Introduction: 10' Cedar Fan Trellis

About: I work as a Realtor at Keller Williams - Fredericksburg. I'm also a partner in a granite countertop company. Married to Jodie. We have (2) awesome children, Anissa & Troy.
I've had a hard time finding a decent fan trellis for climbing roses and vines, so I decided to make one myself. We planted this "Climbing Pinkie" rose a couple of years ago with the intent of adding a trellis big enough handle it when it's full-grown. After I saw all of the buds on it this year, I decided it was time to get started!     

Step 1: Materials

Materials include:
(10) 1"x2" rough cedar from a local lumber yard. They were available in 12' lengths, so I had to cut-off 2' off of the (9) I used for the vertical fan part. I used (1) 12' length to the horizontal braces.
(2) 12" Lengths of 1-1/2" Angle Iron
(2) 18" Lenths of 1" Solid Round Iron Rod
(4) 1/4" x 8" carriage bolts or all-thread w/ required washers & nuts
(30+) 1-5/8" galvanized deck screws
(20+) 2" galvanized deck screws
(6+) 3" galvanized deck screws

 

Step 2: Base Bracket

1. Grind the 1" rods to a point on one end. This step is probably not necessary - I pictured hammering the trellis into the ground to set the height, but the rods pushed easliy into the soil in the flower bed.

2. Weld/bolt the rods to the angle iron leaving as much of the rod below as possible.  If you don't have access to a welder, you could omit the rods by cutting the angle iron pieces longer (24-30")  & push one end into the soil. 

Step 3: Drilling

Sandwich the (9) 1x2's together. Put 1x2's with the least number of knots to the outside & those with the most knots in the middle of the stack (see step 5 to see why). Put the angle iron pieces on either side & use a clamp (I used a pipe clamp) to hold them all together. Notice that the 1" rod isn't  attached yet in these pictures. I was fitting things before welding, so I wouldn't have to redo my work. The rods ended-up on the back side of the trellis, so they can be welded first. Drill three holes through the angle iron & the 1x2's. Drill far enough into the bottom angle iron to mark the location of the holes. I used a long 3/8" drill bit for 1/4" bolts to make pushing them through easier. At this point, I decided to add a fourth bolt above the angle iron so I could remove the pipe clamp in order to drill the holes through the bottom angle iron.

Step 4: Assemble Base Bracket

Put the brackets together, thread the bolts through & tighten everything. I cut the ends of the bolts off since they were a few inches longer than needed. 

Step 5: Horizontal Braces

This is the point where you can decide how wide you make your trellis. This trellis was designed with the width of  top horizontal brace matching the width of the opening between the two windows it was going between (88").  It had also been decided that we put the horizontal brace even with the top plate of the wall that it would be attached to (approx 9' up from the soil level) so that we wouldn't have to drill into the masonary.  That also helped to determine the 10' height of the trellis (added 12" above the top horizontal brace) . A more agressive variety of climbing rose may have required a taller trellis, but it will probaly take 2-3 more years for this variety to reach the top of this one.
With (9) verticle 1x2's making the fan, that allows them to be spaced at 11".  Cut the horizontal brace at 90" to allow for a little overhang. Predrill holes for 1-5/8" deck screws.
Don't make a 10' trellis any wider than this one. There was a small knot in one of theoutside 1x2's on this one & when I pulled it out to its's mark on the brace it broke. It had to be spliced back together (see 2nd pic) & traded out with a 1x2 without a knot in it.
I had (9) 24" 1x2's left after, so I  placed one as a brace near the bottom with a little bit of overhang. Then there was one more 1x2 left that was just long enough to make the middle brace.

     

Step 6: Installing

Using the cut-off 1x2's, I cut (6) 6" pieces to make (3) braces to attach to the wall.  If your wall is flat, you can pre-mount them on the trellis, but my house has batten strips in the way so I had to install them between those. Use 2" deck screws to attach the horizontal brace to the wall braces. I used 3" deck screws to attach the wall braces into the top plate of the wall (2" screws probably would have worked in this case). The trellis is very sturdy & should last a lot longer than the flimsey stuff offered at most garden centers.