Garden Arch Tutorial

Hello all! This past spring I was asked to build a garden arch for the local Night to Shine prom and I was so honored! I decided to build a simple little arch and it turned out to be super cute.

Since the arch needed to be free standing with no anchors AND unable to be knocked over, I used 4x4s to give it some extra support. This thing was sturdy! Here’s how I broke it down.

I made a simple garden arch and I've got an easy step by step tutorial on how to build your own.

First, I built the arch. I used my X-Carve to cut out the sides of the arch and the holes, however this part could easily be done with a large hole drill bit and jigsaw. I cut out four arches – two for each side, however I only put the holes in two of them. Be sure and used treated, outdoor wood if you will be using this arch in an actual garden!

Once I had them cut out, I connected the two sides with braces.

I used dowel rods to connect the 4 sides. I threaded them through the holes and used glue and basic wood screws to attach the end pieces.

Once I had the arch put together, I added a 1×4 piece to the edges so that I would have a way to connect it to the sides.

Next, I built the sides. Like I said before, I built them out of 4x4s for stability. I used my Kreg Jig HD with 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws and wood glue to attach the pieces together.

Once I had the sides together, I placed it all together and realized it needed something a little extra.

I added lattice to the sides to make it a little prettier. I used a little piece of trim on both sides of the lattice to cover the imperfections and also to hold the lattice in place.

Then I filled any gaps and holes and painted it all white. I also added some trim around the bottom of the legs to make it look a little nicer. I attached the arch to the sides with a bolt drilled through the top 4×4 and the 1×4 part of the arch I mentioned earlier, making the arch removable from the legs for storage. That’s it!

The Night to Shine volunteers did an amazing job decorating the arch with lights and greenery.

The event turned out to be a great success!! If you’d like to learn more about Night to Shine Stillwater (and see the arch in action) click HERE. It’s a wonderful organization!

Let me know if you have any questions!

April

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