Hows my little Construtor?

The day is finally here. THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!!!
The pergola project is Done. Actually done.
We started way back in early September and have been diligently working evenings, weekends, days off, days on, and other times in between laziness, and business. We have always talked about building one on our back patio because the space just needed something to it, it was just a little bla back there. Also I've been on an endless quest to fence off my neighbors without actually building a fence. But also the grapes I had planted a year prior (2011) were certifiably out of control and shit needed to get taken care of.

First order of Wood!

Grapes gone wild!

Before this picture the grapes didn't look quite so pathetic. Due to a storm one of my metal steaks holding my crappy trellis up bent over and sent the grapes sprawling all over our patio.

Staining is Fun! With a capital 'F'.

Post anchors. Drilling through concrete is loud and hard.

One of the last known umbrella uses.

Bracing for the top. Keeping posts level is harder than it seems.

Our champion cane on the left started the year only about 1 foot long.

Streched the cane up, over, and out.

We made it about this far before winter found its way to us. Which was fine, we were ready for a break from staining and construction. Plus I needed another order of wood which meant more measuring, math, and crossed fingers.

This picture shows my biggest mistake from the whole project. All of those angles were cut the wrong direction. For some reason I just trusted I was right because I measured a billion times yet was still wrong. As good fortune would have my friend Ryan recently bought a planer and for a six pack of hopslam we fixed my issue. I also learned buying a one inch board is possible, but fantastically expensive, hence planer.

No action shots of the planer in use but here is the result. These were 2x6's.

Fixing my mistake! Two one inch boards glued to one four inch brace equals one "six" inch brace! Hole filled, problem solved. When the braces were mounted this way I think they looked better anyhow.

My grandpa gave me his old table saw a couple of years previous and this was the first time I got brave enough to turn it on use it. I learned when you cut wood the long way its called ripping. I learned to rip 2x4's with Laura's Dad.

Men at work.

We have to stain all of those?

Laura loves staining.

Trellis time! The marquette vines are woven through the trellis, the Noiret vines haven't been woven yet.

Vertical posts added. Since the vines had hardend off for winter we wove them through without the vertical posts  to help avoid breaking them. Installing the verticals wasn't nearly as hard as you might think.

I bought some work lights at the beginning of this project thinking I would use them all the time. I didn't.

Stained knee braces.

Knee braces going up

Danger. Do NOT stand or sit above this point.

Laura and I had a last minute design change due to a warped board. We decided to orient the roof boards perpendicular to the back of the house rather than parallel with it. After watching the grapes grow over them this way I've realized that this was a much better idea.

I just want to show someone esle how big this drill bit really is. Yes I can handle it on my own, but my arm gets awfully tired.

The final touch, some lights around the roof for nighttime ambiance.

These are bright enough to read a book under. I think I'll get a dimmer.

And Finally:

Before!

After!

It's pretty exciting to be finally done with this project. The back patio is now a cozy and comfy place to hang out. The space is nice and private while being open and a lovely shade of green. You architects and building professionals don't have to worry about me taking your job anytime soon though, the measuring, math, and cutting was all too stressful for me to do regularly. I was pretty pleased that I never had to go back to the store to buy any replacement pieces of wood that I messed up. Now all I need is a pergola party to christen it into the world.