Strombrella, or Covered Arbor

Snow is gone, at least for now, so time to start thinking of venturing outside again.

Designed and built this a couple of years ago. When we downsized to our new home, the previous owner had a rose arbor that the roses had engulfed and destroyed.

Being a nice guy, I promised my wife I would get her a new one for her birthday. This let to several trips to all the local garden centers that only found ones that where too small, and sort of boring, not to mention so lightly built that one bump with the mower would dislodge them.

Even though this was planned as an arbor, it morphed into a Strombella since we decided that we didn’t really want the darn roses anyway.

The cat is a replica of one in a museum that we had sitting on the porch, so my twisted sense of humor couldn’t resist giving it a new home.

Construction is PT, using 4 X 4 for the uprights and 2 X 4 for the cross members. Arch is from 2 X 8. It is roofed with white cedar. Fastening is by ¼” and 3/8” lags with washers, countersunk in dados, and covered with the PT strapping plus some deck screws. Legs are not cemented, but are about 1 foot into the ground.

Cost of materials was more than the Garden Center ones, but well worth the extra expense.

Even with our New England winters, this has not moved in three years

-- Paul from New England "No man is a failure who is enjoying life". William Feather