Build a DIY Trellis in a Weekend

This video shows how to build a DIY Trellis in a weekend (possibly in a day if you're not staining it). I needed this new trellis to support a big clematis vine in a small garden next to my garage. It blooms in early summer with the most beautiful purple flowers and we love it. For this, and any outdoor structure, it's always recommended to use pressure treated lumber so it will last a lifetime.

DIY Trellis Inspiration from This Old House

I found this picture on Pinterest, but it was shared from an article on This Old House that doesn't exist anymore. So I had to design it myself. No worries; I'm really good at copying things if I have an example (I'm not good at designing from scratch.)

 

I used a semi-transparent stain so the wood grain and imperfections show through, but it contrasts beautifully against the bright green clematis leaves. I can't wait until it blooms!

Although we have a side-entry garage, the trellis is highly visible from the street and it really adds to the curb appeal of our house. We love it.

DIY Trellis

Build this DIY Trellis

Materials

  • 2 – 4x4x8 pressure treated posts
  • 1 – 2x6x8 pressure treated board (for top and bottom rails)
  • 4 – 1x6x8 pressure treated boards (cut into 1.5″ lattice strips)
  • 1 – 1x4x8 pressure treated board (for center of lattice)
  • 2 – post caps
  • 2 – 8×8 concrete blocks (for footings)
  • 4 – 1/2″ x 8″ exterior lag screws (to join rails to posts)
  • 1-1/4″ and 2-1/2″ exterior deck screws
  • Behr Semi-Transparent Stain & Sealer (color=Russet)

To draw the curve of the top rail, I used the Radius Calculator that I created on another project.

The height of the bottom rail (and the length of lattice grid) can vary depending on your situation. I raised mine up to be visually the same line as the bottom course of siding (although you can't tell from this picture) and because I had a mature clematis already growing.

Remember, the post is buried 12″ into the ground, so that's why it shows 84″ as the height of the post.

If you want to build a freestanding DIY trellis that isn't attached to the house, you'll need to get longer posts and sink them 3 feet into the ground.

Metric conversion: 1″ = 2.54cm

Measurements for the DIY Trellis

DIY Trellis Measurements

 

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14 Responses

  1. ColinK says:

    Finished! Man, this is big and heavy but wife was impressed. I built inner trellis first using top and bottom pieces. I had 2 work tables on either side to lay down deck posts. Skipped lag screws and used Kreg Pocket jig to connect top/bottom rails and all cross members to posts (21/2”) screws. Used 1 1/2” nails at each trellis cross (new toy: nail gun!). Good project. Toughest part is finding a home for this bad boy…Did I mention it is BIG!?!?

  2. Chelsea says:

    Weird question but how tall is the middle of the arch in the top header board? We are trying to replicate this and aren’t liking what we have done so far. We really like the look of your top board though! Thank you!

    • Chris Heider says:

      The top and the bottom boards are 2×6 lumber, so the widest it would be is around 5 1/2 inches.

  3. Robert Mathis says:

    What is the size of spacers you use. Like to have a better diagram of the trellis.

    • Chris Heider says:

      You need to calculate the spacers based on the final dimensions of your frame and lattice pieces. Remember, I ripped my lattice pieces on the table saw so they weren’t a standard width. This is meant to be a DIY project that you customize to fit your space. The measurements shown are the best I have.

  4. Will says:

    This is great. Thank you for posting this. I just finished one similar thanks to your post. With the price of lumber right now I might have to take out a loan to build another one 😉 cheers and thank you again

  5. Anu says:

    It’s Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing the details.Can you please share the approximate total expenditure for this trellis.

  6. kevin says:

    Would it be possible to double the length of this tresil?

  7. Scott Cotterman says:

    I love your trellis build. Is there anything that you would do differently the next time?
    Any tips for a novice woodworker>

    • Chris Heider says:

      The only part that was challenging was driving the big lag screws working by myself. It would have been easier with another pair of hands! Or if I could have assembled it on a work bench. But who’s got a work bench that big?

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