Hello! We hired a guy 3 years ago to add a pergola to our lower deck. The deck has a little slant to it for drainage. The builder of the pergola assured me he “took the grade into account”. It really looks to me like the thing could tip over at any moment. I can push it in any direction with one hand on any post. The builder is no longer in business, I can’t find him anywhere. How can I fix this? Or am I out the $$ ? IDK how to get a picture that really shows how much it leans, but it’s bad....we are not super handy, but we can do basic stuff. Is it fixable? Thank you so much for any input!
Pergola is leaning!
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It is fixable, did i look straight when it was first built?
First step do a drawing of just the 6 posts and name them or number them.
Then measure them from one to the other at the bottom and at the top.
The top and bottom should be the same.
First step do a drawing of just the 6 posts and name them or number them.
Then measure them from one to the other at the bottom and at the top.
The top and bottom should be the same.
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He used screws instead of lag bolts - no good. Should be at least a pattern of 4 or 5 every place where you see 2 screws.
Looks like he just used plain pine wood not pt wood. So the wood itself is not going to last long.
Verify the anchor supports are anchored to the concrete and not just sitting on the concrete. Can't tell by pic.
It's fixable but lots of work. You could try to stabilize it better as mentioned above, but imho, I would take it down and redo it with pt wood, it will last a very long time. That plain pine is just going to rot, dry out, and crack in no time out in the elements. Just my opinion.
Looks like he just used plain pine wood not pt wood. So the wood itself is not going to last long.
Verify the anchor supports are anchored to the concrete and not just sitting on the concrete. Can't tell by pic.
It's fixable but lots of work. You could try to stabilize it better as mentioned above, but imho, I would take it down and redo it with pt wood, it will last a very long time. That plain pine is just going to rot, dry out, and crack in no time out in the elements. Just my opinion.
Sorry, my mistake, at closer look, that looks like ceder wood.
As neal mentioned, get it squared up. After you level it up, Imo, I would get some more screws in there for stability as mentioned. You will need a big box of them.
Hope you can get it figured out and leveled and secured soon mswinford.
As neal mentioned, get it squared up. After you level it up, Imo, I would get some more screws in there for stability as mentioned. You will need a big box of them.
Hope you can get it figured out and leveled and secured soon mswinford.
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You can correct it by installing proper bracing from post to beam in both directions. Use shoring lumber to achieve a proper angle and then install the bracing.
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This.
The posts are hinging at the slab because they are not buried any amount to hold them up straight.
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf...pAhWFY98KHUhlBFYQsAR6BAgFEAE&biw=1088&bih=496
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Ok, Nealt, I am going to measure and see how far out of square we are. It did not look like it was leaning when he finished. I’m in Oklahoma, though, and we get pretty crazy winds and storms in Spring, so I guess I’m lucky it’s still standing at all.
Jmon, it is cedar, I agree, I thought it was weird that there were no braces in the corners and that there were screws instead of bolts. The anchor supports appear to be screwed into the concrete in the middle...I do remember he said he was having trouble finding the right kind of anchors, he said the first two he used bent/buckled?
Chandler48, I can shore it up when we get it level, are you talking bracing just in the corners at the top of each post in both directions?
123pugsy, I thought he was going to cut out the concrete slab and bury each post, but I found out that wasn’t the case long after he was gone, when the casing around the bottom of the posts started to come off last year.
Thanks for the help, I’ll post my measurements tonight.
Jmon, it is cedar, I agree, I thought it was weird that there were no braces in the corners and that there were screws instead of bolts. The anchor supports appear to be screwed into the concrete in the middle...I do remember he said he was having trouble finding the right kind of anchors, he said the first two he used bent/buckled?
Chandler48, I can shore it up when we get it level, are you talking bracing just in the corners at the top of each post in both directions?
123pugsy, I thought he was going to cut out the concrete slab and bury each post, but I found out that wasn’t the case long after he was gone, when the casing around the bottom of the posts started to come off last year.
Thanks for the help, I’ll post my measurements tonight.
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If he built it right each set of posts should measure the same top and bottom and they should match the set of posts behind them.
If they all match up we can expect to get it back up straight. If they are not all matching we just have to figure where to cheat to make it look right.
The first step is to straighten it out and then design design the corner braces that will hold it straight.
Good advice, as mentioned, get it all squared up then braces for stabilization is the way to go.
My suggestion of using more screws was just a quick fix as I really didn't know how much you wanted to do as a diyer.
Your on the right track mswinford.:thumbup: Post a picture when you are finished. thank you.
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You can push a post to plumb with a 2x4 on an angle and just hammer it down until the post is straight. If you don't want to scar the post. put a 2x4 against the post first.
You will have to do this to both ends and the middle and then one front and one back.
Then you stand back and look it over nd make what ever adjustments to make it look right.
You will have to do this to both ends and the middle and then one front and one back.
Then you stand back and look it over nd make what ever adjustments to make it look right.
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No, there is not much to do but while you are moving or adjusting things you do keep eyes and ears open for things that could go wrong.
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Another dimension you should check is the height of the posts and where the beams tie in. I know you said he "took the slab slope into account," but I'd bet he just cut all the posts the same length and flushed the top connection. If so, and the slope (shown in your last pic) of the horizontals are because it just follows the slab, then plumbing the posts like Neal shows in post#10 would leave you with a racked pergola. Which might be fine visually, but check that too and follow the rest of the advice.
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Pull it true. Install corner braces with lag bolts. And enjoy the summer. I would not worry if the top is level.
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I measured the length between all the posts front to back and side to side. They are all the same @ 117” . Got home too late to get shoring lumber, but we tried this (see pics) and got it level all the way around. We are going to install the braces and put some lag bolts on either side of the screws. I’m still not sure about the anchors/footing...hoping the bracing helps with the load since it is on a slope. Also, the posts are all 8’ tall (front row and back row). I sure hope this works!! Thanks for all the input!
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Good plan. make them as long as you can and still live with them. :wink2:
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