Cost to Build a Garden Arbor – 2021

| Last Updated: August 23, 2021

National Average Improvement and Repair Cost

Pro

DIY

Hours:

9.6

9.5

Cost:

$ 750

$ 470

Would you do this project? According to our survey, 71% of respondents preferred DIY compared to hiring a pro.

The average price to Build a Garden Arbor noted above is cost data to compare a contractor’s estimate with doing it yourself.

How much does it cost to build a garden arbor? The contractor cost to build a garden arbor is $750 vs. doing it yourself for $470 and saving 36 percent.

To add an inviting element to your backyard, consider building an arbor, an outdoor accessory that’s a popular feature in today’s well-dressed gardens. Place an arbor at the entrance to a yard and its simple elegance welcomes visitors, or use one as the centerpiece of a landscape plan and plant it with climbers.

Years ago, there were limited choices in arbors expensive custom-built designs or mass-produced in less-than-perfect wood and both were high maintenance. They often rotted from the extremes of weather, and required either paint or stain to protect them.

Today you’ll find a dazzling array of vinyl garden products, including arbors, which are easy-to-assemble and provide years of maintenance-free outdoor living.

You can buy a kit for an arbor that measures approximately 60-inches wide by 86-inches high, and is installed with post anchors in the soil for about $470.

A landscape contractor will charge $750 for the job, which includes the arbor and labor. You’ll save 36 percent by doing this job yourself. The kit includes the frame, arched top, and side panels, end caps, anchors, and adhesive to fasten it together. You’ll find vinyl garden arbor kits sold online and locally at lawn and garden and home centers.

Get ideas and inspiration from Pinterest’s Best 25+ Garden Arbor Ideas.

That sums it up. Knowing the average cost to build a garden arbor lets you compare doing it yourself with what you can expect to pay a contractor. 

Want more garden projects? Check these out:

Welcome! We hope you’ll find the job costs of home improvement projects useful when you’re deciding whether to do a job yourself vs. hire a contractor. We’re the authors of 20 home improvement books, most notably Home Improvement for Dummies©, Bathroom Remodeling for Dummies©, Carpentry for Dummies©, Plumbing for Dummies©, and Painting and Wallpapering for Dummies©. Our most recent book Fix It and Flip It is in its second edition. We’ve appeared as home improvement experts on television programs such as CNN, Dateline, the Today Show, HGTV and many others.