Steve Turner wrote:

Perhaps more of a carpentry question than a woodworking one, but there
are plenty of fart smellers in here so I figure somebody ought to know...

My wife has been after me to get started on the ol' pergola project that
we're hoping will fend off that hot Austin sun while we're trying to
enjoy a cold Shiner Bock on the back porch... I've been figuring to
make it out of Red Cedar, but I haven't really priced the stuff until
today. I'd like to use 6x6 posts for the verticals, but of course Lowes
Depot doesn't carry anything but 4x4s (which I noted were about $15 for
an 8-foot post). My wife called around today for pricing on 10-foot 6x6
posts and couldn't find anything for under $80 apiece! Does that sound
right? Geez, now I'm thinking those 6"x6"x10' "YellaWood" posts for $20
don't look so ugly after all... Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thanks.

Why 6x6 why not 4x6? Your going to have a hard time finding a beam in a 6"
dimension. And a 4x whatever would be cheaper. Sounds kinda high for a
6x6-10' but you're talking cedar.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"