How to Build a Pergola | Ask This Old House

In this video, bring shade and style to any backyard with a pergola kit. Here’s how to assemble it.
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House One editor Jenn Largesse continues her backyard renovation project. After installing beautiful composite decking and handrails around her shipping container pool, Jenn works with a contractor to install a vinyl pergola with aluminum reinforcement on her pool deck.
Difficulty: ⅗
Time: 8 hours
Cost: $1,700 to $3,000, depending on size
How to Build a Pergola
1. Start by laying all of the individual parts to the pergola kit out and take inventory of what’s there. Be sure all of the parts and hardware are included. Also, if the weather was chilly overnight, allow the vinyl to warm a bit in the sun to prevent possible cracking.
2. Slide the aluminum rafters and support beams inside the PVC sleeves and use the PVC glue to attach the end caps.
3. Place the two support beams together so they’re perfectly even on the ends. Starting in the center, measure and mark the beams at 16-inch intervals and attach brackets at these points.
4. If the pergola will integrate into an existing railing, detach the railing from the existing post. Pad the existing wood post with 2x6 lumber to build it out to the width of a 6x6 (this will require trimming one 2x6 to width).
5. For new decks, plan ahead and attach extra 4x4 blocking between the joists at the locations of the posts before installing the decking. For existing decks, it may be necessary to remove the decking boards or access the deck from underneath to add support. In either case, use lag screws driven through the joists and into the blocking to hold them in place.
6. Place the aluminum posts in place on the decking and lag them into the blocking using the impact driver and the lag screws included in the kit. Slide the collars over the posts followed by the vinyl sleeves.
7. Clamp scrap pieces of lumber to the posts at the correct height for the support beams. Place the support beams on the scrap lumber and attach them to the posts using the hardware in the kit.
8. Lay the rafters across the support beams and situate one at every set of support brackets. Screw through the bracket and into the rafters to hold them in place.
9. Lay the shade slats on top of the rafters and space them evenly. Screw through the top of each shade slat and into the rafters to hold them in place.
Where to find it?
Jenn and Luke from Dream Decks (buildyourdream...) tour her deck built from Trex Decking (www.trex.com/) in Havana Gold with universal hidden fasteners and Trex Transcend railings in Classic White with square white balusters, post cap lighting, and stair riser lights. Together they install a steel-reinforced vinyl pergola manufactured by Superior Plastic Products (superiorplasti...) and sold by Plastic Lumber Yard (plasticlumbery....
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Materials:
2x6 lumber [thd.co/3yPL7sj]
4x4 lumber [thd.co/3wIjCxW]
5- or 6-inch lag screws [thd.co/3NJ77JF]
Pergola kit [amzn.to/3sMCWZK]
PVC glue [amzn.to/3aeDeCo]
Tools:
Prybar [amzn.to/3sMeckt]
Screwgun [amzn.to/3NoNPZJ]
Impact driver [amzn.to/3lwehVg]
Circular saw [amzn.to/3MxcpHK]
Clamps [amzn.to/3MAB1PM]
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From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment-your home.
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How to Build a Pergola | Ask This Old House
/ thisoldhouse

[@M.J.C.W.]

What do you have that costs more then wood but looks cheaper?

[@RJStockton]

I plan to build something like this after I make my first few million dollars. That will be cool.

[@terencemerritt]

I’ve never seen a million dollar pergola, keep us posted!

[@landontreber1]

So true!

[@rupe53]

@@landontreber1 .... the joke is about being able to afford everything BEFORE this project. If you watched the other video on the container pool, they never did cover the extra costs for the deck and landscaping, never mind the cost of a crane for a day to drop the pool in place, added wiring, and all the frills.

[@amys1885]

@@rupe53 they NEVER do!!!!! (cover all the EXTRA costs.......)

[@rupe53]

@@amys1885 ... you're right. Some shows cover a budget, but usually not on TOH.

[@IcyS7uff828]

Take a shot every time you hear love

[@spectre3492]

Lol

[@danielgehring7437]

How much you want to bet that they go to bed every night comforted by the fact that they're saving the planet by using an old shipping container for a pool... while simultaneously ignoring the tens of thousands of dollars in plastic they surrounded that pool with.

