Greetings all!

I would like to ask peoples opinion on this pergola I'm building, I have all materials ready and have my 2 ft holes dug out. I'm just in a little dilemma as the garden slopes down along the run that the posts are going.

I am running 4 posts in a line along the neighboring fence, to break it up and get some greenery growing up them. The first two post will have horizontal beams leaning to the house as shown in the attached plan.

however as the garden slopes away from the house (about 2ft the length of the run) I am unsure if I should slope, step or have the cross beams level like in the second picture. At the moment im leaning towards stepped but would like to know what others think.

Thanks everyone!
Damian

Jake wrote:

As you're clearly going for the "posts buried in the ground" approach
(I would use Metposts), please make sure that the concrete around the
posts is a bit proud of the ground surface and slopes down towards the
ground level all around the posts so you don't get any water
collecting around the bottom of the posts. When I bought my current
house (from new) the concrete was "underground". The original 4" posts
failed at ground level within 5 years. Twenty plus years later, the
replacement 3" posts (mounted in Metpost spikes) are still doing their
job and are still sound).

How easy have you found it to drive the Metposts whilst
maintaining their alignment?

I used some to secure an arbour. I had planned to anchor all four
legs, but after trouble with stones, I made do with two, which
has proved perfectly adequate. As it is a structure, and I had to
pack out the Metposts which were large for the timber, alignment
wasn't too critical. For 6 foot fence posts, there doesn't seem
to be any leeway.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:26:26 +0000, Chris J Dixon
wrote:

Jake wrote:

As you're clearly going for the "posts buried in the ground" approach
(I would use Metposts), please make sure that the concrete around the
posts is a bit proud of the ground surface and slopes down towards the
ground level all around the posts so you don't get any water
collecting around the bottom of the posts. When I bought my current
house (from new) the concrete was "underground". The original 4" posts
failed at ground level within 5 years. Twenty plus years later, the
replacement 3" posts (mounted in Metpost spikes) are still doing their
job and are still sound).

How easy have you found it to drive the Metposts whilst
maintaining their alignment?

I used some to secure an arbour. I had planned to anchor all four
legs, but after trouble with stones, I made do with two, which
has proved perfectly adequate. As it is a structure, and I had to
pack out the Metposts which were large for the timber, alignment
wasn't too critical. For 6 foot fence posts, there doesn't seem
to be any leeway.

Chris

I make a pilot hole first using a metal pole (actually a fireman's
wrecking bar) which gets me past any stones. Then provided you use the
right size driving block - don't use a 3" block in a 4" spike - it's
straightforward. I drive the first foot into the ground and then make
sure it's upright, drive another few inches and check again. From then
on in it'll go in straight. If the ground is a bit soft, you can dig
out some soil around the spike and put some concrete in for added
stability. Some people dig a hole as if they're sinking the post into
the ground, then fill it with concrete and drop in the metpost spike.
This is the best of both worlds - you have the strong fixing of the
concrete but the wooden post is still entirely above ground level and
so unlikely to rot.

Charlie Pridham wrote:

You will find tanalised posts and metal bottoms a waste of time and money
over the medium term

Would you care to expand on that a little? I suppose it must be
true that, up to the point when they rot, you have saved money.
How long do you estimate the medium term to be?

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

My thread was regarding sloping/stepping the pergola not about metposts.

I have never used metposts, ive seen too many leaning fenses because of them.

My posts are 6" square seasoned, i treat the posts and concrete them into a 2 foot hole.

Please don't derail threads with advertisements... Mods???

In article ,
says...
Charlie Pridham wrote:

You will find tanalised posts and metal bottoms a waste of time and money
over the medium term

Would you care to expand on that a little? I suppose it must be
true that, up to the point when they rot, you have saved money.
How long do you estimate the medium term to be?

Chris

I would say that it is a toss up whether the the metal post bottoms rust
out or the posts rot before 10 years are up I had replaced the 4x4"
tanalised wood posts on my large pergola 3 times in 27 years before I
gave up and built masonary posts with reinforced concrete cores
I know I live on the wetter side of the UK but the disruption to the
garden at each rebuild was very annoying and it worked out a lot cheaper
to build masonary in the end for the size of the posts

--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:17:17 -0000, Charlie Pridham
wrote:
snip
I would say that it is a toss up whether the the metal post bottoms rust
out or the posts rot before 10 years are up I had replaced the 4x4"
tanalised wood posts on my large pergola 3 times in 27 years before I
gave up and built masonary posts with reinforced concrete cores
I know I live on the wetter side of the UK but the disruption to the
garden at each rebuild was very annoying and it worked out a lot cheaper
to build masonary in the end for the size of the posts

I can only repeat that I have Metposts that are 20+ years old and
they, and the posts in them, are perfectly sound (and as near
perfectly vertical as dammit save for one which was deliberately
skewed to get around a tree on the other side!). I had to replace some
fence panels that were damaged by wind last year but that's all. I
make sure that the bit of the spike that holds the post is above
ground - I've seen some driven right in and maybe that is why they
fail - rust at the weld between the spike itself and the "container"
on the top.

Cheers
Jake

In article ,
ks says...
On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:17:17 -0000, Charlie Pridham
wrote:
snip
I would say that it is a toss up whether the the metal post bottoms rust
out or the posts rot before 10 years are up I had replaced the 4x4"
tanalised wood posts on my large pergola 3 times in 27 years before I
gave up and built masonary posts with reinforced concrete cores
I know I live on the wetter side of the UK but the disruption to the
garden at each rebuild was very annoying and it worked out a lot cheaper
to build masonary in the end for the size of the posts

I can only repeat that I have Metposts that are 20+ years old and
they, and the posts in them, are perfectly sound (and as near
perfectly vertical as dammit save for one which was deliberately
skewed to get around a tree on the other side!). I had to replace some
fence panels that were damaged by wind last year but that's all. I
make sure that the bit of the spike that holds the post is above
ground - I've seen some driven right in and maybe that is why they
fail - rust at the weld between the spike itself and the "container"
on the top.

Cheers
Jake

I suspect the difference may be my very acidic soil conditions and almost
permantly wet ground, I went over to using them so that when the
tanilised posts rotted I could drop a new one in without disturbing the
ground and therefore the plants, but the failure rate has been too high
to want to use them again, over 10 years the spike is reduced to
nothing, and often the clamping point has gone by then as well. But I
agree its easy to get them upright and solid and I never had issues with
posts flopping or not being vertical, they are a lot easier and quicker
than digging post holes thats for sure!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Damian

A long time since you posted the qestion and i cannot see that anyone offered a solution. I have a similar sitation. I don't like stepped but think that is what I'll end up with

What did you do?

Paul