May 03, 2020 19 min read
Maybe you've seen our installation guide and you still have a few questions. Sometimes it just helps to see the steps in action. Regardless of your experience level with construction, these videos will get you started in putting your vinyl pergola together.
Step 1 - Layout and Cutting
Before you begin pebbling your pergola, you need to have your post spacing and height predetermined.
The post mount is the thickest piece of aluminum included in this kit. So, before any cutting is done, it is important to make sure you have the right type of saw and blades.
Next, you will need to cut the purlin holder, beam in rafter and post sleeve.
When attaching a post mount to a deck, the first thing to do is install the blocking in between your joist opening.
Next, add your pergola post to the deck.
When you are attaching your post mount down to a poured concrete slab or a landscape column top, you want to make sure that the post mount is inset far enough from the edge so that the post base will not overhang.
This installation guide is for pergolas that have the 5” Post option.
In this step you need to determine the height of the beam and cut the post mounts at the proper spot.
Use a 2x6 or a piece of aluminum from the kit. You can pull this out of the beam or the rafter. You will use this to mark the measurement at every post.
Take the beam and circle the entire pergola to make sure that you have a level mark on each side of the post.
Next is the cutting of the post sleeve for each one of the posts. The process is the same whether you have a square or round column sleeve.
Once that is done, you can assemble the rest of your post. There are a few different components.
When the post base is down, you do want to put a fastener to keep the post base from ever moving.
Step 4 is about attaching your pergola to the house. At this point, you already mounted your post, cut them to height and know the desired top of your beam. That measurement is really important because the top of the beam is going to be the same measurement as the bottom of the rafter. When attaching to the house, you want to make sure you get into something structural on the house.
Assuming that you have the above done, you are going to want to use your rafter hangers and mount it to the plate at the appropriate height. The kit does not come with the screws to attach the hanger to the house. The reason being, we are not sure what you are trying to fasten it to, whether it is masonry or conventional framing. There are eight holes on the hanger, you will need to get heavy duty screws to fasten it at the appropriate top of beam equals bottom of rafter to your plate. Once that is installed, you can hang the rafters.
If you have any questions regarding your rafter spacing, that will all be in the CAD drawing with the instructions.
This step 5 is attaching beams to the post in a traditional method, screwing holes through the beams and using fasteners through the holes into the post.
This Step 5 is about attaching your beam with beam attachment brackets. If you added the brackets to your pergola kit, it is a simple DIY friendly way to attach your beams.
Your beams are up and now you are ready to install your rafters. The first thing you want to consider is the location of the outside rafters. The CAD drawings have the outside rafter right in line with the column cap, however you can place it where ever you want depending on need or preference. Just make sure that the evenly space out the rest of your rafters.
The next step is to attach your purlin holders to down to your rafters. Before you get started, you need to take into consideration which way your purlins are tilted and which direction the sun is being blocked. If you are unsure which way your purlin should be tilted, please contact a team member for help. Once you know which direction your purlins are going to tilt, you need to double check a couple of measurements.
This step involves sliding in the purlins. In your kit, the purlins come shrink wrapped together in bundles of ten. Do not open the shrink wrap until you get them on top of the purlin holders, it will save you a lot of fumbling around. Once they are on top, open up the bundles.
The last step is to glue on all your caps. The kit is going to come with pergola caps, an end cap for your purlin holders, and a tube of glue.
Now that you know how simple our kits are to assemble, it's time to get to work on your own vinyl pergola kit installation.
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