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I recently had a nice visit at a friend of mines new house she was especially proud of her arbor while I was imagining a traditional trellis type arbor over a path like you might see at a wedding. I was surprised to see an immense patio that was 14 feet wide and 22 feet long the Arbor was supported by 6 round columns that where painted white. Cross pieces made of 2 x 8 cedar where also painted white. The entire arbor was covered with different species of Wisteria which has a beautiful bloom in colors from a white to a dark purple.

An arbor is on choice for creating shade for a deck or patio other options would include a retractable awning, a covered roof or a temporary solution such as an umbrella. The arbor I believe requires the most care and maintenance to keep up but also provides the best solution for most homes.

Building an Arbor is not an extremely difficult task you will want a little help. You will want to check with your local township for any permits that may or may not be necessary for area. The next step is to measure ad draw a picture of your patio or area that you want to cover with your arbor. Take your drawing and any pictures of what you want your arbor to look like to your local home store, most home stores have professional on staff that can tell you exactly what you will need for materials for the job they can also answer any question that you may have in constructing your new arbor.

You will need to start with the support columns they can be any design you like from the standard square 4x4 pressure treated wood to elaborate columns it just depends on your taste and pocket book. A header piece is secured across the top of the columns, this header will support the joists that will cross the arbor and create the 'roof.' The choice of materials include Cedar or Redwood these species of wood are naturally rot resistance and will last many years with out any maintenance the same is true with pressure treated wood which is commonly used fro building decks. If you plan on painting your arbor you could use standard untreated wood however you will always need to keep a good
covering of paint to protect the wood.

There are many choices of climbing types of ivy available for covering your arbor from the aforementioned Wisteria to Boston ivy, Clematis and some Hydrangea also climb. Your climate and soil types will limit your selection. You can mix and match to get flowers that bloom at different times of the year or for a straight ivy look. Whatever type of climbing plant you choose at some point you will need to get out the pruning shears and go to work even when they are young you will need to help out the ivy to train it to grow where you want it.