Heavenly Hexagonal Haven

by Adam
(UK)

Our pitched-roof hexagonal pergola design is more of an arbour that takes advantage of the setting sun at the bottom of our garden and nicely nestles under the branches of an ash tree. We planted two clematis that have obligingly flowered quickly and added a small solar fountain nearby. It is the perfect place for a tranquil supper on a summer evening.

The design for our new garden called for a hexagonal pergola. I jumped at the chance to build it myself and quickly discovered pergolaplans4free. It is very loosely based on the hexagonal pitched pergola plan. I modified it so that it includes two half-sides to provide a wider outlook across our garden as well as adding a dado rail and a kingpost roof design. I am not keen on rafter braces which I think detract from the aesthetics and might knock the odd head! Instead, I decided to brace within each side panel above the dado rail with an equilateral triangle that nicely reflects the hexagonal design, function and form! It is a as solid as a rock.

I constructed the pergola out of 75 x 75mm fence posts, 50 x 100 mm tanalised timbers and 25 x 50mm rafter battens for the triangular braces. A neighbour kindly lent me his mitre saw which was invaluable as few of the cuts are at right angles. I used bolt-on shoes to secure the vertical posts to the ground and put a shim at in the bottom of each to keep the post ends slightly off the ground to help avoid rot; I am not a fan of concreting in posts that are likely to rot after time.

The two half-sides meant that figuring out the shape of the centre kingpost profile is not hexagonal and required some head scratching! In the end I fashioned it out to two of the 50 x 100m timbers glued and screwed together. The acorn finial is one made for stair banisters!

As I used both sawn and smooth cut timbers, I had to hunt around for paint that could be used on both and discovered Ronseal Fence Life Plus which did the trick.

All that remains is to finish off the soft landscaping, but that has not stopped us enjoying quiet evening summer suppers by our babbling fountain at sunset!