Simple Gate Arbor

The simplest type of arbor used with gates is a square arbor. It is comprised of posts which extend up to a given height, with a latticed platform across the top. Generally lattice is also applied up the sides, between the posts, to allow for vines to be trellised up to the top.

However, in some cases the structure is left bare of foliage. In this case a lot more care should be taken in construction, as any imperfections in the build will be much more noticeable than they would be if a leaf canopy was concealing the structure.

Arched Gate Arbor

A much more complex design for a gate arbor, the arched arbor can be both beautiful and functional. This creates a much smother transition from vertical to horizontal, resulting in easier climbing by vines and less stress and distance for them to have to deal with.

However, building an arched arbor for a gate requires a lot more skill and work than the simple box variety. Curves can be difficult to fabricate, especially when you need to create 4 very similar curves on such a large scale.

Triumphal Arch Gate

This type of gate arbor is a hybrid of the simple gate arbor, and that of the more complex arched arbor. This is due to how the outer structure of the triumphal arch is squared, but the inner one is curved. A good example of this type of arch is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

When building an arbor of this type, first you build the simple gate arbor. The only real difference is at that point you need to attach arched members across the top of the front and back of the arbor. This will give the appearance of an arched entryway in a squared arbor.

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You see these very often over gates in fact. Another common place you might see arched arbors are in outdoor weddings, where the arbors (and flowers growing on them) are used both to create a sense of an outdoor room and as decoration at the same time.

Knowing how to create these arched arbors, and how the increased complexity will affect your costs and amount of work necessary, is important to being able to determine which style of arbor will be right for you.

Arbors Over Gates

Perhaps the most commonly seen arched arbor is the one that is built over fence gates. It’s almost a given that the white picket fences in your middle class neighborhood are going to have this type of arbor over the gate.

There is a good reason why arched arbors are used so commonly over gates. Of course it’s a beautiful design, but it’s also functional. The arch will help keep the vines and shoots from having to traverse corners, and reduces the distance they must travel to reach the top. This can be an important consideration in some cases where the vines or shoots are very delicate, or where they don’t grow for long distances.

It also will allow for more headroom with any given amount of materials used.

Simple Arched Looks for Arbors

One way to get the arched look for an arbor without having to increase the complexity of the design much is to simply build a square arbor. Then across the top of the sides of the arbor, an portion with a curved surface on the bottom can be attached.

This leaves the structure of the arbor as a very simple design that uses 90 degree angles and will be easy to build. At the same time, once the vines are growing over the arbor, it will be difficult to distinguish it from an actually arched arbor design.

The “faux” arched arbor works at creating this illusion when the arbor will be adorned by very thick foliage. However, sometimes the structure of the design is it’s own draw, and can be quite beautiful even when not masked by foliage. This can result in an arch that looks more like a triumphal arch. For instance, it can look a little bit like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

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That shading can of course be welcome, but it can also be detrimental to sun loving plants. For that reason, designing a garden arbor requires integrating the design into not just the arbor, but the garden as a whole.

Arbors for Shade

One of the main draws for arbors in general is to create a shaded area. Knowing how to work this into a garden can help you not only have a more comfortable place to work or rest while enjoying the beauty of nature, but also can help you to create a more beautiful and productive garden.

The key is to understand how plants react to shade. Some types of plants want full sunlight, and will not grow and may be more prone to disease in the shade. Moisture on leaves can be a real disease risk for many plants, and so by not allowing the sunlight to warm up and help dry out the leaves, you can end up with a lot of molds and mildews affecting the health of your garden.

However, there are plants which are shade tolerant, and even those which prefer the shade. By knowing which plants will thrive in which conditions, you can better design the layout of your garden to go with the shade of the arbor.

Arbors to Increase Productivity

Arbors can function just like trellises in many regards. While generally speaking a trellis is less aesthetic and more functional, they can provide the same advantages to the plants. Designed right, an arbor can bring most, if not all, of what a trellis has to offer in fact.

When designing an arbor to increase the productivity or health of your garden, bear in mind the type of plants that you will be training onto the arbor, and what their needs are. Vines which like to climb usually are much more healthy when they are allowed to do so. This is because by creating space between the leaf canopy and the ground, soil borne diseases are much less likely to transfer form the soil to the leaves.

