A friend and I wanted to create a simple garden arbor for the back of her house. Neither of us have ever done anything like this and first had to did a little research on items needed. Specifically pressure treated wood and exterior grade screws. This will increase the life span of arbor.

Supplies

(7) Pressure treated 2x4
(4) Pressure treated 2x6
(4) pressure treated 1x2

Screw Gun

(1) box exterior grade 1 1/4 inch screws

(1) box exterior grade 2 1/2 inch screws

Exterior Paint (which ever color you prefer)

Shovel or hole digger

1 bag Gravel

Step 1: Planning and Preps

You first need to plan out what you want your arbor to look like. Make, at least, a chicken scratch drawing so you know how much material you will need. This should include how long your boards should be and the different sizes and thicknesses you will want. Then purchase all material. In some Home Depots they will cut the wood to size for you, if you ask.

Step 2: Fabrication

First we started with one side and laid out the 2x4s the correct distance.

We screwed in the 1x2s on at the correct distance apart, as per our original chicken scratch drawing. :)

Then we did the second side exactly the same.

Then we laid out the top. Keep in mind that you want the side to slide in between the top two 1x6 boards.

Then we laid out the top; first cutting the 1x6s with a 45 degree cut on both ends and using a hole saw to give us the added decorative end. For the very top pieces, we cut 2x4s in half and put a 45 degree cut on them and screwed them into the 2x6s.

Step 3: Finishing

The next step is finishing and for this we kept all 3 fabricated parts separate. We painted them with an exterior paint and let them dry.

Step 4: Installation

Once dry, we took all three parts individually and laid them out in the backyard. I dug the holes and before putting the sides in, I assembled the top onto the side while it was all still on the ground. Once that was done, I just had to push it up into the holes.

The data on the holes, is that I dug a 18 inch hole for each of the 4 posts and filled the first 6 inched with gravel (so help with the water drainage) and then filled the rest in with a gravel/dirt mix.

That's it.

Our next action is to buy climbing roses and plant them at the bottom, for them to grow up the trellis.