Wedding Pavilion that I'm building.

[westbrooklawn]

Eddie -

Absolutely beautiful project... your workmanship is always top notch. I would agree with a few others that the corner joinery on the railing would be one thing to change. You could get a welding/machine shop to take a 5x5 piece of flat stock and bend it into a 90... then drill screw holes, and powder coat or paint before attaching. I doubt they would cost you more than $5 each, and it would raise the finish quality of those joints to the same level as the rest of the structure. I know you don't take these types of comments as criticism... they are just constructive comments from folks that really appreciate your work.

 

[Western]

2x2 or larger angle iron would work, cut to length, corners ground and holes drilled..1/4" and you could counter sink the screws too.

 

[aczlan]

The long, 15ft 6in back section has some give to it. I used 5/8's threaded rod there, as it's the biggest size that I coudl fit in the tubing. It's very tight, but with the distance being so long, it will move on you if you lean against it. It's there, but not very bad and I don't think most people wil even notice it.

For the back rail, did you use 2x4s?
If so, you could put a piece of 2x2 (or 2.5x2.5) angle between the upper and lower boards that make up the top rail. That should make it much stronger and should be almost invisible from the inside.
Here is my drawing of how it might look from the end:


A piece of 2.5" flat stock between the upper and lower boards might work as well if you want the back to look nice as well, but a piece of angle iron might be stronger.

Aaron Z

 

[Ridgewalker]

Eddie,
In regards to the corner brackets that no one seems to like...why don't you reach to to Wrougten Harv (is that right?) on this site and get some ideas from him. I bet he could create something really slick and then you could say you two worked on a project together. Just a thought...

For the back rail, did you use 2x4s?
If so, you could put a piece of 2x2 (or 2.5x2.5) angle between the upper and lower boards that make up the top rail. That should make it much stronger and should be almost invisible from the inside.
Here is my drawing of how it might look from the end:
View attachment 152617

A piece of 2.5" flat stock between the upper and lower boards might work as well if you want the back to look nice as well, but a piece of angle iron might be stronger.

Aaron Z

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks for the suggestions and ideas on the corner brackets. I'm surprised that they came across as something that needed changing. I spoke to the client today, and she's more then happy with them. I don't see it either. I'm thinking that it must look worse on the picture then in person.

Today we're expecting some sever thunderstorms, so my goal was to get the top beams on the arbor. That went pretty quickly, and it was still dry out, so I put the 2x2'a on top of the beams.

Eddie

 

[czechsonofagun]

Sorry for stirring it up, Eddie I love wood joinery and never got used to metal connectors, maybe that's why I commented on it.

 

[EddieWalker]

No worries, I appreciate everyone who takes the time to make a comment.

The main reason for the metal bracket is because I drilled a 5/8's hole through the board to slide the 1/2 inch threaded rod through it. The end grain didn't hold up so well when I did this. I had to cover it up with something, and I also wanted to make it stronger.

It's function over form that I'd love to have something fancier in there. If it still looks bad after painting and staining, I'll go to plan B. I was thinking of a fancy gate hinge that I'd remove the pin and weld together. I have conflicting thoughts on that, so I'm holding off on making any changes.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Eddie, the curved arbor looks terrific. Let's cross our fingers and hope the treated lumber doesn't twist and separate at the glue joints. If it does, it may require a few carriage bolts installed through the face to pull it back together. I'd sure wait to see what happens after it gets a bit weathered and has the summer sun to do some drying. Do you know if they plan to put some flowering plants/vines on it? A wisteria vine would look really beautiful in the spring, but I'm not sure it would last all summer.

Eddie, I'm really not critical about metal brackets showing on my deck, especially on post caps and joist hangers. Inside my house, I didn't want the post cap brackets to show, so I had the finish carpenter construct "saddles" for the caps to make it look like the beam was sitting inside wood as shown in my attached photos. I'm only concerned with the corner brackets because they are more at eye level and they also have pan head screws. I'm sure you removed any burrs that could snag and stain might hide them sufficiently to be an non-issue. Ultimately, if the client likes it, it's perfect.

EDIT: You did such a good job of hiding the screws in the face of the arbor that I didn't see them. I had to go back and read your post and then strain my old eyes to see that the pieces are screwed as well as glued. I think they will hold up just fine.

EDIT 2: Hope you all weathered the storms last night. Canton and Van had a rough time.

 

[jayste]

Eddie, the arbor looks really nice. I think this will really come together when you get the flagstone in and the landscapers finish their touch. Good job.

 

[EddieWalker]

EDIT: You did such a good job of hiding the screws in the face of the arbor that I didn't see them. I had to go back and read your post and then strain my old eyes to see that the pieces are screwed as well as glued. I think they will hold up just fine.

EDIT 2: Hope you all weathered the storms last night. Canton and Van had a rough time.

Hi Jim,

The arbor is three layers of PT wood. The front and back pieces are cut at 15 degrees. The center part, which you cannot see, is straght. This way, my joints are overlapped, and should be very strong. I glued them together and then used 3 inch screws on both sides. Basically I screwd the front and back pieces into the middle piece.

Then for insurance, I ran four inch screws through it at every joint from the bad side. I cut select parts from the lumber for the ends that are exposed to picture. The middle part is also select cut, but not quite as critical. Those screws left pretty big holes in the wood, but with PT wood, they sort of fill in again.

I have some concern of how this will weather, but I'm trying to cover my bases and give them something that will still look good as it ages.

Thanks,
Eddie