It also opens up a lot of air space to increase air movement, which helps the leaves to dry out more quickly. Many pests of garden plants will try to hide underneath the leaves from predators (including gardeners). By opening up space below the leaf canopy, predators are more likely to be able to spot and eliminate these pests.

So an arbor for your garden can help increase not only the beauty of your garden, but also it’s health.

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The same design principles apply to both though, even if the scale changes. Essentially an arbor is meant to allow vines to climb or be trained up over the lattice, giving a shape to the plant that otherwise would be difficult or impossible to obtain.

At the same time this can open up space underneath the plant canopy. This can simply be an aesthetic effect, or can also provide for functional shaded area for other plants or even to create comfortable outdoor living spaces.

The Simplest Arbor

The simplest arbor designs are generally vertical arbors which act much like a trellis. These arbors can be attached to walls, fences, or other existing structures. They are comprised of a lattice of wood in most cases, usually with some sort of framing to stabilize it.

This lattice can be purchased at home improvement centers, which makes it extremely easy to construct an arbor from. Nailing or screwing the lattice to a wooden frame, then attaching it to a vertical surface with standoffs to allow the plants to wind around the lattice, is all that’s really needed to create a beautiful and functional arbor.

These types of arbors are great for creating privacy screens between posts or along deck or porch railings. They will also provide some cooling effect by allowing the plant canopy to intercept sunlight. This can be a very green sort of structure (visually and effectively) on the side of a home, where it can greatly reduce the energy required to keep the house cool in the summer.

The great thing about this type of shading for the home is that in the winter when you want the heating effect of the sun, the plant canopy has died back, allowing the sunlight to pass through mostly unhindered.

Slightly More Complicated Arbor Designs

Sometimes an existing structure can’t be relied upon to attach an arbor to. In such cases the arbor has to become the structure itself. These types of arbors are very similar to pergolas and trellises.

A very common type of arbor is a horizontal one, kept off the ground with posts and set on crossbeams. The height of the arbor can vary quite a bit, and it’s a good idea to bear in mind the growth habit of the plants that will be trained onto it. Too high, and the vines or shoots may not reach high enough to cover the arbor.

In some cases you could integrate pots into the arbor so that plants which don’t normally climb high enough can still reach the arbor lattice. Often these sorts of plants are not climbers at all, and so the arbor needs to be built in such a way as to support the plants rather than provide a route for climbing tendrils.

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Lower Energy Bills with Natural Shade Canopies

One of the more energy intensive appliances in the home is the air conditioner. During hot summer days central air conditioning can be drawing over 6 kilowatts, which is more than the entire rest of the home will likely draws on average. Almost 3 times as much as the average home in fact.

This is a lot of electricity going to try to offset the heating effects of the sun. It’s no wonder that it’s such a big task, as sunlight delivers a kilowatt of energy per square meter, and there’s an awful lot of square meters surface area on your home.

Thankfully the sun is never shining on all sides of your house at once, which dramatically decreases the amount of energy it absorbs. The insulation factor on your roof and siding can help mitigate this as well. Still, a lot of energy is left to the air conditioner to offset.

This is where arbors and other types of trellises can really be a big boon. The leaf canopy of vines growing on the arbor will intercept some of the sun’s radiation before it can heat the house, and thus save you lots of money on your electric bills.

Arbors on the South side of homes are especially useful in the Northern Hemisphere, given the inclination of the sun in the sky. In some cases people literally cover their south facing walls with ivy growing on arbors and trellises, which can often negate the need for air conditioning completely. Now that’s what I call “green living”!

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by Trellising Fruits and Vegetables

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Often you find arbors built over gates in fences. Sometimes you will find that the fence is used as a trellis for climbing vines. You can even combine these approaches to have a simple arbor over your fence gate.

More extensive arbors and trellises aren’t really that much more expensive than the fence itself. It could be as simple as some wires running paralell to the fence, where vines can crawl and cover to provide a natural touch.

