Building an Arbor

Gardeners, fruit growers, and landscapers must be optimists.  I believe that every seed I sow, every tree and bush I plant will grow and produce.  The latest new experiment at the Back Forty is trying to grow muscadine grapes.  We have visions of lush and beautiful grape wines running up and down and across our 4 x 6 foot arbor built from PVC pipes and plastic lattice.

Arbor made with PVC pipes and plastic lattice

Material Used

The base for the top consist of four (4) half  inch PVC pipes using 1120 SDR which is more pliable than sched 40 and thinner.

Nine (9) 1 and 1/4 inch PVC sched 40 were cut from three (3) 10 foot PVC pipes bent and spaced evenly to form  the "dome".

Ten (10)  1 1/4 x 1 1/4 x 1/2 inch tees.

Four (4) 1 1/4 inch L's (elbows) for outside dome arches.

Four (4) 1 1/4 x 1/2 inch reducers used to reduce 1 1/4 inch diameter to 1/2 inch.

Sixteen (16)  1 1/4 inch tees
                                                                                                       
38 SS HEX HEAD TEK screws (more if you drop 'em and can't find them on the ground).  It may be less expensive to buy the box since it may cost 60 cents/screw.

Cement for PVC pipes.  Use cement on only one "strip" on the inside of tees and fittings. It is not necessary to have the arbor joints water proofed.  This will be sufficient and will eliminate drips and you touching the cement and getting all gooey.

Two (2) 4 x 8 plastic lattice which are easy to carry in the car because of its flexibility

Tools Used

PVC pipe cutter

Drill for making pilot holes for fastening lattice with the screws

Level and Rule

Posthole digger and/or shovel

M husband first sketched out the arbor on paper.  The reason he built a "dome" was to match the PVC pipes used with the netting over the pond to keep the heron away.  It could have been built flat or left off.

Tee, Elbow, and Reducer

We are planning to put five grape vines inside the arbor: one in each corner and another in the middle of the back side.  The arbor is in a sunny location and near a water supply.

 The most important purpose for the arbor is to provide the vines with a sturdy structure to climb on and to allow easy access for us to harvest the grapes.

We constructed the two sides first, then the backside, and put them together.  The construction took place elsewhere in the yard and was moved to its present location where the four corner poles were put about two feet into the ground.  We don't want this to blow away.

My husband used a post hole digger and made sure they were equally deep into the ground.  He used a level to make sure that the post did not lean but stood straight up.  He also made sure that the sides and the backs were level.

The reason we made an arbor from PVC pipes is although wood is beautiful it will also rot in a few years.

Thank you for visiting my blog.