Equipment
- 1 screw gun
- 1 screwdriver (any type)
- 4-8 cinderblocks
Materials
- 4 4x4x8 lumber pressure-treated
- 2 60-lb high strength concrete mix
- 24 eye-screws exterior
- 4 concrete retaining wall blocks any color
- 8 fence pickets pressure-treated
- 1 roll nylon mason line twine any color
- 8 2" exterior wood screws
Instructions
- On level ground, dig 3' wide holes for 2 of the 4 x 4s about 1-1.5' deep spaced 6 feet apart. Dig another 2 holes spacing them to whatever length you want your trellis to run. (We chose 10')
- Mix and pour cement. We used old 5 gallon buckets and cinderblocks to hold them in place. Allow 24hrs for cement to fully harden.
- Stack 2 retaining wall blocks 6' out from two of the 4 x 4s that are 6' apart. Slide a fence picket into the blocks and line it up with the 4x4. Stack a second picket on top, then repeat on the opposite side. Continue stacking to make a box. Once the boards all lined up, screw them in place with wood screws where they meet the 4 x 4s.
- On the inside of the 4x4s attach 20 eye screws so that they're facing each other. Mark 1.5" from the top and mark every 6" down 9 more times. Add an eye screw 1.5" from the top of the 4x4s on the inside where the beds will face each other. (Predrill holes with a screw gun, then used a screwdriver to slide into the eye screws and turn until secure.)
- Starting at the bottom eye screw, string the twine from one side to the other. Run the twine up to the next eye screw before pulling it across to the opposite eye screw. Repeat this process to make horizontal lines. Tie off the twine at the last screw on the top corner.
- Pull a line of twine about twice the width of the horizontal lines. Tie it at the starting screw and make a diagonal line down and secure with a basic knot. Run the line up diagonally (the opposite way) to make a triangle and continue the pattern to the last eye screw in that row, tie off and cut. Repeat this for all rows.
- To run the top: Twist two pieces of twine together that run the length of the trellis. Starting at the first eye screw, pull the line from one post to the other and tie off. Repeat on all sides to form a box around the top. Tie a new line starting from the top of each triangle and attach it to the line directly across. Weave a new line through each existing line tying a knot where each section meets.
Notes
If you have trouble leveling by sight, you can measure and mark the same length up on each post a foot above where the ground level will be once the posts are buried and then tie a line around each post to make a grid.