We started with the existing 9' x 17' patio...which was definitely not square with the house. A builder friend convinced me to build the patio "out of square" rather than trying to square things up. It took longer, but the result visually is better. The project broke down into two phases: scoring and staining the concrete patio and construction of the "pergola style" cover.

Click on the pictures for a larger view.

 
LAYOUT AND SCORING THE CONCRETE
The first step was to score the concrete--giving it the look of large tiles. The process was a little complicated since the patio had originally been poured (for whatever reason) in two sections, neither of which were evenly divisible. I laid out the "tiles" by figuring an average size square that would fit the slab, marked it and snapped lines, making adjustments from the front to back and side to side as necessary to give the illusion of "square" tiles.

 
CLEANING AND STAINING
Using an eight foot 1" x 4" as a straight edge, I had my youngest son Alex stand on the board while I cut the grooves with a hand grinder fitted with an abrasive disk made for cutting concrete. The disk was about 3/16" thick, which made a really nice sized groove. Our original plan was to grout the grooves, but after we finished staining, we decided we liked the way it looked without grout.

Before I get into the details of staining the concrete, let me say that, according to my experience, staining 20-year-old concrete doesn't always have the same results as staining a newer slab. Also, I might add that it is IMPERATIVE that you follow the manufacturer's instructions if you want to get results that are anywhere close to what you're expecting! That said, we next tackled the process of staining by first cleaning the patio--recommended: power washing, followed by acid etching. I mixed one part acid to 20 parts water which seemed to work pretty well. I did the acid wash twice because there were a couple of rust looking stains on the patio that I wanted to get rid of before applying the concrete stain.

We were looking for a "tea" color originally, but decided that might be too light to cover some of the discoloration that the etching didn't remove, so we opted for more of a "terra cotta" color. We chose BEHR ® "Moroccan Dunes" semi-transparent stain from our local Home Depot. Since I had already done my research on staining concrete, I didn't buy the manufacturer's recommended concrete primer/sealer. Everything I had read didn't mention a primer/sealer, so I figured...that's one less expense and process to mess with. WRONG!

On top of not using the primer/sealer, I determined that the recommended method of application (garden sprayer) was too slow and decided that a long nap roller would most definitely be faster, which it was. The final result, however, was NOT acceptable. Guess what? The people that make this stuff must know what they're talking about!

The picure on the left is the "disaster." The color is uneven and "splotchy", and certainly not terra cotta looking. Plan B: After determining that we should follow directions, we also decided that we'd like a little less "burgundy" color, so we headed back to Home Depot for the primer/sealer, and two new colors of stain. We chose "Grotto" for the base color and "Warm Shale"-- a lighter color for highlights.

After applying the sealer and letting it dry for a couple of days, I applied the base coat and let it dry for 24 hours. I then came back and set my garden sprayer to "spatter" and applied the highlight color for the finished look at the right.

 
ADDING THE BORDER
With the staining complete, we decided that it would look nice to have a border of tumbled cobblestones around the patio. To install those, I dug a trench about 5" deep and filled it about half way with sand. After tamping the sand firm, Alex and I laid the pavers across the front of the patio and down both sides. We checked each stone for level and set them in sand with a rubber mallet. We must be living right, because the length across the front came out exactly so that we didn't have to cut any of the pavers. We finished up by pouring sand over the top of the stones and brooming off the excess--this filled in any gaps that we had.

 
BEGINNING CONSTRUCTION
We began construction of the cover by first locating the 6 corner posts 3" in from the front and sides of the patio. I installed 4" x 4" metal post bases, securing them with 3/4"diameter x 3" long concrete anchors. Using the lines we'd snapped for locating the posts and a plumb bob, we determined where we would cut the guttering and install the ledger board for the rafters. I attached the ledger to the house with 1/4" diameter x 3" lag screws and washers.

 
Since we'd be painting the patio cover, we primed the cedar lumber before putting anything together. Alex decided he would be the "official painter." I cut the scallops on the ends of the rafters and main beams and Alex painted them, as well as the 4" x 4" posts. It took several days to get everything painted and to start putting things together because we only worked on the project at night. We picked the worst possible time--the middle of July in Oklahoma--to be outside. Temperatures averaged 95 to 100 degrees during the day. By the time I got home from work and we got outside, temperatures would be down to a "cool" 90 to 95 degrees.

The construction was also a little slow going because, as I've already mentioned, the patio itself isn't square, nor is it square/perpendicular with the house. It's tougher building something "out of square." To help the situation, I took accurate measurements before we started, and then plotted the whole thing on AutoCAD ®.

 
TRELLIS-STYLE ROOF
Once the posts were set, we began attaching the rafters and main beams. The plan called for 2 main beams at the front-- 2" x 8" and doubled rafters on each side-- 2" x 6". Single rafters finish out the top's first "layer." All of the rafters and beams are attached to the posts with 3/8" diameter x 8" long carriage bolts and washers. The rafters are secured to the ledger with 3 1/2" long galvanized deck screws.

The next step was to rip 17 - 2 x 4's to create the 2 x 2's that would make up the trellis-style roof. I ordered the 2 x 4's in 18 ft lengths, but the lumber yard didn't have enough, so they sent all they had and then made up the rest of the order with 16-footers, which meant that I would have to piece together several 2 x 2's to make up the required length. After priming and painting the 2 x 2's we attached them to the rafters with 3 1/2" deck screws. Again, because the whole structure was built "out-of-square", the spacing for the 2 x 2's was 3 1/2" on one end and 3 5/8' on the other. It doesn't sound like much, but that difference enabled me to make up the 4" difference in the rafters from one side to the other.

 
CUSTOM LATTICE
One of the main "design elements" I really wanted to include in the patio cover was custom built lattice between the corner posts. The design I came up with was a combination of several I had seen. To build the lattice, I first had to make a jig for routing the half-lap joints that were required to make the lattice "flat." I found a jig plan on the internet and modified to fit my needs. I routed the dadoes in 1 x 6 cedar boards according to my plan, and then assembled the lattice on the garage floor. The lattice is 3/4" thk x 1 1/8" wide; the spaces are approximately 6" x 10".

 
THE COMPLETED PROJECT
After about a month of evenings and a couple of Saturday mornings, the patio cover is finished. I installed the lattice by adding a 3/4" x 3/4" frame around the inside of the posts and attaching the lattice to it with 1" brads. Some caulk, a little touch-up paint, and this project is declared COMPLETE.