pergola Q's?

phenom

hey, my wife and i would like to build a small pergola next to our pond. we've got limited space, so we want to go with a design we saw the uses 2 support post in the center...i've drawn up these plans, i hope this works...




on to the questions. we'd like to have a swinging bench to sit and look at the pond. the plans are drawn with 4x4 support posts. should i go with 4x6's? 6x6's?

i was planning on attaching it to 3' deep concrete footers, but i was at HD today and the brackets i was planning on using, the kind that are "U" shaped with 2 "prongs" that stick into the cement...well actually, all the brackets said they were not recommended for use with a non top supported structure. what does that mean? if its a free standing structure i shouldn't use those?

should i sink the posts into the ground instead? if so, would i be okay using regular wood and sealing it? or do i need to use treated lumber?

hope this makes sense, thanks for any help/ advice/ or suggestions you can give me.

jbfan

The brackets you talk about are not self supporting. They are used to hold the post in place, but the support will be from another source. I built one simular to what you have drawn, and I put 4x4 into concrete in the ground. Use treated. Use a 4x4 across the top to hold the swing.

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phenom

cool. i've pretty much come to the conclusion that i'm going to sink the posts in the ground and backfill with concrete.

treated wood it is...


thanks for your help, think i'm going to change some things up in the plans...i'll posts the new plans when i get them done to get some more feedback.