Building a DIY Pergola with Toja Grid + how much it COST!

[@eduardomoncada8677]

This exactly I was looking for the brackets! Thanks for the idea!!

[@olivegreyavenue]

You’re welcome!

[@Ben-by1hp]

Great job guys, this looks awesome ! Fun video

[@lilamadethis]

What bit size did you use on the router? And also the depth?

[@LAAO369]

This looks amazing!! Love the team work and collaboration between the both of you. I also want to construct a 6x6 Toja. I was debating between the 4x4 but after watching this video I believe that the 6x6 looks a bit more regal.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks so much! We definitely thought with how large ours was going to be, 4x4s would just look dinky.

[@falinasandoval6344]

One of the best videos i have seen! Thank you guys

[@olivegreyavenue]

Ah thanks so much!

[@Lacasadekarns]

Your little boy is the cutest! Awesome project!

[@olivegreyavenue]

Ah thank you and thank you!!

[@r24765]

how did you attach to the brick exterior?

[@tilla455]

Looks great! How did you locate the rim joist behind the brick?

[@Janpre2001]

He is strong! I can see how handy he will be when he grows up.

[@olivegreyavenue]

I hope he’s just as handy as his dad 😊

[@jameslloyd9619]

Did you use lag screws into the wall for the brackets? I am looking to to the same thing with Toja brackets and have a brick veneer single story home.

[@liberiankingkay]

GOOD JOB CREW!

[@eco_guardian]

I'm doing a triple 6x6 wall mounted pergola. Its really tough to figure out how to do the assembly. You guys are lucky to have the neighbour. I went through changing the colour, but realized if you paint it a dark colour you lose all the 'brand' detail, and the logo, and the cool nut covers get lost. I really like the way you did it two tone. Great job.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks so much! It’s a feat for sure. Especially with 6x6 and I’m just sure glad it’s done 😆

[@tilla455]

Did you use Toja brackets on the brick wall as well?

[@olivegreyavenue]

Yes we did!

[@caseyhardison4320]

A few months back I ordered 4 wysteria vines and now I'm seeking design ideas for my own, free standing pergola. Thank you for the video!

[@olivegreyavenue]

Oh my! I have just one wisteria but I’m thinking about getting a couple more. They’re so beautiful! Thanks for watching!

[@johnlee7085]

When routering on half the plate, you can increase the stability by switching to a circle template or similar wider plate. Obviously, don’t set the pin for the center of the circle, just use the extra width for stability.

[@flosifa5]

This is wonderful, great job! We are in the process of building our Toja grid using the 4x4 green rough cedar. We also had to shave the wood to Fit the bracket. we found out the rough cedar are not cut normal 3 by something that is needed to fit the toja brackets. they actually came at the exact 4 x 4 cutting. Lesson learned- always look at the details of the sizing description before purchasing the wood. We had no idea that the rough cedars are not cut like the normal 4x4. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@olivegreyavenue]

Same here! I actually went back and looked at the size online and it did say 5.5x5.5 but it wasn’t!

[@johnlee7085]

It is actually nominal lumber, though normal makes sense 😉

[@Discovery123.]

I am thinking the same thing. This not only saving the money but also look nicer too.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Exactly! Especially with lumber costs sky rocketing, everything is just getting more and more expensive so save where you can!

[@Discovery123.]

@@olivegreyavenue Thank you!

[@genevievelacon9487]

What kind of screws did you set into the concrete? It was hard to tell from the video, but this is exactly what we've been hoping to do!

[@olivegreyavenue]

We got lag bolts! I believe they were 1/2" lag bolts but they fit the holes of the bracket perfectly.

[@genevievelacon9487]

@@olivegreyavenue Thank you!!!

[@johnlee7085]

It looks like they used zinc coated bolts, which are okay. What you really should use are galvanized bolts, which are more resistant to rusting. You really should use J-bolts, but won’t find them with the other bolts. Home Depot, etc stock them with the rebar, concrete etc. Probably on the other side of the lumber. They have a hook on the end that resists being pulled out of the concrete. Also be sure you have an inch or three between the bolts and the edge of the concrete or the concrete will be prone to breaking away.

[@tinavillanueva6700]

He is so cute . Had to listen to him 2x 😂 I just had to watch the rest of the video

[@olivegreyavenue]

Aww I agree he’s the cutest!

[@tt3233]

Great intro. Top talent

[@roc-o2g]

Has anyone tried putting a polycarbonate roof on one of these toja grid pergolas to keep the rain off. Want to buy one but can't figure out if a rain proof roof can be put on one fo these things, no one on KZbin has a video. Cheap and easy way of having a verandah/pergola but before I buy one can't figure out best way of installing a rain proof roof on these toja grid.

