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| We have a patio with interlocking brick that we want to cover with a pergola. The pergola will be about 12' X 12'. The patio is "surrounded" on 2 sides by 6' a fence and the garage. So there is only one side that is open/exposed.
My (tentative) plan is to place the posts on top of the pavers and anchor the pergola to the fences and the garage. I will use lag bolts to do this. The fence is 6' high, made of pressure treated wood with 6' X 6' posts that are set in 3' concrete footers. I am not concerned with a few pavers sinking under the weight of the pergola. But maybe I should be? My preference is to not dig up the pavers where the posts will be and instead use the fences and garage to keep the structure in place. Just looking for some comments/tips/advice on my plan. thanks mc |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by fnmroberts (My Page) on Wed, Oct 10, 12 at 17:12
| You don't mention where you reside but your profile says Canada. Therefore you are in a frost zone. In good conscience I cannot endorse your construction proposal for a couple reasons. 1) Frost Heave - your fence and patio are not structural That means they respond to seasonal ground movement. Attaching your pergola to them with cause it to "twist" and pull apart. 2) Wind and Snow Load - these are the two influences nature will put upon a pergola. It must be securely anchored to a footing set below the frost line. What to do? I recommend attaching a ledger board to your garage and setting footings beyond the existing patio. Or, replace fence post(s) with concrete footings and attach a pergola support to the footing using a post stand-off base, then get dual use of the pergola support by attaching the fence to it. Hope this helps. I'm linking our pergola. It is free standing and we live in northern Illinois where the influences I mention are factors. The footings are 5 feet below the patio surface, 12" diameter. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Pergola
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| fnmroberts: Do you find that the snow in your location tends to fall through the lattice, or build up on it? kas |
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- Posted by fnmroberts (My Page) on Sun, Oct 14, 12 at 12:05
| kaseki - Sort of both but alot sifts through with the wind, the rest melts fairly soon as it has south and west exposure to the sun. Never any sagging or need to clear. |
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| Thanks. I'm thinking of a similar treatment to a simple un-ornamented pergola -- really more like an arbor without vegetation -- to provide some shade. kas in NH |
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