Custom Wood & Vinyl Pergolas in Chester & Lancaster County, PA

A pergola is an outdoor structure that is designed to offer some shade while still allowing light to shine through to maintain a bright and airy feel. It can be used to add an overhead structural element to your project without installing a roof.

A traditional pergola is typically constructed from wood, although a wooden pergola will need to be stained and sealed and will require frequent maintenance. Recently, we have seen a large uptick in installing low-maintenance pergolas and far less to nearly no wood pergolas. Pergola’s that we install that are low-maintenance are vinyl, aluminum, and even PVC. These products provide a variety of color and style options, refer to our website to see different pergola options.

A louvered pergola is an aluminum built pergola where all of the overhead slats are on louvers and on the click of the button can close creating a waterproof shelter overhead. These products can even be set up to close when they sense rain. A louvered pergola is not the cheapest option, but it gives you the look of a pergola but the function of a full roof; you can even install ceiling fans and recessed lights.

In short, not really. To the surprise of many, pergolas do not provide that much shade as the sun shines straight through the slats of the pergola and you get scattered portions of shade. There are options to install overhead manual shades that are installed under the pergola. Also if you are looking for the look of a pergola but want even more shade, you can install a louvered pergola (see the previous question).

If you are looking for someone to come out and just install a pergola, we are not the company for you. Although we do install many pergolas, that is only on projects that we are already on and completing the entire project. We are not set up to install only pergolas, and a local contractor could come and install your pergola for you.

For us to install a pergola on your deck or patio project, you are looking at anywhere from $4,000 - $20,000 and more depending on size and material.  The following materials are listed in order of price from lowest to highest; Wood (pressure-treated or cedar), Vinyl, aluminum, PVC, and aluminum-louvered.

Yes, a lot of it depends on the pergola material, but all will accommodate some sort of light installation. You can always hang string lights on any pergola, wall sconces can also be installed on any pergola, but to install recessed lights or a ceiling fan needs to be custom-built and usually looks best in an aluminum or PVC pergola.

Typically yes, although in certain circumstances we can build out the deck structure to bear the weight of a pergola without the footers needing to be installed directly under each post, most of the time there will need to be a direct footer under each structural pergola post. If you are looking to install a pergola onto an existing deck structure you will most likely need to add additional footers below points of contact to carry the specific load of the pergola.