Since I was laying out all that money I figured I'd also rent the post hole attachment and dig holes for a fence and arbor (next years project).
Turns out it was the wrong auger and I had to improvise an adaptor between the auger and the power head. Holes all were dug and patio blocks were placed as caps. We had a rain the next day and it became clear that the fence and arbor would be a sooner project rather than later.
Had some wonderful ideas on how to build it and they got shot down by my lovely bride. She wanted low maintenance - and insisted on Vinyl. I looked around the internet and found some really cool arbor kits but they were super expensive. I downloaded the assembly manuals for a few and figured out how they were built and designed my own. I found all the parts at Lowes and Home Depot except for the rafter ends. The sides were a bit of a challenge - the top part is a deck rail section with shortened ballusters and the bottom rail is part of a gate kit. I also used a gate kit to turn a section of fence into a gate.
Here it is all completed expect for the gate. It turned out quite well if I say so myself.Here is another view from the street - it was a challenge to make the fence appear at one level as the yard slopes slightly back.
