Fairly recently I had built an arbor for the garden using branches cut from the surrounding property. Within less than one season the hastily made and rickety structure came crashing down into a heap of debris during a thunderstorm. Lesson learned.
I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. This time I would build it to withstand such storms by using logs.
A neighbor who had been clearing some additional land for pasture had the perfect timbers. The four to five inch diameters would provide a bit more heft and if properly fastened together, prepared and preserved the arbor should stand for quite some time. I hope.
Last time I built the arbor I had left the bark intact. Not this time. Leaving the bark on, although aesthetically pleasing, provides the perfect environment for insects and moisture to collect and deteriorate the wood. I had violated log building 101 – remove the bark.
In preparation, this time I scraped all of the bark off of the fresh cut logs.
I also treated the logs at the ends and where ever I drilled holes with marine antifreeze. This would be drawn into the log and help to prevent mold, mildew, rot and insects.
The arbor would be 10′ long 9′ wide and 8′ tall. At the base several types of vines have been planted and among them are a couple of root-stock I nabbed from my family’s 80 year old wisteria vine back in hometown Barrington, Illinois. Stock from this vie planted elsewhere on the property bloomed its second year and has aggressively covering a 5′ by 40′ arbor I built a few years ago. With luck, the wisteria planted here will do the same.
I laid out the logs in the driveway to fit them together and then began to fasten the posts and beams together using 10″ carriage bolts.
The heavy sections were transported to its final location straddling the stone path in the garden where assembly was completed.
There are a few details to complete the project but the sturdy structure is now in place. Once again I will go over the entire structure with the preservative and will most likely stain it so that it blends in a bit better with the house.
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