Pergola or solid patio cover?
A wood pergola is posts, beams and rafters, open overhead. It gives you filtered shade and a frame over the space, and it’s the lighter of the two. A wood pergola about 12 by 12 feet costs $2,000 to $7,500.
A solid patio cover has a roof. It gives full shade and keeps rain off whatever’s under it. A solid roof costs more than a pergola, and on a deck that’s already built it can mean bigger footings and engineering.
Some people ask about aluminum patio covers, the kind a lot of people know as Alumawood. The covers we build are wood pergolas and solid patio covers.
Over a deck
A pergola or patio cover can go over a deck we’re building or one that’s already there. Either way, the cover’s posts need something solid to stand on. A pergola set on a deck may need engineering or bigger footings, and a solid roof on a deck that’s already built can mean bigger footings and engineering too.
If you’re planning a new deck, it’s easiest to tell us about the cover at the start, so the footings are planned for it. Our deck building page covers the new deck itself.
Over a patio at ground level
A pergola or cover over a ground-level patio stands on its own posts and footings. That’s often the simpler job, since there’s no deck frame to work around.
Afternoon wind and where shade falls
The wind comes from the west and northwest here; mornings tend to be calm, and it picks up in the afternoon. A cover is about where you’ll actually sit and when, so we look at the yard, the sun and the wind together before we settle on where the posts go.
Things we sort out on a cover
Pergola or roof
If you want filtered shade and a lighter look, a pergola usually fits. If you want full shade or a dry spot, it’s a solid cover. We can price both.
Freestanding or tied to the house
A cover can stand on its own posts or tie into the house on one side. Permit rules for covers differ from one town to the next, and we check what applies to yours.
Over a deck that’s already built
This is where the footings question comes up most. We look at the deck’s frame and footings before we plan the cover.
Matching the deck
A wood pergola can be built in the same wood as the deck under it. See redwood and wood decks for the woods we use.
