist him to build a free standing pergola. The size is 4.8m x 4m.
the height is 2.4m. He already had the timber when I arrived and the project is nearly finished. The block was rather sloping so for the corner posts we used 100x100 2.4m lengths. We also put a 5th one of these on the back wall. The rafters and cross side/back pieces of timber are 90x35. However to combat the slope of the block we used stirrups dyna bolted into cement footings/piers. On the higher side the stirrups had 65mm steel rods in them and on the lower side we used stirrups with 300mm steel rods in them. At this point in time we have only 45 degree braced the front face with 2 braces as we have run of timber. I still need to brace the two sides and the back (another 6 braces). My concern is that the pergola will still sway.

I am now thinking these stirrups are more designed for say awnings hanging off a fixed wall or similar, and not a free standing construction such as this.

Hopefully the pergola will be much more stable when I have fixed another 6 braces to it. Any comments or suggestions please.

The roof will just be shade cloth coming down about halfway down the back and sides also.

Regards, Paul

**rwbuild** · 7th October 2013, 07:10 PM

Stay Bracket H/duty Carinya 500x400x25 Galv Sg36 I/N 3970061 | Bunnings Warehouse

10 of these should stabilize it, use 60mm type 17 hex head screws to attach

Drill an extra hole at junction of leg and diagonal, this will remove all flexing in the bracket

The alternative is 25 x 25 SHS approx 800 long with opposing 45 deg cuts at each end, drill a hole 25mm from the long point of the cut and fix with 100 x 6mm coach bolts

**Aworka** · 7th October 2013, 07:25 PM

Hi You will need to brace the roof. Make a cross on each side of the ridge if a gable or just one cross if a skillion. To make the cross use 35mm galv hoop iron strapping. Nail the end 30mm x 4off galv clouts, pull the strapping tight by hand and nail other end. Then use tensioners available to tension strapping. sometimes two tensioners each leg is required to tension properly. Hope this helps

**rwbuild** · 7th October 2013, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Aworka

Hi You will need to brace the roof. Make a cross on each side of the ridge if a gable or just one cross if a skillion. To make the cross use 35mm galv hoop iron strapping. Nail the end 30mm x 4off galv clouts, pull the strapping tight by hand and nail other end. Then use tensioners available to tension strapping. sometimes two tensioners each leg is required to tension properly. Hope this helps

Oops, Aworka is right, I forgot to mention this as well

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