Designing a Pergola

Pergolas are great places to relax or entertain adding valuable living space to the outside of any home. Pergolas are very common in most modern housing developments with some houses having the pergola built into the roof line of the house. However, most pergolas are added to existing houses in a wide variety of designs.

Pergolas – Timber and Metal

Pergolas can be both timber or metal or a combination of the two. Timber pergolas are mostly painted or stained with a polycarbonate or metal roof. Metal pergolas offer seek lines and are mostly painted in the factory with Colorbond in a wide range of standard colours.

Pergola Designs

A great looking pergola is made up of two main factors: they are practical for the needs of the family and style the suits the house where they are built.

While flat roof pergolas are the easiest to build, gable roofed pergolas look the best and are not as hot in summer. Attached pergolas use the house they are connected to for support while freestanding pergolas need extra bracing to stand up against strong wind.

Types of Pergola Design

Attached flat roof pergola: consists of two of more posts, bearers and rafters, built with a flat roof.

Freestanding flat roof pergola: The same as the basic flat roof pergola but with a minimum of four posts and additional corner bracing.

Pitched or Gable Roof pergola: This is the most desirable shape as it looks better and has better ventilation than a flat roof pergola.

Pergola over a deck: This type can be either flat or pitched and has common posts to hold up both the deck and the pergola. Building a pergola over a deck is a great option as it protects the deck and people who use it from the harsh sun and rain.

How to design the best pergola

Pergola design is fairly simply and has two main factors. The first is that the pergola needs to match the house style. This is especially true if the pergola is attached to the house. The second is the needs of the people using the the pergola. Is is used for BBQ’s, sun protection, or to extend the living area of the house?

Building a Pergola

Building a pergola is fairly simple in construction and can by done by any person who can use basic hand and power tools. To build a pergola both flat and gable roof you will need some pergola span tables to tell you the size of timber you need for the size of the pergola you wish to build. First design your pergola with exact sizes and then check your pergola span tables to see the size of timber you need. For more on how to build a pergola check out our pergola construction page.