How to Build a Grapevine Arbor

How to Build a Grapevine Arbor

Add a pretty architectural element to your garden with a DIY arbor that doubles as a trellis for climbing vines.

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What You’ll Need

• post hole digger
• wheelbarrow
• (2) 4×4 x 10′ exterior treated posts
• bag of gravel
• cross check level
• shovel
• miter saw
• (2) 2×6 x 8′ exterior treated boards

• (2) 2×4 x 8′ exterior treated boards
• (8) 3”x3/8″ lag bolts
• (8) 3/8″ washers
• 3/8” socket bit
• drill
• (3) 3” exterior wood screws
• 2 grapevine plants

Dig Holes

Use a posthole digger to create holes two-feet-deep for beams (Image 1), spaced seven feet apart. Place dirt straight into the wheelbarrow and keep it close so you can use it for backfill (Image 2).

Set Posts

Place one 4×4 post beam into the first hole and add some gravel. Use a cross-check level to ensure the beam is plum (Image 1). Fill in the hole with dirt from the wheelbarrow (Image 2). Repeat the same process on the second hole (Image 3). Add temporary braces to posts to keep everything in place for the next steps (Images 4 & 5).

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Cut Wood

Use a tape measurer and pencil to measure and mark 1-1/2 inches down from the top of both 2×6 boards, on all four ends (Image 1). Place a miter saw at the mark, then cut a 45-degree angle under the 1-1/2-inch mark (Image 2). Repeat on all ends. Cut 2×4 boards into 26-inch rafter pieces. Then, cut the ends of those pieces at a 45-degree angle, 1-1/2 inches down from the top to match the 2×6 boards (Image 3). Each board will have a 1-1/2-inch flat end above an angled cut (Image 4).

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Build Arbor

Pre-drill holes on the 2×6 boards where they will be attached, then use lag bolts with washers to secure them to the beam posts (Images 1 & 2). Use two bolts on one end of the board and two on the other. Repeat on the backside of posts with the second board. Rest the 2×4 rafters across the tops of the 2×6 beams, ten inches apart. Secure with three-inch exterior screws drilled in at an angle (Images 3 & 4). Remove temporary braces from bottoms of the beam posts. For visual instruction on this step, watch the video at the top of this article.

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Shain Rievley

Plant Grapevines

Dig a wide hole for the grapevine plants close to each post. Break up the roots before placing vine into the ground (Image 1). Fill with soil amender. Water heavily once planted as grapevines require a lot of water to establish (Image 2). Use garden twine to twist vines up and around posts and train the vines as they grow (Image 3).