Pergola / Patio in a Rental

[paulmp]

Hey All,

My first post here... just after some advice or recommendations. We're moving into a rental this week, the house is great but there is no patio / pergola / alfresco area. The owner has put down some decking of sorts, which should be just enough for us to put our BBQ on.

I'm thinking of putting up either 2 gazebos (3m X 3m each making a 6m x 3m cover), or some sort of semi-temporary structure so that we can use the area outside over our wet season of winter. Has anyone previously had to deal with anything like this.

We're planning to only be in the house for 18-24 months while we sort out our deposit and start building our house (with a massive alfresco), so we'd like something that will last that long at least and won't blow away in the first winter storm that comes along.

I'm very capable with the tools having worked in a few trades, so don't mind building something that I can then dismantle at the end of the lease and take with us.

- paul

[Farside]

a friend found himself in a similar situation and wanted something quick when he learned his relatives were about to descend upon him for the Christmas holidays. He buried sleeper timbers into the ground, screwed in boards across the top and bolted an inexpensive shelter to the sleepers. He only wanted one season from it but a few hundred dollars and a weekend later he had an entertainment that lasted more than three years.