If you are tackling the project of building a patio cover, then you would be wise to heed the advice of someone who had the joy of going through the process first hand. I can shed some light on the process of building a pergola and give you some quick tips to follow and what to avoid. Mostly, it was all a good learning experience, but the mistakes I made could save you some much deserved and needed time beneath your patio cover instead of working on it.
First of all, one tip that I would recommend is to stain or treat your wood before you put your cover together. In other words, do all your prep before assembly. This will save you countless hours of reaching overhead to stain or paint. One mistake I made was that I made my cuts for the cross-beam members on the ground. I should have waited until the posts were set and plumb, then taken measurements directly from them. As it was, my beam caused my posts to be pulled inward, bringing them out of plumb and square. This didn’t affect much in the way of structural integrity, but it is a bit off to the eye (if you are looking for it).
Another thing I would recommend is to use ‘tall’ top slats for the lattice pieces up top if you are building a pergola. With ‘wider’ or taller pieces here, you will give yourself more shade at various sun angles. For this, I would recommend at least a 2×8 or 2×10. You could also use 3x3s, but will likely need more of them to get the shade you are looking for. More solidly covered patios can get by without this step, because the roof will provide all the shade you need.
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