You might find it difficult to believe, but building an arbor for your garden landscape can actually be quite inexpensive. If you keep the arbor relatively small, to a two-post size, you can have a very attractive landscape feature for a small cost. Even the novice landscaper can build a small arbor without too much trouble in about two days (probably three at the most). It can be a very rewarding project that provides a sophisticated sense of beauty to your overall landscape design.

When it comes to building your arbor it is sensible to think about it as five distinct phases. This will not only help you to break the project down into realistic goals but will also help you to accomplish the task more easily. Breaking any large projects down into sections always helps the landscaper, as he or she will find that the task does not seem quite so daunting when done in bite-sized pieces. Additionally, a sense of accomplishment at the end of each stage can help the landscaper stay motivated throughout the project.

The first stage in building your arbor is to prepare the site for concrete placed under the ground to secure the structure. In order to lay the concrete, you need to first get some things out of the way. Dig two holes where you want the posts to stand. The holes should be one inch wide and three inches deep. Put half an inch of gravel or crushed stone inside the holes. This will help water drain away, preventing cracks later on in the concrete. Set one post in each hole and lay a board on top of them. Use a carpenter's level to determine whether or not your posts are standing at equal heights. Adjust, if necessary, until the level shows that your posts are equal in height. If it will help you then you can use scrap lumber, nailed to the posts, to form temporary stabilizers.

The second stage is anchoring your arbor posts (they should be 4x4 posts) into the concrete. Before doing this, check again for equality in height with threaded rod for 3d printerthe stabilizers in place and make your adjustments to the stabilizers to adjust the height. Next, mix your concrete using concrete mix and water from a garden hose in a wheelbarrow; use a shovel to stir the concrete to ensure that you mix it well. Pour the concrete to fill each of the holes and then allow at least a day for the concrete to dry. You can remove the stabilizers once the concrete has hardened.