Backyard Thread - Pergola Up! - Finished!!!

Humble, that is the frame or studwork.
The bracing goes across this usually at 45 degrees to stop it flexing like a parallelogram.
Harditex (blueboard) is rated to act as bracing so should be ok.
I'm actually amazed that a council would allow the construction of timber framing that close to the boundary.
I know our council wont allow the construction of flammable materials that close to the boundary line without the installation of approved fire blanket. A construction like that would never pass our council.
Obviously different requirements in different areas.

It looks sufficient for its use, I understand the bracing, councils are funny things. I have been to them 3 times for permits and been told all 3 times not required. Including 70sqm of decking.

Obviously different councils requirements.
That structure would definitely require council approval and wouldn't get it where we live.
Looks nice however.

Hmm ok well hopefully the blue board will act as a sufficient brace. Worse case scenario I could remove the boards from behind and put bracing across. Pretty big job though.

As for council approval- the biggest concern they had was for my private open space. They declined at first but i managed to work something out with them and they were ok to attach a fully covered pergola after some persuading. Happy days !

With the roof being pitched so high however it still let's plenty of rain come in, especially when raining in hard at an angle. We do have intentions to add Cafe blinds to the sides however I don't think that it is possible to attach blinds to a raking face. One suggestion was to introduce a horizontal timber that would fix to house brickwork and across to the free standing wall. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas of how we could achieve cafe blinds on the ends of the pergola ?

Mike, you'll be fine. As I mentioned harditex is rated to be able to brace.
It looks great what you've done.
Plot ratio is always a concern as soon as you put roof cover on.
It's good when you can work with a council to find a suitable outcome.

Just for the record, in Victoria building surveying is privatised,even council surveying services are privatised, so council has nothing to do with building permits.

As for the rest of it BCA is Australia wide (there are state and territory variations) therefore fire rating provisions apply.

However if there is a building permit then it's all approved, full stop.

Well they somewhat do, they provide you information online in regards to whether you need one or not.

Example: http://www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/Our_Serv ... ion_Sheets

I meant they don't issue building permits any more, private building surveyors do.

One way would be to have a level fascia on the sides, and then have the blinds atatched on the inside face?

That is prob my only option, but in doing that, the blind won't be able to cover the entire opening as the horizontal fascia will stop near the gutter which would leave about 600mm gap to the wall.

*bump* just thought id see how its all going.

The render looks fabulous. Have you installed the BBQ yet?

....*sigh*.... in a life where things are too good to be true, they usually are. I have actually been ripped off with my BBQ. We put a deposit down for an item which was listed on eBay, we contacted the salesman and spoke many times on the phone, and put the deposit down ($1000) direct to their bank account. This company is listed with the ASIC etc so we did the full checks before hand. However things have gone very sour, and I have been in contact with 2 other people that were on the mailing list who have also been ripped off. We are currently going through stages with consumer affairs and the ACCC to see if we can have the deposit reimbursed. For anyone out there, please do not make any purchases through a company called Blueray Australia P/L - located in Keysborough - Melbourne. I have had contacts in Melbourne visit the premises and it is empty, and the neighboring business said they hadn't seen anyone their in months, and last he heard he was moving to Hong Kong!!

So as you can imagine, the backyard has come to a major halt. I've been stuffed around with a few landscaping companies also, failing on delivering quotes. Others coming up with ridiculous prices (ie - $17,000 for approx 49L/m of blockwork wall - heights vary from 200mm to 800mm).

We have come up with a new, more cost effective design for the back corner so hopefully this will reduce the amount of blockwork walls..

Any progress, i will be sure to provide some updates!

That is terrible Im so sorry to hear that. Fingers crossed you get your deposit back for your BBQ and find something more awesome.

Bugger about the landscapers, is it worth finding a couple of brickies and seeing if they are up for a cash job? Odds are, most would have built something similar in their backyard.

Hope it all sorts itself out soon and everything works out.

Good luck!

Any chance you paid the $1000 with a credit card or even a debit visa/MasterCard? I work in banking and if you did than just lodge a dispute and you should get your money back from your insurance on your card. Tip for everyone, buy everything, ESP big purchase with visa or MasterCard as they have amazing insurance for any goods or services that you didn't receive.

Yes Bee i did purchase through my bank visa. I have been meaning to contact them, i will contact them today regarding this. Thank you for your advise.

*edit* - ok ive spoken to my bank - they have put a lodgement in but they said lodgements usually will have to be within 3 months of the purchase... i made the transfer 19/4/12. He said he will lodge it still, see how we go. However he did say the process would take 6-8 weeks until i might hear anything? Does this sound about right Bee?

Bummer .... hope it gets sorted and you can finish off your project before the hot weather arrives ... you'll want to be outside enjoying it all

Hi all, its been quite a while since the render was applied but now things are moving again. Still have had no luck with the BBQ.. still working through with the ACCC but my bank wont refund the deposit which is a bit of a downer..

Anyway, a few more pics from last weeks works. Garden boxs and new screen wall in. We are putting timber slats where the blueboard has been left off. Either a feature screen or water feature to be placed where the blueboard wall is.

We've changed the overall design also, see below for 3D image of how it is going to look! we are using a timber bench seat as the raised garden bed perimeter, with stack stone cladding below. Similar to the pic below. Ohhh and we are extending the decking all the way to the rear wall now, shes gonna be a big one!

More pics to come in a the next couple of weeks!















And the 3D design!



We are also looking at incorporating a bio ethanol outdoor heater and tv to the alfresco wall.. all in good time.. love to be done before summer!

Such inspiration..

This has inspired us. We can see right into our neighbours house as they can in ours. That is a great idea.

hi all ! things are moving along well, all blueboard now rendered, just need the builders to come back and finish off the bench seat then ill start the deck.

I had a crack at building my first deck for the front porch (thanks to all the handy hints and tips on this forum). Turns out i SUCK at 45deg cuts on the mitre, but slowly working it out.

Here are some more progress pics!













And the deck slowly getting built, hopefully finish this weekend!







Actually just realised these pics dont show the deck picture framing im attempting.. will upload some pics when i finish off this weekend!