More Elaborate Fence Arbors

Sometimes the look you want just isn’t available using climbing vines. Many types of roses for example look spectacular on arbors, but won’t do much of the climbing themselves. Other times you may want to grow productive plants such as fruits and vegetables. And in many cases, the height of the arbor may limit what types of plants that can grow up high enough to take advantage of it.

Integrating potting areas into the fence or arbor are one way to eliminate these problems and open up a whole range of possibilities. Even plants which can’t stand up under their own weight can be draped across an arbor if they are planted high enough in relation to it.

Not only will this benefit the look of your arbor, it can dramatically help the health of your plant. By being raised off the ground, many of the pests and diseases that could affect the plant will be eliminated from causing any damage! This is one way to grow those tender vegetables and fruits without having to worry so much about spraying pesticides to keep them healthy.

A Sketchup Model of a Fence Arbor Design

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In some cases though, arbors are used more like pergolas in that they are meant to provide aesthetic value with their structure, rather than serve as a trellis. (Though of course, sometimes pergolas are used as trellises as well!) In these cases, you should spend more time looking for a well designed arbor, rather than settle for a simple yet functional one.

Using Google Sketchup to Design Your Own Arbor

Search Through Arbor Models in 3D Warehouse

The great thing about Sketchup is how easy it is to learn, and then to create geometric structures. Google even has an online repository called 3D Warehouse for sketches that other users have created. You can browse through and use ones you like as a starting point or just look at them for inspiration for your own design ideas. There are hundreds of arbor and pergola models already available, and all for free!

If you can’t find something suitable, you can easily download a model that is close to what you want, and then extend upon it or modify it to fit your needs. This can be done in a matter of minutes in some cases, though extensive modifications are likely to take much longer. Certainly there is a bit of a learning curve there, but it’s rather simple compared to most drawing and CAD programs.

Drawbacks to Using Sketchup to Design Structures

While Google Sketchup is rather easy to use, the free version is missing some things which make professional tools more useful to advanced users. There is a paid version of Sketchup that includes more tools and features, but even then it’s not going to be as useful as a professional CAD studio.

However, for most users Sketchup will be just the right blend of ease of use, and useful features. It’s free to download, so why not give it a try?

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Different types of wood can have very different qualities. Some types of wood just aren’t strong enough to use for construction of even lightweight structures like arbors. Others are strong structurally, but can’t stand up to the elements and so make bad choices for outdoor use.

That means when building an arbor for your gate, deck, or garden, it’s important to choose the right type of wood. You can save yourself a lot of headaches down the road by doing so, as you won’t have to deal with the constant repairs that rotting or termite infested wood can necessitate.

Types of Wood for Arbor Construction

There are a few types of wood that excell in outdoor use. The main characteristics you are looking for is resistance to water damage and insect pests like termites. Generally speaking, wood is strong enough against ultraviolet light that you don’t have to worry about that aspect. (At least not as far as structural integrity is concerned. It is important to protect your wood against UV damage if you don’t want the color to fade!) Following is a brief description of types of wood that are readily available, easily worked with, and naturally weather resistant.

• Cedar

  This red/orange wood has natural oils that help repell water and insect pests. This makes cedar a great choice for outdoor construction projects like pergolas and arbors where the structural members will be exposed to the elements. It’s still important to protect the wood from UV light if you don’t want the rich reddish orange color to fade to a dull gray. Also, keeping the wood protected will help extent it’s lifespan. While Cedar does have natural resistances, it still can be degraded by weathering over time.

• Redwood

  As the name would suggest, redwood has a beautiful deep red color to it. Like cedar though, this color will fade over time if not protected from ultraviolet rays. Redwood has similar weathering characteristics to cedar in most ways, though it will weather to a much darker color in most cases. Redwood is strong and the grain is beautiful, especially when stained or sealed.

• Teak

  Teak is another favorite building material for outdoor use. Very popular in patio furniture, teak’s lighter yellow color makes it a good choice if you’re going for a more open look and feel. Natural oils in the wood protect teak from water damage, and from termites as well. As with any wood though, you still will see a benefit from applying a sealer or other protectant to slow down the weathering of the wood.

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