finished arch — Believe it or not, all built with 2x4s

After we expanded the fence to create a larger yard in preparation for our pizza oven, we needed to create a matching arch for our gate.

While doing this we noticed that the first arch from the original white picket fencing was starting to rot - two new arches would need to be made. This wasn’t the easiest project for sure, but it was worth all the effort.

These arches would be the new frames for both our outdoor dining area and our pizza oven. They are also now the new home to both wisteria and grape vines that will grow up and over the arches for years to come.

Measure and draw out your plan. We already had the posts set.

Organize your work surface – we used a piece of plywood on top of an old large skid, which all sat on the trailer.

The idea was to glue the 2x4’s together and then with the router on a fixed, secure arm, carve the inside and outside radius.

This took multiple passes and even more patience. Then layer a second glued together 2x4 arch and do it all again so that you have an arch that is essentially 4x4.

We needed 2 of these built. Hours and hours of fun.

Now we needed to lift and secure them on top of the posts. This photo is of the 2 completed arches on top of each other.

A whole bunch of blood, sweat and tears happened next that I didn’t record thankfully and then …

We made wooden block details over the joints between the arches and the posts to fortify the structure and cross pieces to strengthen and keep it all square.