Timber Frame Arbor Before and After: A Side Yard Gets a Focal Point
Before
AfterThe same corner of the yard, before and after a 6×10 freestanding arbor in Rich Cordoba stain.
A timber frame arbor gives a garden or side yard a place to go. Before, this corner was lawn, a fence line and a planting bed. After, it has a destination: a spot to set a bench and sit, and a piece of timber architecture to look at from the kitchen window.
Nothing else in the yard changed. The fence, the shrubs, the curved bed and the view of the mountains are all where they were. The arbor simply gives that corner a frame.
How a Timber Frame Arbor Kit Goes Together
- Cut and fit before it ships. Western Timber Frame™ pre-cuts, pre-drills and test-fits every piece in the shop, so assembly in the yard is about putting parts together, not measuring and cutting.
- Drop-in rafters. The rafters drop into place on the beams, which keeps the install simple.
- A quick install. An arbor like this goes up in an afternoon to a day with a crew, or a day to a weekend DIY.
The timbers join with the patented Dovetail Difference® (U.S. Patent 9,797,149 B2), a dovetailed mortise and tenon joint that locks wood to wood. It keeps the connections clean, with no brackets or plates on display.
Our standard engineering starts at 115 mph. Where the project requires a higher design wind speed, the structure is engineered for that requirement. Snow loads are set for the address where the arbor will stand, which matters in mountain yards like this one.
More Timber Frame Arbor Ideas
An arbor can mark the entry to a garden path, frame a gate, shelter a bench, or stand on its own as a focal point at the end of the lawn. See the arbor and trellis kits for sizes and styles.