[@olivegreyavenue]

So when getting quotes for pergolas from companies, they explained about the structures being rated for ‘lift’. To put a solid roof of whatever material to make it waterproof, you would need to factor in for lift. This is where we bowed out on that topic

[@aliciamackey8213]

Such a beautiful house and backyard! Great job

[@olivegreyavenue]

Oh thank you so much 😊

[@rodmartinez621]

Hi this a awesome project ! Just one question, do you need to pull any building permits?

[@olivegreyavenue]

I believe everywhere could be a little different so I’d check with your local building codes but I think generally if it’s attached to your house you will need a permit. We were told that if it were freestanding then you don’t need a permit.

[@rodmartinez621]

@@olivegreyavenue I will look into it, thank you for the information!

[@ChickenFriedBBQ]

love it! thinking about doing one myself! great video!!

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks so much!

[@brianpolo9777]

what kind of wood did you guys use?

[@olivegreyavenue]

It’s all cedar

[@jesse6731]

Greta work! Did you guys do anything to Waterproof the area you drilled into on the side of the house??

[@olivegreyavenue]

We sealed it with outdoor silicone

[@jesse6731]

@@olivegreyavenue thank you!! Love the look of your pergola! I’m getting ready to attach to my house and wanted to make sure I protected the home.

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@jesse6731 you’re welcome! Thanks for watching and good luck to you!

[@trudyseeker3550]

I said to hubby why not set 4 posts in 4 large square containers and put some plants on top xxxx heres hoping xx

[@steveaguiar1]

Looks amazing guys! What kind of screws did you guys use to mount it to the brick?

[@olivegreyavenue]

They are 1/2” lag bolts!

[@steveaguiar1]

@@olivegreyavenue Thanks for the reply. To go through the brick and hit the rim joist. what was the length of them

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@steveaguiar1we got 7” screws but we measured the width of the brick, the open gap and then thorough the rim joist. It needs to stick out 1” on the other side of the rim joist from what we read. I wouldn’t say all brick is the same.

[@NB-Philly]

Wow! I love how that came out!

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thank you!!

[@yvanahernandez]

I think this is a great video, real homeowners dealing with their own build, so thanks for doing these. My question, not sure if asked already, How tall are those beasts? and how much of distance span from the house to the outer posts?.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks! The tall one is almost 12’ tall and about 10’ wide and the shorter one is about 10’ tall and the span is about 15’.

[@yvanahernandez]

@@olivegreyavenue Excellent! thank you. I figured it was more than 9', but finally somebody goes higher than the "by the book" instructions. I have a tri-level modern deck and want to put the pergola spanning 2 the levels, the lower level posts, need to compensate the height difference. Love it!

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@yvanahernandez great! Glad I could help 😊

[@ms.ladietoyou8672]

2k? What cost the most

[@olivegreyavenue]

Lumber for sure!

[@ms.ladietoyou8672]

@@olivegreyavenue damn!!. I guess I would stick to 4x4 instead lol

[@NyNjMafia]

What is the height

[@olivegreyavenue]

It’s about 11’ off the ground

[@sheepfeeder]

NICE DESIGN! I especially like the bolts in the concrete tubes. Genius! Would 4 or 6 suffice for a free standing pergola? The other thing I learned is to seek my wife's involvement.

[@olivegreyavenue]

4 or 6” beams?

[@sheepfeeder]

@@olivegreyavenue Sorry about that, yes 4' or 6" beams.

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@sheepfeeder yes, toja grid has free standing kits for 4” or 6” beams

[@johnlee7085]

I’m not sure what the diagonal dimension is from outside of the bolt to outside of the bolt, but do check. To keep the concrete from breaking away at the bolt, there needs to be a minimum of one inch of concrete outside the bolt if the bolt is completely above ground and 3” of cover if it’s below ground. An alternative to the sono tube if you can’t get one big enough in diameter is to use pairs of 8x8x16 blocks in at least two layers. It’s also a good idea to put rebar in the footer to handle any tensile forces when the earth inevitably moves. Concrete is horrible in tension.

[@rawtruthisahardpilltoswall6180]

OMG !!!!!😳 $2k shiittt!!! That’s quite a bit more than I thought or that I would spend on something like that. It looks really nice tho. But damn! $2k. I only see about $850 worth of material. Was the shirt included with the material?

[@olivegreyavenue]

Anything professionally done would have been $15-22k! Check out Costco, any little pergola they have is the same price, is not as big and is made of cheap materials. Wood is the major cost in this these days. You can make it cheaper with treated lumber but cedar is worth the extra $$ to make it last!

