Step 1.

Step-By-Step

1. Set your posts. Size the tea house to suit your site. Ours is approximately 6 feet long by 3-1/2 feet wide. Site and erect four posts, setting them as deep as the frost line, but at least 24 inches deep and set in concrete. Trim the top of the posts to 6-1/2 feet (or a little taller) from the ground. For beams, we notched a motif at the ends of 2x6s and lag-screwed them to the posts. Check frequently to be sure that everything is plumb, level, and square.

Step 2.

2. Assemble trusses. Angle-cut 2x4s and assemble roof trusses with nailing plates as shown. (Cuts are either square or 45 degrees.) You'll need plates on only one side of each truss. Our design calls for a total of three trusses.

Step 3.

3. Set the trusses. Set each truss in place and toenail it to the beams. For appearance sake, arrange the trusses so the nailing plates holding them together face the arbor's interior.

Step 4.

4. Add the 2x2s. Nail 2x2s to the trusses and posts. Use a 2x2 to ensure equal spacing between boards and a short scrap of wood to assure that the ends of the boards extend the same distance beyond the outside trusses.