Guess what time it is… (well almost is) Father’s Day!
Happy (almost) Father’s Day!
This year for Father’s Day we are working with Ace Hardware to share an amazing project that will house a little special something… This beauty.
A Traeger Pro Series 22 Convection Wood Pellet Grill.
P.S. Ace has a Father’s Day sale from June 7 to the 19th – Where you can get a $50 Ace gift card plus $100 off your purchase when you buy the above mentioned Traeger pro-series grill. Ace has all the best brands to impress Dad this Father’s Day, whether you’re shopping for gifts, or getting your outdoor space ready for Father’s Day entertaining, just like we’ve been doing!
P.P.S. Use the code REMODELAHOLIC they get $10 off a $100 purchase or $15 off a $150 purchase 🙂 Just go to acehardware.com to use the discount code.
Are those tears rolling down my cheek?
Yes! Tears of smoked barbecue joy!
But this beauty needed a home, fit for a queen. My wife and I have been thinking of projects for the deck – our favorite “room” in our house. One thing we’ve wanted to do is to create a modern pergola. So, we began with this project we are sharing with you today. It’s the perfect time of year to get out and clean up the deck for living outside. We are doing this simple design to frame a sitting and cooking area on our existing deck. It will also provide a means for hanging lights and flower baskets to make it more attractive and functional at the same time.
Best part? Ace is are currently having a sale where you can get all the tools you need for this awesome outdoor project.
Here is what the deck looked like before. We love this deck, but since we have a decent size yard, we really wanted to define deck space, and create a couple outdoor rooms.
Oh, and please forgive the shape of our wood stain, we have had THE WORST LUCK EVER with deck stain…. (this was put on last July and it already looks this bad….) We are thinking of moving on from stain to oil, but that means we have to sand this baby down to nothing, and we just haven’t have the energy or the time to even think about it.
Now let me show you how I built it. Below you will find the dimensions for the size of my deck. Just be sure to make size adjustments according to your space. You can make yours a full square (but because of our houses electrical power input we couldn’t have a back board).
DIY Modern Pergola Plans
To start off we need the following tools:
- Craftsman® 7-1/4in Circular Saw
- Craftsman® 19.2V C3 Cordless Reciprocating Saw
- Drill & Hammer Drill – DeWalt® 20 Volt Drill/Impact Driver Kit
- Drill Bits – DeWalt® Bonus Bit Set
- ½” socket with drill attachment – Craftsman® Universal Max Access Socket and Ratchet Set
- Power cords
- Saw horses
- Brush for stain
- Bucket for stain
- Craftsman® Sidewinder Tape Measure 25 ft
- Ladder
- Clamps
- Safety Glasses
- Pencil
- Level – Craftsman® 9in Standard Torpedo Level
Materials:
(total cost was around $500)
- (15) 2x8x10’ – Redwood
- (1) Gal – Wood Stain (dark stain)
- (16) 2 1/2” x 5/16” – Carriage bolt
- (16) 5/16”- Washers
- (16) 5/16” – Lock Washers
- (100~) 2 ½” – Deck Screws
- (8) – RPBZ Retrofit Post Base Bracket (affiliate link)
- (1) – Satin Black Spray Paint (optional)
- (1) 2×2 – Diagonal Brace (to temporary hold up post)
Plans with dimensions:
Front View
Side View
Top View
Cut List:
(These measurements are based off of the size of my deck. You will have to change the size of your modern deck pergola depending on the space you have.)
Post (4)
- (8) 2”x8”x9’ – Redwood (sides of the post)
- (4) 2”x8”x8’ 4 ⅞” – Redwood (middle of the post)
Beams (3) (you could add an optional beam on the back as well- we couldn’t with our power lines)
- (2) 115 ¼” – Redwood
- (1) 93 ½” – Redwood
Temporary Diagonal Braces
- (3-4) 2″ x 2″x 3’ – Temporary Diagonal Braces with one end cut at a 45 degree angle.
Construction Steps:
Post Bases
Spray paint the post base brackets. (Optional)
Layout where the post bases will go and screw in place with 5/16” x 2 1/2″ hex bolts.
Be sure to pre-drill with a slightly smaller drill bit, to avoid cracking the deck. Use a washer and a lock nut to hold bracket to the deck.
Be sure not to fully tighten. You will be doing this after the posts are made and standing level in place.
Build the Posts
Select the boards to use for the posts.
If they are slightly bowed, I made sure to use these on the post, because after the posts are screwed together they will straighten up nicely. I saved the straightest ones for the top beams.
First cut the three parts of the post to length. Two sides and one middle, according to the plans.
For the front two posts only, you will notch out the top sides to hold the front beam. See diagram above for notch size. On the back there is no need to notch out the sides (unless you are adding a back beam).
Stain all the faces and edges of the posts pieces with one coat of stain before assembling. This will protect the insides of the boards after they are screwed together. I ended up building one post at a time because there was only room to build one on the saw horses and it was easier.
Once the stain has dried, screw them together with 2 ½” deck screws at 24” o.c. make sure to stay about 1 ½” away from the edges when screwing.
If your boards are bowed in the middle and not lining up, then clamp the middle to align the three boards, then screw them together. The screws will hold it together then you can remove the clamps.
Once the post boards are screwed together and stained on all sides, place the post in the post brackets. Attach a temporary diagonal brace from the post to the deck to hold it in place when it’s nice and level. This will hold it straight up while you attach the beams. Then you can remove them once the beams are secure.
Make and Install the Beams
Measure the length of the beam by measuring at the post base level. Cut the beam to length. Stain all sides and ends. Once it’s dry install on top of the two posts. The front one and the back one.
Attach the beam with 4 screws through the post and make sure it is square.
Finally attach the two sides with a beam across the top front.
Now that everything is built. I went through and stained it one last time.
There you have it! A really simple modern deck pergola.
Our girls were super excited when it was done, even the cat.
Now it’s time to BBQ with our new Traeger smoker. I’m so hungry just thinking about it. I think it will be a good tool for making new friends as well – BBQ at our house!!
The best part? With the lights strung up it looks awesome at night!
It really turned out better than expected. It looks good from all angles around the yard and especially from inside the house.
I think that we might even add more over the deck at some point in the future, because we love it so much.
What do you think?
Head on over to your local Ace Hardware and start building yours today! Why wait!
Don’t forget: Go to acehardware.com to use the code REMODELAHOLIC they get $10 off a $100 purchase or $15 off a $150 purchase 🙂
This post is sponsored by Ace Hardware. All thoughts and opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Ace Hardware.
You might also like these other DIY pergolas:
I think its beautiful! Especially with the lights strung across it.
🙂 gwingal
Thanks Nikki!
Did you have any issues with keeping this code-compliant – I’m concerned about the posts being built from 2×8’s glued/screwed together rather than a solid 6×6 or 8×8?
Also, we had to do the same with our deck (even worse: previous owners used Rustoleum Restore, so the whole thing had to be stripped, then sanded, then stripped again. Never doing that again.). We’re happy with Armstrong-Clark stain, which is oil-based. It looks pretty decent even after 4 summers and no maintenance.