Jay finished construction on our 8′ wide x 8′ tall four-post pergola. We are calling it the Taj Mahal, as it was a labor in honor of love for me 🙂 Sappy, but in a funny way.
It’s safe to say that we are both incredibly impressed. He had no idea he could build something so awesome, and I had no idea we could have something so grand in our own backyard. I feel like we should start having Gatsby-like parties in our backyard now to justify such a fine structure. This weekend we will start digging up the sod underneath so we can get the patio put in. I will also move the hardy kiwis underneath the beams, so they can begin growing up the pergola.
I estimate the cost of the project to be around $350 bucks – not too shabby. Jay is a doctorate student, so his schedule didn’t allow him to plow through it all at once. All in all, it took him about two long weekends to complete the project. He set the posts in these steel bracket things, and sunk the brackets into the concrete. I guess that extends the life of the wooden posts since they won’t have contact with the ground and exposed to rot. I expect that we could have a massive earthquake and see our old house come crumbling down, but the pergola shall remain.
Seeing this project come to fruition raises the question: is our backyard getting too good for us? I don’t think so, but I might make more of effort to wear a pretty dress outside on sunny days. Perhaps put out a nice floral display when we have friends over for a garden party. As a sign of respect for our personal Taj 😉
The pergola looks great! Once we get a house I really want to build one in our backyard.