Pergola ... in iron ... most economical route?!

[GrinAndBearIt]

Hi all

Now need to construct a 9m long pergola ... and wondering if any forum-ites had any advice on best way to pull this off without breaking the bank.

General design as in image ... ie. 7 x 2.4m high arches, linked by 7 long spans of more delicate ironwork. Apart from the actual archy bits (technical term, I know) ... my guess is that this can't be that tricky to fabricate? Perhaps do the 7 arches at a foundry, and then once in place on site, spot weld the long runners in place.

What is wrought iron these days per metre? I was seriously impressed with how economical the various bits of steel were when we constructed the house ... only hope I am surprised in the same way with this project!

Untitled

• GrinAndBearIt
• 19 Mar 2015
• 1

 

[Burnerman]

I think you might have a problem with genuine wrought iron......more suitable for you would be cold rolled mild steel or better still, galvanised steel.
Each frame would be fabricated flat, erected and maybe bolted together.
Do you intend to bury the legs in the ground or in concrete, etc?
Non galvanised stuff would rot through in a few years.
Obviously welding destroys galvanising ( and lungs) so the general format could be to do the fabrication and then have each section hot galvanised.
John

 

[GrinAndBearIt]

Ah .. yes ... actually looking further into it now, wrought iron may be the longest lasting, and perhaps most attractive option, but it will definitely NOT be the most economical route! Tempting to try to fabricate it in timber, but I don't think it will be easy to achieve that delicate look.

Given that hopefully it will soon be covered in roses etc, then actual finish not hugely important I guess.

The legs of the arches need to be sunk into a lawn ... so I'm guessing we should really have concrete footings for them.

 

[Burnerman]

One of the bigger issues would be to form that curved arch ......that's really a job for a foundry as the full length of steel would need to be heated.
An alternative would to have an arch with an apex, so the arch would in fact be fabricated from flat material.
Typically this pergola would be constructed from tantalised timber but thinking things through is time well spent.
If you go for steel, concrete footings would help, but corrosion would still be an issue......hence my galvanising thoughts.
Interested to know what you come up with!
Regards
John

 

[Mursal]

Would PVC be an option?
We bought lengths of white 50x50x2mm for €4 a length, so its worth shopping around.

Just an example of whats available
http://www.irishflooring.ie/product_info.php?products_id=7903

 

[GrinAndBearIt]

Um .. don't think that's going to have the strength to stand up to being covered in roses ... plus no idea how you'd create the arch etc. ... but thanks for thinking about it!