[@Standeck]

Just finished a pergola using dimensional pressure treated 6x6s and some Toja-like fittings from Amazon. No fancy laser letter cut-outs, but less than half the price! Could have saved a bunch on the wood if I'd bought it a week earlier as well!

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@Standeck heindsight is 50/50 huh!

[@jamesdonegal]

22k???? can you send me a link to that company?...

[@imsaurabh]

How tall are your 6x6 posts?

[@olivegreyavenue]

They ended up around 11’ to meet the house at the rim joist

[@vernonwilliams4927]

@@olivegreyavenue how were you able to find where your rim joist are behind the brick? Thanks in advance!

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@vernonwilliams4927 that’s a good question! Basically, we measured from the top of the window to the ceiling in our living room and then from the bottom of the window to the floor upstairs. Then we took those measurements outside and got an area between those measurements that we were assuming was the rim joist 😅

[@vernonwilliams4927]

@@olivegreyavenue ah ok sounds good. Is it usually safe to assume that the Tim joist is between your floors in a two story home? What hardware did you use to secure to the joist?

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@vernonwilliams4927 I’d say so but make sure to look up building codes in your area because homes are built differently in different places. And the hardware we used were just lag bolts that were long enough to go through the rim joist plus an inch.

[@Kristopherwong]

Looks great can you link me to the actual costs?

[@olivegreyavenue]

I’m pasty, this is the only place I have the costs outlined.

[@charlenearchibald8556]

bad planning but good idea if your doing a deck make sure your doing 12 inch holes 4 feet down u can off set the 2x6 beside the 6x6 on the middle of the 12 inch hole so u dont need to put 4 holes then just build your deck and so on

[@olivegreyavenue]

It was pretty precise in planning and no deck will be built here.

[@jaandel1]

You must use joist tape on the bottom reagrless want wood it is...

[@olivegreyavenue]

Definitely go for it if that’s what you have found. In our research we heard no such things.

[@johnlee7085]

Tape is not required, but it is a good idea. Cedar is a rot resistant wood, but it will rot. The tape would help, but you are also using moisture treatment, which is good. The research I’ve done shows Thompson to be an accepted name but not the best. It likely wears off in a year or two. You might consider trying a penetrating oil. We’ve had really good results with ours, which is what I’ve found from others as well.

[@thekma3476]

Seems like a router starting from the edge and work your way in would've worked for the posts

[@olivegreyavenue]

Yes that’s why he tried that at 16:33 and that’s how he did the rest of them

[@samln5019]

Hello Great work!!! You guys really pionted out something to be really informative! (and I just bought everything to build my toja grid pergola as well) I had no idea that their 6x6 joints do not fit actual 6x6 lumber! and all that extra work needs to be done with shaving every lumber end to fit inside the toja grid joints! This was very dissapointing to me to find out as there is no notification ahead of time before buying everything!, I wrote toja grid an email about this! :-( :-(

[@olivegreyavenue]

I’m sorry you found out later on. Last I checked, they do disclose that it should be nominal lumber sizes on their website.

[@samln5019]

@@olivegreyavenue Thanks! They really should make their joints to actually fit, It's really misleading imo.....On their packaging it says 6x6 not 5 1/2 x 5 1/2, I ordered mostly everything from lowes and had it delivered like you guys, Hard lesson learned.

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@samln5019 yeah I totally get it! I think it’s because most wood will say 2x4 but be 1.5x3.5 so they designed their brackets the same way so I was expecting the wood to be 5.5 not 6 😅

[@samln5019]

@@olivegreyavenue And to add another heartbreak, I paid $350 more than your cost, just for one 12' x 8' cell with the angled peak trio 30 roof celing joints. So the joint kit, 8 8-footers, and 3-12 footers, Granted it's still less than some contractors out there, but prices have definitely gone up since 2020

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@samln5019 they sure have!

[@ShawnJohannaMoore]

Is your husband from Nicaragua?in another video and saw him wearing a shirt that said “Nicaragua “

[@olivegreyavenue]

His parents are from Nicaragua 😊

[@allia6374]

where do you guys live? where is your house located? such a beautiful house, my compliments!!

[@olivegreyavenue]

We live in central Texas. Thank you!

[@allia6374]

@@olivegreyavenue thanks for your reply!

[@MrPatvee]

That shirt made me laugh! ;)

[@terryogrady5361]

Should’ve turned the planter boxes into seating and storage

[@olivegreyavenue]

I actually rebuilt them! I don't need that much seating or storage so the plants suit me better :)

[@piratetaylor29]

You mentioned spacing the rafters 22" OC. Is that because the panels are twenty ? Inches wide? They look great.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Hey, thanks for the comment. Are you talking about the wood slats?

