The most obvious method to outline your yard is to place up a fence. The cool method is to forget about the fence and just build a gateway — a portal from here to there that means a change of area without having a physical barrier. Materials are readily obtainable — 4 x 4s for the posts, 2 x 6s for the arches and braces, plus 1 x 6 stock ripped to width for the remaining pieces. You are able to use pressure-treated lumber if you can find straight, dry stock — warped wood can simply leave you frustrated. You might choose cedar as a carpenter-friendly alternative. You can paint it, or merely apply a sealer/stain. If you paint, initial use a stain-killing primer/sealer designed for exterior use. When gluing up the arch, use a water resistant glue plus be sure the wood is dry. Find out more about garden arbors here.
While you’re still in the designing stage, decide whether or not you’ll stick the posts in the ground, or use post brackets to secure them on concrete blocks, as many people do. A surface-mounted system keeps the arbor in place and uses less wood. But if you are planning to tie your Rottweiler to a post when the neighbor’s cat is out, burying the posts is a better option. In fact, if this is the case, you may want to rethink the fence.
Constructing the ArchesThe curved top items are made from 2 layers of 2 x six segments fixed along with screws and exterior glue. Every layer is half an octagon, rotated 22.5 degrees apart therefore the pieces overlap. To put out the curved pieces, first create a template of the arch; a stick together with a pencil hole bored in 1 end plus a nail driven at the other works as a compass one. Cut the mitered segments to length two, then temporarily screw the template to every arch set three and trace the curve. Once you’ve cut to the curved lines on every piece 4, screw the template to a layer of segments, spread glue plus clamp a second layer to the first. Then drive the screws five plus remove the template. Although cedar is soft enough to take a screw without a pilot hole, it’s an excellent plan to bore clearance holes in the top pieces. This permits the screws to draw the items tightly together. When the glue is dry, sand the curved edges smooth.
