When we bought our little ’59 rambler 18 yrs ago there was a small window looking out on to the back yard. I opened up that space to install a sliding glass door. It brightened our very dull kitchen but the summer sun was brutal on this south side of the house. A few years later I added a deck with the help of my brother-in-law, the master deck builder. Use was confined to early morning or evenings even with an umbrella over the table-just too much sun. Three years ago my wife asked me to put up a trellis on the west side of the deck with a slight overlap of the deck so she could grow some vines. I started out with no particular plan but soon realized that I would have to put a support post right in front of the opening side of the sliding glass door. At that point the project became a full-blown pergola. Once again, no formal plan I just kept building until it was solid. She planted some Aunt Dee’s Wisteria and Grape Valiant #2. Only three years later we now have all day shade. I don’t know how much my cooling costs have been affected but the kitchen is far more comfortable in the late summer afternoon. It’s a very nice spot for a morning cup of coffee, reading at mid day with an ice tea or visiting over adult beverages in the evening.
Max the Handyman 