building a pergola

pinkcandyflossprincess

hi
I want to build a pergola alongside back of my house. I have been looking at timber. if i search pergola timber it seems very costly. i have however seen 8 foot fence posts at less than £5 each that dont look any different and are treated etc for outdoor weather. I know they may be rougher to the touch but that doesnt bother me as i want it to look rough and ready with a thatch/ reed type roof.
are fence posts ok to use?
i have had a look about online but cant seem to find an answer

I_have_spoken

SO long as the timber is pressure-treated, it'll be fine. If you buy a pergola kit, the pieces will have shaped ends etc.

leveller2911

Using 8ft fence posts is ok but if you need to cut them to length then they will rot a lot quicker. The pressure treatment only penetrates about 3-4 mm into the timber. Cut an end off and you expose the untreated timber. You can no longer buy "Tanalith" which is the preservative we use to brush on to treat the cut ends. There are "preservatives" available but none of them will be the same as Tanalith and as soon as you cut the end off a post you void any warranty.

You may need to dig deeper holes to put the posts in so you don't need to cut them to length. Timber wise they are no different to "pergola" timber other than its not planed up.

As mentioned Pergolas tend to be shaped rafters etc but you can have/design whatever you want. Thatched roofs look good but don't have a BBQ under it just in case,or have a hose pipe ready..:D

paddy's_mum

When building my pergola, I fitted the uprights into what are called post shoes. They look rather like cowboys spurs, are set into the concrete and keep the timber off the ground so minimising rotting and extending the life of the structure.

pinkcandyflossprincess

thankyou all for your replies

I dont plan on cutting the timber unless really unavoidable and the posts will be set on top of a concrete slab patio. Im going to be using the ikea decking on top of the slabs but to avoid cutting them too i will shape them around the posts and fill in the square around posts with pebbles.

I want a jungle theme garden so will have big leafy plants, palms etc, the pergola doesn't need to be fancy with the traditional shaped ends etc, im putting a roof on, maybe with plastic roof sheets like we did on aviary and then sticking brushwood screening over top...or brushwood screening on its own, will see what it looks like .
then raised posts sound a good idea and if they are in a 8pebble pit* lol it will disguise some of the raised post but not get as wet?
paddys mum do you have a link to type you used please ?

haha re bbq... irony is i have one of those big masonry greek type things but part got broken and not sure what to use to repair/replace it with

I_have_spoken

I used these for my pergola -

http://www.screwfix.com/p/concrete-in-post-supports-100-x-100mm-pack-of-2/70197

IIRC you can get ones to bold to an existing concrete slab. I always find the 'spike' post-supports end up at wonky angles.

pinkcandyflossprincess

thanks yeah i saw some spike ones that looked ideal but reviews eleswhere on building pergolas didnt rate them well either
i dont mind a rustic looking creation but dont really want one with wonky legs:p

phoebe1989seb

At our last house we had a local blacksmith make *shoes* for the posts for the pergola DH constructed, as we used non-standard diameter oak posts. These were similarly priced and far better quality than the off the shelf product :D