The Arbor

If you're looking for a leafy way to put a special part of your yard in the shade, why not construct an arbor and drape it with a gracious canopy of vining plants?

Erect this structure in only a couple of days, several days apart: one to dig postholes and set the posts, another -- after the concrete cures -- to cut and assemble the components. We used pressure-treated 4x4s for the posts and redwood for the superstructures.

Making the tea-house's trusses isn't as tricky as you might think: You simply miter one end of two rafters, lay them out on a flat surface, then measure and cut the cross brace. For the short, vertical stud, make two miter cuts on one end. This creates a point that fits up into the peak, providing rigidity.

Secure the joints with special galvanized metal truss nailing plates, available at most lumberyards and home centers. Some plates come with separate nails, others have sharp prongs that you pound into the wood. Space the posts no more than 6 feet apart. If you want to extend the distance to 8 feet, increase beam sizes from 2x6 to 2x8.