It’s been awhile since I last posted. I finished by poetry seminar and now have 10 poems in my new collection. Just 30 more to go. Maybe. I’m still thinking about what I’m going to do with these poems.
In the meantime, spring has arrived here in the desert so it’s time for all those projects I’ve been thinking about his winter. This year we’ve decided to replace this old pergola with something new:
The new thing is a solid roof gazebo which I ordered a couple of weeks ago. It’s still in kit form on my other patio:
It’s heavy, about 450 pounds and I had to carry it to the backyard piece by piece. It’s going to be awhile before I get it setup because I need to prepare the area where it’s going to go. We get high winds in the area so I have to get some concrete footers installed to mount this too. Then after ordering we decided it would be nice to place this gazebo on a nice raised deck area. It’s only work, I’ll get it done — someday.
The first step was the fun part:
I returned the old pergola to kit form and had it hauled off.
What you don’t see in this picture is that there is an irrigation pipe for those two trees that I need to find before I can do anything. We’re having problems with water in this side of the yard and I’ve already had to remove pavers to fix a leak so I’ve got a bit of plumbing to do before getting to the deck building stage.
That’s it for this week. I’m hoping to start posting a bit more, but if you need me, I’m out back digging up irrigation pipes.
Andrew's View of the Week 
I would’ve been all in with the up-front demo, but I’m not sure about the new build. I’m intimidated by the thought of fastening together large pieces of wood or pouring endless bags of concrete. Maybe it’ll turn out to be easier than it looks (esp. for a woodworker like you) but kudos for taking on this “big” project!
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Well, it will keep me busy.
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You came to mind just before your like came flying through, Andrew. =) Wonderful that your poetry is coming along well. Been doing some physical and mental “construction” there.
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Mercy, you are going to be very busy. But it will be a nice improvement! Last spring, we added a roof to our backyard deck and we love it.
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I’m going to be very busy. We have two pergolas without hard roofs and we get just enough summer thunderstorms that a covered area will be very welcome.
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It’ll look good! We just bought a metal frame gazebo that we’ll set up soon. The box says ‘instant’ so I’m hanging onto that word. 🙂 Good luck with the set-up.
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It takes awhile to set one up. The one I bought is all wood and I expect it to a few days to assemble.
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Man, you keep busy! Good for you. I thought the pergola was pretty. 😦
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The old one was okay, but in a wind it would swing about a foot back and forth at the top.
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Oh, yikes. That doesn’t sound good.
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It’s a big project, but it’s going be wonderful when it’s done! We’re into our spring projects now, too. There’s always more work than time (and energy). 🙂
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It’s a big one for sure. Likely it will take most of the summer to get it done.
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It is going to be awesome when you are done!
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Good to hear from you, Andrew. It will be a great addition to your place.
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We’re looking forward to getting it done.
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Please care for your back!!
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We replaced ours a few years ago. I like the better shade.
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It’s really about shade for us. The old structure just didn’t do it.
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A lot of hard work. Will you have somto help you with the heavy pieces ?Take care. Regards, Lakshmi
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We have family that will help me out.
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Wow, that’s a big project. Excited to see your progress. Do you have a picture of what it should look like when finished? Is it similar to the old one?
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I haven’t finished all the plans, but it won’t look anything like what was there.
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Ok, even more exciting/interesting.
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I had a pergola once, at a different house. It’s a nice idea, sort of. Depends on where the sun is. I have a covered raised deck with this house and much prefer it. But what a lot of work you’re looking at! (Poetry and jigsaws are much easier … )
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It is going to be a lot of work, but having a solid roof in this desert sun is going to be worth it.
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Hey, it’s also exercise!
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A lot of exercise!
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