Pergola posts with brick bases

[sharonb]

The posts will be 100x100mm with a height of 2.2m, and 2m apart. I would be grateful for thoughts on minimum width the brick bases should be. Also advice on method of construction ie should post be inside the base or sitting on top in a shoe. The client is obsessed with ease of maintenance and although they will look nicer if posts go inside brick base I am not sure how easy that makes them to replace in future. What is best way of ensuring water does not get inside. Thanks to anyone who can help.

[lutonlagerlout]

really sharon the posts need to be concreted 600 mm into the ground and then 330 by 330 brick piers built around them for effect
those met post things you mention are a waste of space
but good quality pressure treated posts,and use bolts rather than nails for your binders and jiffy hanger for the joists
high quality treated timber is vital
i see a lot of failed pergolas ,always with 75mm posts and 75 by 50 joists
pay now or pay twice IYKWIM
cheers LLL

[lutonlagerlout]

or alternatively build a 330 by 330 pier all the way and sit your frame on the 4 brick piers,no wood in the ground to rot then
LLL

[sharonb]

Thank you. Your info was great but it appears if the posts do rot in the future then it would be practically impossible to get them out. My client originally mentioned having the complete pillars but in their garden I believe they would be too overpowering.

[digerjones]

or alternatively build a 330 by 330 pier all the way and sit your frame on the 4 brick piers,no wood in the ground to rot then
LLL

drill hole in center of posts 25mm then insert steel bar leaveing 2 foot. concrete the bar in ground build pillar as lll said pop timber over bar and build pergolar. just the way i might do it. you can also dress some lead over the top of pillar.

[lutonlagerlout]

the issue as i see it is that even treated timber has a life span
a lot of pergolas fail due to poor fixings,poor timber and the weight of wisteria and clematis all over them
I have done the 4 pillars in spiral brick work for added effect so that if the timber does go its only the binders and joists to replace

my mother in laws 2 bob job is on its last legs after 7 years and now she is going to lose her wisteria when i t collapses

food for thought
LLL

[henpecked]

The last job we did with this method we used oak timbers and built onto the pillar, 4 posts and braced to the wall. The village down the road (Hampton-in-Adren) had a few 16th century buildings with the oak beams still in place and exposed.