Rafter bracket3/16/2023 ![]() ![]() Use a level or a right-angle triangle to determine how perpendicular your rafter is. Tip: After you’ve screwed in one HD kreg screw, remove the clamp. Using HD kreg screws (2-1/2” heavy duty pocket screws that are rated for outdoor use), attach your rafter to the frame. Grab your right-angle kreg clamp for the end of your rafter that you’re connecting to a floating frame board.Īt the center mark (these should be marked as lines on the top of your frame boards), with your pocket holes facing the “back” side of your pergola, use the right-angle kreg clamp to hold your rafter board in position. These pocket holes should share the same face of the board so that one side of your pergola rafters looks like they’re floating. This secures the HD jig into place, both from the end of your board and onto the face of your board.ĭrill two pocket holes, each about 1” away from the sides of the board, onto each end of your rafter. ![]() Press down firmly with one arm as you drill your pocket holes. Have a helper place his/her foot up against the end of the HD kreg jig to hold it against the end of your board. ![]() The jig is going to want to kick out from under you as you drill. You are going to use the HD kreg jig to drill two holes per end on your rafter board. Mark, then cut this length with a miter saw. Measure, at your center marks, from the inside edge of your frame to the inside edge of your center beam to determine the length of rafter you need. The ratcheting strap will hold the beam until the first rafter, on the right-side section here, is installed. You can see here how the center beam is completely straight now. Don’t be afraid of a little creaking or complaining of the wood when you tighten this up. You’re going to need to watch this center beam closely you don’t want to overtighten, as that will cause the opposite problem. Now begin ratcheting the strap tight, which will pull the center beam straight. Be sure you’re not wrapping the strap around the part of the beam that the rafter needs to connect with. The other end of the ratcheting strap will loop twice (it’s only shown once here, but you’ll want to do twice) around the center beam, just slightly off-center, then hook to itself. Once the screw eye is fully secure into the center of the wall-mounted frame, you can hook one end of a ratcheting strap into the screw eye. We chose the center point because we will be installing our center rafters first, and the rafter will completely cover the screw eye hole once the eye has done its job and is removed. Tip: To install a screw eye, simply get it started into the board with your hands, then use a screwdriver through the eye to tighten it. So, our first order of business is: straighten the center beam.Īt the center point on the wall-mounted frame boards, we quickly installed a (temporary) screw eye. ![]() This will be a problem if we try to install rafters to a center beam that’s not straight. Unfortunately for us, our center beam boards are a bit bowed. If you have a center beam, as this pergola does, you’ll want to find center on each side of the beam. The installation of each rafter is fast, the connection is secure, and it will last as long as the bracket method…but for much less cost.īefore you begin installing your pergola rafters, you’re going to want to find center on your perpendicular frame boards. Of course, construction isn’t all about aesthetic appeal – you want the finished product to be as safe and secure as it is stylish. However, because brackets are required for use on each end of each board, they do not provide a clean, modern aesthetic. The brackets are graded for outdoor use, and they hold the lumber in place securely and safely. Metal brackets are a popular and excellent material to use when building a pergola. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install pergola rafters quickly, relatively easily, and inexpensively – without brackets. If you have your pergola posts in, your pergola frame installed, and your pergola rafter lumber stained, you’re probably ready to move onto finishing up your wood pergola by installing the rafters. ![]()
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