Before I could continue with the pergola I needed to sort the components into various piles so I could access them easily as needed

The first job was to see if my lifting method would work with one of the large rear posts which is considerably heavier (50%) than the ones at the front. It went up surprisingly easily with a satisfying click as the two threads met.

I then stabilised it with one of the eventual cross members. The next part is pretty difficult as both the front and rear posts need the bracing arms slotted into them (held temporarily with one of the bolts or a length of re-bar) and these same braces need to slotted into the roof beam as it in turn is slotted into the front and rear posts. Still following me? To do it, I have to release the cross member so the front and rear posts can be pushed away from each other to allow the beam to be inserted into its slots but at the same time ensure that the bracing beams find their respective slots in the underside of the beam as it is dropped down. Basically I need four arms.

It is far too heavy to risk moving it at the top of a ladder so I had to engineer a solution. I fixed the rear of the beam in its slot with a re-bar, then lifted it to sit on top of the front post. I then inserted the braces with re-bar into the lower slots so they pointed up to the bean. however they were still fairly mobile and I still needed four arms.

Luckily, the cross member sits in a slot on the posts so it can slide in the front post slot as the post is pushed out to receive the beam. By screwing a small piece of wood to the top of the cross member, I was able to stop the rear brace waggling away from its slot and finally got it in place. Now I her the solution, the next two should be easier and quicker to do.

With the beam and the cross members fitted the partial construction is much more stable.