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| by:
Lawrence Winterburn
photos: Roger Yip
illustration: Len Churchill |
GARDEN TRELLIS |
This
trellis is perfect for growing clematis,
morning glory and other favourite climbers |
Obelisks
are easy to build if your design is right. I’ve used proportions
that eliminate the need to cut confusing compound mitres, while
still yielding a terrific finished product for your yard or
garden. This obelisk has two main sections. It has a planter
box on the bottom, and a tall, thin pyramid-shaped frame up
above, which gives you a place to start plants and provides
room for them to grow upward. Before you start building, think
about what materials you’ll use.
When it comes to outdoor projects,
you need to decide between pressure-treated lumber or cedar.
The difference concerns more than just cost and aesthetics.
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| Before
long, your climbing plants will festoon the trellis
with their greenery |
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Pressure-treated
stock is less expensive than cedar, and that’s why people
use it. But it’s also more challenging, for two reasons.
First, it’s more likely to twist, bow and cup. And with
all the small and narrow parts on this project, temperamental
wood will make your job harder. Second, pressure-treated wood
is also more likely to split when you add nails or screws. Then
there’s the issue of corrosion. Although you need to use
corrosion-resistant screws and nails with either type of wood,
the new formulations of preservative chemicals found in pressure-treated
lumber require stainless-steel screws and nails for best results.
These days, pressure-treated is much more corrosive than cedar.
The bottom line is: if you can afford it, go with cedar for
this project.
When you have your stock, cut
and assemble parts for the two box frames using 1 1/2"
x 1 1/2" wood. You can buy ready-to-use 2x2s for this job,
but you’re better off cutting what you need from wider
lumber. Factory-milled 2x2s are notoriously knotty and twist-prone.
You’ll get cleaner box frame parts if you cut them from
clear sections of a 2x8 or 2x10.
The box frames form the top and
bottom of the base of the obelisk. As with all joints on this
project, predrill 1/8"-dia. pilot holes into the wood before
driving screws. This virtually eliminates any chance of splitting,
while also ensuring that screws don’t veer off in odd
directions as you drive them home. Use #8 x 3" screws to
hold the corners of the box frames together.
With both box frames in hand,
connect them with all 12 of the 14 1/2"-long box cladding
boards added to the outside faces. You’ll find #8 x 2"
deck screws work well here, but there’s an assembly trick
you need to know about.
With two box frames to handle
at the same time as you’re also wrestling 12 cladding
boards into place, you have a potential Three Stooges comedy
routine on your hands. This is where an air nailer can help.
By using it to tack parts in place
first, you’ll gain a lot of ground. An air nailer allows
you to hold two pieces of wood together with one hand, then
join them with a flick of a trigger finger on the other. The
nails certainly aren’t strong enough to hold the box parts
together permanently, so follow up by driving a pair of #8 x
2" screws driven into predrilled pilot holes at the top
and bottom of each cladding board. Trim the last cladding boards
to width on each side so the outside corners are flush, creating
a solid base on which to mount the corner caps.
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PART 1
| PART 2 | PART
3 |
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