I helped my son build one in California.

wrote:
I've been searching around for tips on building a pergola. While I've
found some good ideas, I was wondering if anyone could share some of
their "hands-on" tips.

I'm want to build a free-standing box pergola over my
soon-to-be-constructed patio, a 13'x11' patio that will be made with
pavers.

Here are a few questions I have:

1) What type of wood should I use? Is cedar be a better choice that
treated lumber?

I would prefer anything over treated lumber. My son used cedar; at home
I made my trellises from redwood. Both are nice looking.

2) I'm not going to use paint. What is the best wood protectant for a
hot, humid and damp Florida climate?

My son painted his. On my trellises, I use flood cwf-uv (a clear finish
with uv protection) and it looks nice, but we have to renew it about
every other year (we have winters here). Of course, Florida has its own
climate, so I would ask around there.

3) Should I just sink the poles like you would a fence pole, with a bag
of cement?

California had specific requirements for mounting (due to earthquakes, I
think). I would check with your local authorities to see if they have
like requirements, probably something to do with hurricanes.

I don't like to sink wood into holes or dirt; water sits in there and
can cause rot. I think a better way is to sink bolts into concrete,
then get brackets to mount the poles on top of the bolts.

Any ideas or tips you can share will be greatly appriciated.

My son's was on his patio next to the house, which naturally turned out
not to be level, so we had to choose between level and parallel to the
house.

It was a 2.5 person job, even with some clamps. Every once in a while
we had to call out one of our wives when we just needed an extra pair of
hands, or someone to stand aside and look at it to see if we had it aligned.

Patrick