It started with a shadow. Every afternoon around 3pm, the back patio turned into an oven — direct western sun, no relief. I'd been putting off doing something about it for two summers. Then I found a stack of rough-sawn cedar at the local mill, priced to move, and the decision made itself.

The design came from a bad sketch on a napkin. I wanted something that felt structural — not a kit pergola from the big box store, but something with real presence. Four 6×6 posts, double 2×8 beams, 2×6 rafters spaced to cast that perfect striped shadow. I drew it out, then redrew it three times before I was happy.

Weekend one was all footings. I rented a post-hole digger and hit clay at 18 inches — the kind that grabs the bit and doesn't let go. Ended up going 30 inches on each corner, poured 60lb bags of Quikrete, and set the post bases in while the concrete was still wet. That part went smoothly. The rest did not.

Weekend two: posts and beams. Getting four 10-foot 6×6 cedar posts plumb and level by yourself is a special kind of frustration. I built a temporary brace system out of scrap 2×4s that worked exactly well enough. The double beams went up with a rented scaffolding section and a lot of creative clamping. By Sunday evening it was standing. Barely.

Weekend three was the satisfying part — rafters, hardware, and finish. I used galvanized post caps and rafter ties throughout, which added a nice industrial detail against the warm cedar. Finished with a penetrating oil stain that brought out the grain. The first afternoon it cast that striped shadow across the patio, I sat under it for an hour and didn't do anything else.