[@piratetaylor29]

@@olivegreyavenue hi! No I'm talking about the width of the poly panels. You said you got them from the manufacturer, do they produce the panels to your specs or are they standard widths?

[@olivegreyavenue]

@@piratetaylor29 we didn’t use any poly panels in our pergola build. We used the Toja grid brackets and cedar lumber.

[@evannotthemenace1513]

What kit did you use and how much was this project?

[@olivegreyavenue]

Like I mentioned in the video, the kit is toja grid and I don’t remember the cost but I mentioned how much it was at the end of the video.

[@CoroaEntertainment]

If you stated cutting the posts at the end with the circular saw, and then worked back to the 9" mark you made, the base plate of the circular saw would have been supported by the uncut wood (just like it was with the router). The difference... you would have finished trimming the post ends much quicker with the circular saw.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Oh, I’m not sure if you missed that part but he did it with the circular saw first and then tried the router. The router was much quicker than the circular saw so that’s what he used.

[@brittjuliff5990]

I'm planning on using a handheld electric planer.

[@miguelsylvester4355]

Hey guys, we ran into the same problem yesterday with the plain pressure treated 6x6 posts and the metal brackets. I tried both methods (circular saw and router). After cutting one post with the circular saw to a large toothpick and another 2 posts with the router 1/4" depths x 7", I just knew something was a miss here. We decided why not just use the router and round the edges? Guess what? It worked just fine. Use the metal bracket side that has no holes to line up the bracket to the 6x6 post. The inside corners of the metal brackets are rounded. We found that there's no need to chip away all that timber, just round the post corners for 7".

[@johnlee7085]

Miguel - What you are referring to works if you have dimensional lumber, which is basically planed in the factory and 1/2” smaller. That’s why a 2x4 is actually 1.5” x 3.5”. In their case, she commented that they had rough sawn cedar which would be a full 6” x 6” and needed the 1/4” removed from all sides.

[@immemous]

It looks awesome. Next time just try to use longer "L" shaped bolts.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks!

[@johnlee7085]

Technically, “J-bolts”. Also wise to use galvy bolts instead of the shiny zinc bolts. Much greater rust resistance.

[@jimwattenburger4545]

Wonderful product, highly recommend it ! It did show up minus four interior corner brackets and enough screws, have just requested them from Tojo. Other than that a Beautiful new pergola !

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thanks so much! We’re happy with it so far!

[@eltiburon5240]

It’s all about the U baby!

[@olivegreyavenue]

So my husband says 😂

[@matthewwu4873]

Nice work, about to build one similar with yours with only 2 Post and looks like very feasible.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thank you! It is very doable. Good luck with yours!

[@bender49ers]

Awesome job.

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thank you!

[@user-os8zr1di2y]

nice！👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@olivegreyavenue]

Thank you!!

[@Burritosarebetterthantacos]

Were pretty unhappy with Toja at my house. The brackets bent when lightly tapping with the rubber mallet and finding out a roof cant be used made this a huge waste of money. If I could send this crap back I would.

[@olivegreyavenue]

That really stinks! The ones we got are extremely sturdy and wouldn’t bend if we tried. Learning that they aren’t rated for lift, which is what I understand you’d need for a roof could definitely be a deciding factor but we knew that we didn’t want a roof of any kind. Sorry about your negative experience!

[@r24765]

watching this video, living in texas, makes me not want to do my digging project.

[@olivegreyavenue]

😂😂

[@Mehaara]

Where have you been all my life?

[@olivegreyavenue]

Hahah we’re here now 😉

[@leelunk8235]

I'M PREGNANT SO I CAN'T LIFT ANYTHING OR DO ANYTHING, THAT'S A GREAT EXCUSE, MANY PREGNANT KZbinRS LIFTING WEIGHTS AND POSTING IT ON THIS SITE

[@olivegreyavenue]

Pregnant weightlifters do so safely and there are lots of factors. Just don’t comment on pregnant women 👌🏻

[@leelunk8235]

@@olivegreyavenue 😆

[@tinstreet_egg]

I've never heard Pergola pronounced like this 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@olivegreyavenue]

I’ve never heard it pronounced any other way 🤔

[@TheToeIsUp]

sbeve

[@jeffiesconiers7798]

Great! keep it coming :D! Do not waste another day - P r o m o S M!!!

[@olivegreyavenue]

If 2020 taught us one thing, that’s it! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@kevinervin3924]

What kind of wood did you use?

[@olivegreyavenue]

I used cedar

[@kevinervin3924]

@@olivegreyavenue thank you!