[@AR-cp5dz]

Ooh La La someone's going to get laid in college

[@spacemanx9595]

@@AR-cp5dz eek barba durkle

[@danbev8542]

I agree, the plastic is bad on so many levels.

[@rd-ch1on]

@@danbev8542 "earth wants plastic " - George Carlin

[@mikebeverly88]

I'm pretty sure he missed the blocking at 3:46 that 2nd lag went in way too quickly.

[@eddiebarry4199]

Definitely

[@Jsuttar]

I like that their trap door they emphasize doesn’t sit flush with the deck how embarrassing

[@not242]

That was flat out terrible. This channel usually has higher standards than that hack job

[@c0mputer]

I wouldn’t want the stainless hinge exposed either. That could have been done better.

[@jackjacker8555]

Someone is catching a toe on that. Oooof.

[@karlhungus545]

Wow, only $118,000 for a plastic backyard! What clickbait. This is NOT 'how to build a Pergola'. 🙄

[@SalvadorSTMZ]

Is it really $120k? Geez.

[@cheffy101]

I thought we were supposed to reduce how much plastic we use in our lives. This backyard reminds me of the Lorax, plastic fakeness everywhere. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jab5915]

God, what has happened to TOH? Someone sold their soul apparently.

[@user-gk3lu1gg9t]

Nobody who lives in houses like this is doing a DIY vinyl pergola

[@Robert-ef3wm]

I love the lighting.

[@garthbutton699]

I like it,thanks for the video🤗😎🤗😎

[@sodoberman]

6 min Vid "How to make a Pergola" 2:30 of it on how they built the deck... 🤔

[@kperkins1982]

Hey if you had a shipping container pool flown in with a 230 foot crane for a half billion dollars you'd wanna show it off a bit too!

[@christophermorin9036]

3:47 I don't like how that 'lag bolt' bent and re positioned as they drilled it in...

[@Longtrailside]

It didn't go into anything structural.

[@keithf5236]

Quickest lag bolt installation ever. Nice to know, you just need to get it through the composite deck and nothing underneath for it to be effective :)

[@JakeWatkins]

It also went in as smooth as butter... something tells me they didn't hit that 4x4 beam lol

[@oneflymanflies4924]

Don’t worry the lag is well secured into the composite board 🤣

[@demagab]

This backyard is one of those places that look very nice in pictures, but once you get there you immediately see that it's very very cheap

[@javiergalvan242]

Another great video! 👍

[@canaboost]

The title is wrong. It should read "how to put together a vinyl pergola kit"

[@tatsumaru12345]

So a dumb question. What is the point of a pergola? Without a roof, even a retractable sunshade, the most I see is a place to hang stuff. You're not really getting shade.

[@terencemerritt]

To block most sun rays, and you actually get more shade than you’d think, especially in the morning and evening times, whilst being able to get a good breeze

[@jmhm17]

They actually provide a lot of shade without restricting air flow. In direct overhead sunlight it would not work as well however you can drape curtains from the beams across the top

[@kperkins1982]

Where I live if I installed awning it would fly off as soon as the wind gusts pick up. A pergola is attractive while also letting the wind pass through.

[@mr.g1683]

Nice job

[@derewreck]

Jen needs to have a pool party

[@foxsquirrel3038]

Young Chris Cringle, I’d like a larger deck for Christmas and a new shed. I’ve been very good this year. ☺️

[@averagealice8877]

The stainless steel hinges on our RV rusted big time. We replaced with aluminum.

[@obi-wankenobi8043]

Wow love the flared stairs looks awesome ! 😁 👷 ❤ 👍 👍

[@nadinejohnson2189]

Hi👋This Old House🏚️ Authentic material's to Build and upgrade your 🏡 Much Love 💞

[@ianmackey6097]

That will be bright white for a week or two then will need to be cleaned on a regular basis

[@BenNawrath]

Just watched this segment on TV. They didn’t explain, are they screws they’re using self-drilling to go into the aluminum?

