Garden bridge? (Home Depot, to buy, fence)

[dragonfly0428]

Looking for a place that sells or makes garden bridges - to put over a backyard water pond. Maybe spanning about 5 feet. Not for actually walking across, just decor. Preferably wood.

Anyone have any ideas where in the Triangle I might be able to get one?

[MikeJaquish]

Amazon.com: New 5' Decorative Stained Finish Wooden Bridge Garden Pond Outdoor Decor: Home &…
There's one.

Locally, you might try a shed or fence builder.
Might find one at a landscape/garden center.

[brooks2007]

Not sure about local, but if this size will work it is a GREAT price!
Garden Bridge Decoration | Overstock.com

Oddly enough Sears carries them online:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/search_10...4&viewItems=24

Be sure to post a pic after you install!
.

[dragonfly0428]

Thank you both. Prefer to buy local if possible, but not having much luck. The outdoor place at the Farmers Market doesn't have anything, nor the place on Atlantic. Neither Lowe's or Home Depot. I guess I'm looking for one of those "hidden gems".

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by dragonfly0428

Thank you both. Prefer to buy local if possible, but not having much luck. The outdoor place at the Farmers Market doesn't have anything, nor the place on Atlantic. Neither Lowe's or Home Depot. I guess I'm looking for one of those "hidden gems".

Try the Fairgrounds Flea Market?

[emanresu2]

You can build one! This is actually a very, very easy weekend project! The hardest part is the railings, which you dont really need or you can do them later.

Since you only need a 5-6' bridge, you can build it with only 2 beams.

Here is how to do it. The bridge should really only take 2 people about 3 hours and all you need is a circular saw and drill, but adding rails may very well take twice this long.

Make the support beams our of 2 2x12x6 ft pressure treated boards. You will cut these into arches. Take a 1x4x8, bend it into an arch on the 2x12 using a nail on the top center and lower ends to hold it in place, trace the arch with a pencil. Cut this with a circular saw. Trace this pattern on the other 2x12, and cut them this into a matching arches. Use one of the 2x12s to trace a smaller arch along the bottom of the other arched 2x12, you will get an 8" tall curved board with tapered ends. Put a couple of 2x4s between them to hold them parallel, about 3' apart. Then screw down 5/4x6 deck boards, leaving ~4 inch overhangs. Then cut the ends off all the deck boards to make a smooth edge with a 2 inch overhang.

If you want to have rails, you can cut 2x4s (I used 4x4s but 2x4s should work fine for a smaller bridge) into 32-36" high posts, cut the end pieces so that the bottom ends match the slope of the arch. You will need 6 total (3 on each side, including 2 ends and once centered). You will need to notch the deck boards flush with the arched beams, and then attach the 2x4 posts to the beams. You can then either attach ropes for rope railings, or curve a 1x4 or 1x2 over the top of the 2x4s to make a curved railing. If you do this, you need to cut the top of the end posts to match the slope of the arch.

Stain it, and there you go, one 6', arched garden bridge! My 10' arched bridge with a 12' boardwalk cost $360 total, and these are 4' wide and have 3 beams instead of 2. A 6' bridge with 2 beams should probably be well under $100 and an easy one day project. And its much more fun to say that you built a bridge last weekend, rather than simply bought one!