Something we had talked about adding to our house over the years was a pergola on to the face of the garage, to bring down the scale and add some dimension to the large gabled end ~ a gabled end that felt like it was looming at the end of the “barren” driveway. So, last summer the project began….with our house looking like this in the photo below,

IMG_0848

and ended up looking like this,

IMG_8382

Not an enormous change to be sure but one that has added the extra dimension that we desired to enhance our homes curb appeal.

From another angle ~ the straight on view from the driveway….went from this,

IMG_7435

to today’s look….

IMG_8370

We are just thrilled with the change ~ it has created the look we were after and our slight concern about the ease of backing out of the garage being compromised has not been an issue whatsoever. Our garage doors are 10′ wide rather than the more typical 9′ doors that are installed on many houses (we always recommend 10′ to our clients if they are going with double doors rather than a single wide) so this fact helps as well.

I have quite a collection of shots that are both from the actual construction phase and some more of the completed project, so if you would like to see or learn more on this little pergola project, here we go…

IMG_7475

IMG_7478

IMG_7476

In the photo above Glenn is creating the lap joints on each piece of timber and Ryan is sanding each piece before they are stained. We had the timbers all stained in the same Benjamin Moore colour as the rest of the window and door trims, the colour name is Durango. In the shot below, Ryan & Dennis are working on the final piece, carving a rounded indent that would fit around the gutter that the final rafter would butt up against.

IMG_8225IMG_8226All of the posts have poured concrete pads beneath them with a custom made steel bracket that is designed to have 2 bolts placed through them to anchor the posts securely to the ground. In the photo above you can see the final look of this detail.

The section of stand alone pergola to the left of the garage was added to visually extend the line, lending an appearance of width and providing an element of going through the garden gate, even without actually adding a gate.

IMG_8374

IMG_8376

IMG_8378

IMG_8379

IMG_8383

The last five shots were just taken this morning ~ if you read our previous post on having our concrete paving stones power washed, you could probably tell these are recent photos just by how clean and brand new they look!

We have been asked several times if we are planning on growing vines over the pergola and we have chosen not to, we quite like the architectural element in its own right and besides that do not want to add more plant material that needs caring for ~ our youthful exuberance for adding as many plants as we can has obviously given way to a more careful consideration approach!