[@arth.4196]

How New are Shipping Container Pools especially in S. Calif and Denver Colorado, please.

[@derricdueker64]

Next project, building our own launching pad.

[@cm581]

How do you replace one of those boards that are in the middle with fasteners like that?

[@MandoFettOG]

You don't 😂

[@Elbereth42]

Back the screws out of the fasteners on either side of the board you want to replace, as well as the boards to either side, making it so that three courses are loose. Using a cats claw or similar tool, lift the damaged board straight up. The ones to either side will lift as well, and after a couple inches the fasteners (the ones they show go by the brand name 'Stowaway') will release from the groove. I really like using these to install decking, and just finished a big job using them.

[@Dirtyharry70585]

That deck engineered wood becomes VERY slick once wet almost like ice. Nice work, too bad you do show the cost.

[@kperkins1982]

Feeling REALLY good about my decision to go with wood after this comment. In the winter time the deck gets slippery with any snow I'm glad to know it could be worse.

[@rupe53]

@Atlas Dankworth ... not possible. Everything they installed was prefinished.

[@jconsentino]

My decks (came with the house as is) are the composite planks and they are the worst thing in the winter time. I would rather refinish a wood deck every few years than deal with this stuff.

[@lizhall2961]

Cool, but zoning could be a problem!

[@scottshure3389]

a lot of plastic which is not environmentally friendly. I would much prefer rebuilding a wood pergola every 10 to 15 years

[@alleycatw9l641]

What world would someone spend the money for this expensive deck material and then do the work themselves.

[@coilinotoole6124]

So much plastic. Yuk

[@landmarkcreations1183]

That backyard is incredible

[@dpfreedman]

Sorry but the finished product looks very cheesy.

[@Pdpawlak]

For all that money and effort I’m putting something larger than a kiddy pool in there

[@dandenoth]

This backyard looks fake and gross.

[@tatsumaru12345]

See if they have any extra 6x6s! You could try trading in a Corvette for MAYBE one! 'In all seriousness, if you could find a pvc cover for a 4x6, thats the way to go. Half a 6x6 price currently'

[@skimask5049]

ehh i much rather have it built out of wood 4x4... 2x6 i could jig myself with the curve at the ends lol...

[@richardjoseph8683]

This show has been spiraling down the toilet bowl since Norm left the show. A true professional. These new so called experts are just check a box talking head's!!

[@jefflebowski918]

I also miss Bob Villa.

[@michaelbaumgardner2530]

That might last 20 year's

[@appleztooranges]

And with prices of lumber and inflation this project only cost $1,500.00

[@chadmatthews8845]

How to *assemble* a pergola

[@irwinjimenez]

No sound...

[@ovidiuciuparu6421]

What is the benefit of pergola?

[@spacemanx9595]

blocks most sun without needing a flat roof.

[@jefflebowski918]

So you can brag to your rich friends.

[@GrahamDIY]

Nope! Where’s Tommy ??

[@nelsonheppner4113]

So much plastic in this yard. Can't imagine Tommy or Norm doing something like this.

[@andrewm6740]

video title is misleading. you didn't build a pergola you assembled one.

[@RrR-xv4ij]

Plastic. White shiny plastic.

[@ryk3899]

"And I love.....and I love......and I love" Shut up

[@spacemanx9595]

super cheap plastic looking deck. oof

[@MrTravbub]

Can’t hide money

[@dandersonanza]

I'll say it every time: This isn't an old house. It's embarrassing how many shitty plastic products have been thrown into this McMansion backyard.

[@johnmolnar2957]

looks cheap . plastic backyard anyone? oh, lets throw in an overpriced, undersized swimming pool that's going to fail well before a real pool will and it's all OK. TOH has gone downhill. sad situation with some of these latest videos 😂 Jen is no where the calibre the old crew ever were .

[@jpperry2117]

Looks like chit.

[@jeffwilson1399]

Huh huh. . Huh huh. . Uhhhhuhhuhuh. .. Did she just say hard on? Huhhuhhuh. .. . Yea.Yea. .

[@terencemerritt]

And saying it very comfortably lol