Reply #13: I gather the impression you are captivated with an idea.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

Have you thought about simply tying into the house such as you would a deck and add posts for supports ? Or better yet throw a beam across and build away ? In other words yer tied in but also free standing .OK so you tie into the roof rafter tails with a 2by6 2by 8 what have you, place yer 4 by 4 posts under the 2-6 or 2by 8 and build away. The beam across may be a bit of a over kill . Free standing structure that is tied into the house is the idea.

Keep it in simple terms when you build .for example when I build second story decks-I will tie into the house but I add support posts where I tie it in-hence a free standing second story deck.A deck can cave in when there are too many people partying on it -or too much weight-, it's been known to happen, Usually a tie in will separate from the house-but if it had support post's properly installed and braced correctly such a thing cannot and will not happen -exception to a natural disaster such as severe earth quake.Free standing means self supporting.