Patio Covers / Pergola
Pergolas and Open Lattice Covers in Cowlitz and Clark County
A pergola is shade, not shelter. People ask for one thinking it is the cheaper version of a patio cover, and it is not a cheaper version of anything. It does a different job, and it is worth knowing which job you are buying.
How I build it
Posts: Pressure-treated 6x6 or cedar-wrapped, on standoff post bases.
Footings: Poured concrete piers sized for uplift, not just for weight.
Beam: Doubled beam through-bolted at the posts.
Rafters: 2x8 or 2x10, spacing set by the shade you want.
Top members: 2x2 or 2x4 run across the rafters, spacing set to the sun angle.
Bracing: Knee braces at the post-to-beam connection.
Upgrade path: Framed so a solid roof can be added later without rebuilding.
An open structure breaks the sun, gives the patio a ceiling line so it feels like a room, and carries a vine, a shade cloth or a retractable canopy if you want one later. What it does not do is keep you dry. In a wet fall that matters, and it is the thing to be clear about before it goes up rather than the first weekend it rains.
People expect an open roof to need less structure, and it is the opposite of what happens. Wind gets under an open cover and lifts, so the footings get sized for uplift rather than just for weight, and the post-to-beam connection gets through-bolted and braced rather than screwed. The rafters usually end up deeper than the load requires because a shallow rafter looks thin from underneath, and on a pergola the look is most of the point.
How much shade you actually get comes down to the spacing and the depth of the top members, not the fact that you built one. Run them too far apart and you have built a decoration. The members are run so their depth blocks the sun at the hours you are actually out there, which for most people means midday and afternoon on the west side.
The upgrade is the part worth deciding at the start. If the beam, posts and footings are sized for a solid roof now, you can put metal or shingles on top of the same structure in five years and keep everything below it. Sizing up at the time of build costs very little. Rebuilding the structure because the original was framed for shade only costs the whole job again.
Included
Posts, standoff bases and concrete footings sized for uplift
Through-bolted beam and knee braces
Rafters and top members
Permit drawings and permit application
Hardware and fasteners
Not included
Concrete patio slab, if there is not one already
Electrical, including fans and lighting
Shade cloth, retractable canopy or plantings
Staining or sealing
Anything that makes it waterproof, which is a different structure
Want this cover on your patio?
Call for a free estimate, or send photos and get a Project Sketch first. Call (360) 431-9382.