Trellis Progress

I got a good days work in today. All that remains is the cross bracing on the top and the flashing over the posts and joints. Rain tomorrow so the completion will have to wait till Monday/Tuesday.

Head Room

And, did Jonathan say he could walk between my legs?

Trellis Design Question

Somebody thinks that the trellis design is faulty such that one will bump their head into the braces when walking down the path to the setps. Since I couldn't get a photo of me actually doing that - walking down the path - here is the next best thing from the design drawing. The figure in this drawing is six feet tall.

Trellis - Progress

A couple of nice days and the post joints are all bolted and glued and the corner braces are all in place. Next will be the 2x4's across the top. Stay tuned...


Notice the half lap joints. I was going to do full lap joints but then I decided it was too much work.

Elmcroft Estate

The Elmcroft estate on Amity Road in Woodbridge, Connecticut was purchased by my parents in 1942. Other than a short absence for two years in 1947 during which we lived in Malaya, my mom had been a resident since then - a total of 64 years. My brother and I grew up here and went to school in Woodbridge. My brother George has been a resident here in Woodbridge his entire life. I remember the winters when I was growing up and the hissing steam radiators that never got hot enough to warm the room or me.

Here is the main house, built in 1760 with a few additions and it sits on 5 acres of beautiful Connecticut lawns and woods.

Here is a view of the back of the house, the porch that my mom enjoyed so much and the terrace with the little goldfish pond. You can see the old trellis to the left with the beautiful wisteria vines. Since it was constructed of cedar, it was probably built over a hundred years ago.



And here is the side of the house were we all entered for those wonderful holiday and birthday visits over the years.

And then there is the carriage house. Built in 1800, the main garage can house two large carriages or five cars. To the right is a five room apartment which is rented out. In the back is a three stall stable and above is a hugh hay loft.

And, this picture tour would not be complete without a winter scene.

And then, there is the magnificent sweeping porch that adorned the home at the turn of the 20th century.

More Elmcroft Trellis

Today George and I completed erecting the other two posts and the remaining 2x6 skirt. Still lots of work to go. The gluing and bolting of the pieces together will have to wait for a few dry days when the wood is dry.

Rebuilding the Trellis at Elmcroft

The wisteria trellis on the terrace came down in a rain storm at the end of May, after mom had been taken to the hospital and Hospice. She passed on a few days later. We never told her that her beautiful wisteria trellis had come down. So, we decided to rebuild it.

First we had to pour concrete into the two existing footings where the old cedar posts had been encased. We decided to use steel spacers to hold the new posts off of the concrete. Then we had to pour two new footings near the house where the old cedar posts had just been sunk into the ground.

Now we are erecting the new trellis using pressure treated lumber.

Since the footings are not level one to the other, we start with the shortest 6x6x8' post on the highest footing. The we place the next 10' post and level the 2x6 for cutting the rabbet joint.

That's as far as we got today because of the periodic rain.