Anybody here familiar with this pergola kit?

[sacredcow]

My house originally had an awning over the sliding door to the pool. Aforementioned awning was long gone when I purchased the house and my intent was to have a pergola-esque structure put there. Got a few quotes but they were a bit (sometimes a LOT) high and I couldn't seem to get across what I wanted was something very simple in design. No electricity, no running water, no gold-plated lumber. I just want something to block the afternoon sun, really.

Today, I run across this product, and it looks like something I could likely do myself (I might have to get a real carpenter to install a ledger board depending on what's beneath the area where the awning was mounted).

Just curious if anybody has any firsthand knowledge.

 

[kevin76]

Not familiar with it but looks like a nice simple design. If a hurricane was approaching you could always take down the sail. Do you have a gutter above it to catch some of the rainwater off the roof?

 

[AUSpool]

Have you priced the lumber, 4x4’s in external treated will be $$? Actually all lumber is $$. The kit is really about the look, using 4x4’s in external for the entire pergola is an expensive way to do it and to some extent your compromising on structural integrity for the chunky look. I would be using 4x4’s for the posts but 2x6’s o 2x8’s for the joists, header and matching ledger. Maybe a series of joist with shade cloth permanently attached, that shade sail could be a bit flappy and noisy when it gets windy.

 

[Liz315]

My house originally had an awning over the sliding door to the pool. Aforementioned awning was long gone when I purchased the house and my intent was to have a pergola-esque structure put there. Got a few quotes but they were a bit (sometimes a LOT) high and I couldn't seem to get across what I wanted was something very simple in design. No electricity, no running water, no gold-plated lumber. I just want something to block the afternoon sun, really.

Today, I run across this product, and it looks like something I could likely do myself (I might have to get a real carpenter to install a ledger board depending on what's beneath the area where the awning was mounted).

Just curious if anybody has any firsthand knowledge.

I found this same product in a search about a year ago. It just includes the sail and all of the brackets. You use whatever posts you want. I didn’t purchase it but people seemed to be happy with it.

 

[scdaren]

I just wonder how long something like that would last...
Have you priced out aluminum pergolas? We got some quotes and had one installed, they were pretty reasonably priced for something simple.

 

[sacredcow]

Not familiar with it but looks like a nice simple design. If a hurricane was approaching you could always take down the sail. Do you have a gutter above it to catch some of the rainwater off the roof?

That wall actually goes straight up- there's no roof that slopes toward that part of the house.

 

[sacredcow]

Have you priced the lumber, 4x4’s in external treated will be $$? Actually all lumber is $$. The kit is really about the look, using 4x4’s in external for the entire pergola is an expensive way to do it and to some extent your compromising on structural integrity for the chunky look. I would be using 4x4’s for the posts but 2x6’s o 2x8’s for the joists, header and matching ledger. Maybe a series of joist with shade cloth permanently attached, that shade sail could be a bit flappy and noisy when it gets windy.

yeah, that sounds similar to what the contractors were going to build for me and that's great, but is a bit beyond my skill set and/or tool posessions. Even with the 4X4's, I'd still be coming out well below even the lowest quote.

Not to mention (and I didn't say this) the fact that I could sneak a DIY job in without the hassle of the Draconian HOA and their desire to get their stamp on everything, even when you can't see this from the front of the house.

 

[sacredcow]

I just wonder how long something like that would last...
Have you priced out aluminum pergolas? We got some quotes and had one installed, they were pretty reasonably priced for something simple.

I never found an aluminum one that I liked so much, plus I have a deck just off to the side so I would prefer some timber that I could stain to match. As far as it lasting, I suppose the wood and the sail would be the limiting factor, but I think it will see me through my time in this house. The sail I could replace easily enough.

 

[bies05]

I built our pergola using this kit last fall and it looks great. We used the 6x6 size instead of 4x4, which I think looks better. Beware though that if you go 6x6 you need to probably have 3-4 really strong people to help put it up.

 

[sacredcow]

I built our pergola using this kit last fall and it looks great. We used the 6x6 size instead of 4x4, which I think looks better. Beware though that if you go 6x6 you need to probably have 3-4 really strong people to help put it up.

Thanks for the information! I'll almost surely go with the 4x4 kit, because this will be a fairly small pergola (I only have room to go out about 4 feet since the pool is fairly close to the house). I still need to get up and inspect what's under the siding to attach it to, but there are 3 sets of lag bolts that must have been used to hold up the awning, so I'm hoping there's a nice 2x6 up there that's in good shape.