Arbor

[Pepipony]

I want to put an Arbor up over my patio. Have always seen them with the slats running perpendicular to the house ( will be against the house) but my house runs N-S, so slats ( would run E-W) wouldnt really block out sun except in winter when the sun is low. Soooooo have been thinking about running them N-S , can picture it, looks ok. But wondering if there is a reason I have never seen them running with the house? K, now that I have everyone confused including myself LOL How does your arbor slats run? Is the Arbor against your house or free standing?

Had planned on using 2x6s for slats ( arbor will be 10x14) spaced 1' apart, then using the small lath strips or maybe lattice underneath to help even more with the sun.

 

[nootka]

I would THINK that the water runoff would be better running perpendicular and slightly slanted away. Just my observation, and you may not get much rain. Here, though, we would be causing a flood nearest the house if we put them in that way, but if you wanted to angle them away, you would still get the water pouring off the slats and onto your covered area, whereas if you set them up perpendicular, then some of the water would run away from the house and pour off the ends and you would just tend to get the rain falling between the spaces, which should not be too bad.

We don't have an arbor, but we constructed a cover for our patio 7 years ago, and some of this was shown to us by the contractor and he said it would hold true even if we hadn't put the plastic over, and had constructed it of laths to grow plants on, but again, we live in a very rainy climate.

I may be way off base, but that would be my somewhat educated guess.

When you finish, I would love to see pics. I want to build something like that, but not sure where to put it....

Liz

 

[Pepipony]

Thanks Nootka. We arent all that rainy here, just in winter. The arbor wont have a roof so to speak, so I dont worry about run off, but follow what you are saying. That is how I had planned on building it, and probably will, just worried that with our hot sun and having the slats running E/W, it wont provide as much shade as I would prefer. Oh well LOL

 

[Neil]

One of my patios here has an arbor and where I lived before I put in an arbor.

When I lived in San Jose, Ca I had a deck on the back of the house that I covered with an arbor. It was on the north side of the house so it wasn't put in for shade but effect and to put a climbing rose on one corner. On that one I used 2x2s spaced about 4 inches apart.

The one I put in here is outside my bedroom on the east side of the house. The patio is 12' x 22' so I didn't have much of a choice which way I ran the slats. They run the short way east to west. On this arbor I used 2x4s spaced 6 inches apart. The patio does not attach to the house but sits about 3' out from the house with a planter between the house and patio. It gets very hot here in the summer. We just went through several weeks of temps in the 112 to 114 range. The arbor was never meant for shade mainly effect and a place to plant two grape vines.

When it was new and before the plants started to grow I did place rolls of bamboo on the top for shade but now that the grapes have grown up that is all that is up there.

I would rethink the 2x6s spaced a inch apart. That seem way to massive to me. You might want to lay out a sample and see what it looks like. I did have a neighbor in San Jose whose deck was covered with an arbor and he used 1x4s spaced four inches apart.

Liz, not all of us live in a rain forest. ;-)

 

[Pepipony]

Neil, thanks for the descriptions! btw, the 2x6s will be 1' a part, not 1" LOL sorry Still cant decide what to do I HATE going to buy stuff like this, might not know all the correct terms, but I know what I want and hate 'the looks'. Guess they all figure we are all just weak women and need a big ol man around ROFLAO!!!

 

[Neil]

Neil, thanks for the descriptions! btw, the 2x6s will be 1' a part, not 1" LOL

Well DUH! I guess I need new glasses.

Try a google search on variations of arbor and you will find lots of different design ideas.

I have always liked arbors. My current one is the first that I have planted grapes on. I remember when I was a kid people put arbors in their yards for their grape vines and the house behind me has one for that reason.

Good luck.

 

[Pepipony]

I havent quite decided what I will put on mine, would love Wisteria but since I am allergic to bees...

: We have grapes here, tons and TONS of them! The wild kind LOL think they are Mustang but not sure. Our huge oak has a grapevine growing up it that is about a foot around. Actually most of our trees by the house ( only 8) have grape vines so there are grapes everywhere LOL kinda rains grapes Chickens and horses love it , me, eh,. not so much LOL have to wash the patio and furniture since that grape juice sure will stain!