In Which Dummies Design a Pergola (2 by 4 Week 4)

Pergola roof

We're spending this looking at a distressingly common error at eHow, an error we suspect lies at the feet (or, more accurately, the fingers) of one of their "expert" content editors. We suspect this because one of our staffers had the exact same problem with a DMS editor. Whoever is responsible, the result is the monumentally stupid misstatement of the sizes of dimensional lumber, as demonstrated in "How to Build a Simple Pergola," written for eHow.com by returning DotD Rebecca Mecomber and niched at HomeSteady.com by Leaf Group before ultimately being deleted.¹.

Mecomber, whose qualifications are having once been a radio broadcaster, did the basic research and produced a set of plans that might work. She accomplished this by shamelessly rewording sets of plans from other websites like "Popular Mechanics" and The Family Handyman. The reason we included her here this week, however, is because of the last line of her introduction:

"The simplest pergolas take advantage of the standard lumber sizes available from any lumber yard."

Never mind that "lumberyard" is usually one word, not two: the next section in Rebecca's post is "things you'll need," which opens with

Four 4 foot by 4 foot by 10 foot posts Four 2 foot by 6 foot boards 2 foot by 4 foot boards Yup, that's right: the content editor changed 4-by-4 to "4 foot by 4 foot": we kid you not (and we found another twenty-odd posts in the Leaf Group niche sites with similar stupidities). Just in case you were curious, a hunk of southern white pine (density of about 41 pounds per cubic foot) measuring 4 feet x 4 feet x 10 feet would clock in at 160 cubic feet and weigh an astonishing three and a quarter tons!

Mecomber's unfamiliarity with woodworking projects crops up in other places, such as

• "Use the post-level [sic] to ensure that the post is level..." which we correct to "ensure that the post is plumb..."
• "Go to one side of the square to choose two posts to which you will attach crossbeams (rafters)..." Well, Becky, you don't usually attach rafters to the posts -- you set them on a header that stretches between the posts... see the image above...
• "Go back to the two posts from Step 1 and measure approximately 6 to 8 inches down on both the inside and the outside of the posts; mark this measurement with your pencil. This is the guideline for the top edge of the rafters you will attach here..." We dunno -- shouldn't you do something to make certain the "rafters" will be level? like use a carpenter's level or a line level?

The remainder of the post is just about the same level of expertise, brought on by Mecomber's unfamiliarity with the terminology of construction and complete unfamiliarity with the necessary skills. Small wonder Becky's picking up that third Dumbass of the Day award, eh?

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_6113073_build-simple-pergola.html

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