Hello all,

Haven't posted here or even lurked for more
than a year, and my news server is showing
over 300,000 unread messages! Good to see
a few familiar names though.

Anyway, I am building a pergola using the designs
on http://www.pavingexpert.com/featur07.htm

I noticed that the posts are approximately
2.8m long, but only about 0.5m is in the
ground. For fence posts I have always been
told that a quarter of the post should be in
the ground, and this is less than a fifth.

Do you think this is because there isn't as
much lateral force on a pergola (due to wind)
so it does not need as much to stop the post
moving as with a fence? I guess with all the
braces the pergola could be pretty much
free-standing, so the main thing is to keep it
in the same position in the ground.

Also, would it matter if the holes were tapered
slightly so they get narrower at the bottom?

Also, I will probably use a post fix concrete
like Hanson PostFix or Blue Circle Postcrete
because I have too much money and not enough
experience of mixing mortars. Do you have
any views on whether either of these is a
superior product?

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks in
advance for any help you can offer.

Al Reynolds