Pergolas, Arbours & Gazebos

Pergolas, Arbours & Gazebos

Define your space. Add vertical structure, complete shade, and style to your patio or garden with custom-built pergolas, arbours, or gazebos.

A pergola is really a piece of joinery standing in the weather, so it should be built like furniture and anchored like a structure. We favour western red cedar for its natural rot resistance and the way it holds a clean line, cutting and notching the timbers so the rafters and beams lock together rather than relying on visible fasteners. The posts never touch soil directly. They sit on galvanized or stainless post bases lifted off the patio or footing, which keeps end grain out of standing water and is one of the two biggest reasons a cedar structure lasts decades instead of years. The other is finish: a fresh coat of penetrating stain every few years keeps the wood from silvering and checking under constant Vancouver rain.

The honest question with any pergola is shade versus shelter. An open-rafter pergola filters sun and frames a space beautifully, but it does not keep rain off, which is fine for summer dining and less useful in a climate where it rains much of the year. If you want to actually use the space through the wet months, that points toward a retractable canopy, a clear polycarbonate roof, or a fully roofed gazebo. We would rather have that conversation up front than build you a sun structure for a rainy yard.

Aluminum framing is the low-maintenance alternative when you want clean modern lines and no re-staining, and arbours or trellises are the lighter cousins that mark an entry or carry climbing plants. Whatever the form, the footings decide whether it stays put: posts anchored to proper footings or an existing slab shrug off the wind gusts that funnel through many local lots.