Gazebos/pergolas/awnings... knowledge me up, please

[defblade]

The wife (joking) says I'm having patio envy, but after a couple of recent trips to friends' houses I've realised that a roofed structure of some sort over our garden furniture would make it much more useable when the weather is less than perfect (we live in Wales, btw...) and after taking the mick, SWMBO actually agrees a bit.

She says she was thinking about having an awning/sail mounted to the house... I'm not sure where she's fixing the outside edges to in her head, but anyway, that sort of thing would need to be put up-and-downable very easily due to the changeable weather we get. Maybe something that extends from the wall? Our house is not the easiest to mount stuff to as it's stone - bits are either (literally) rock hard, or quite soft old mortar which doesn't take loads well.

I was thinking something more stand-alone and semi- or completely permanent, but there are a frankly bewildering array of choices available, at all price points from about £80 upwards well into the thousands... I'm also leaning towards a polycarb roof to give a little sun/rain protection, without being super dark under it... but I may be overthinking.

Keeping things at maybe a grand would see an easy pass for the purse strings; over 2 grand likely to be rejected by SWMBO.
The area we use is just over 3m wide, and could extend up to 7m from the house, although a 3x3 near the middle of that would likely be sufficient.



So I'd appreciate any comments and experiences on any of the above - what to avoid at all costs, at the very least - and how things like the louvred rooves, curtain walls etc and so on work out in the real world.

[this is my username]

We bought an electrically operated awning from Primrose. It seemed pretty cheap for what it was (about £500 I recall). We primarily use it to keep the sun off the patio and reduce solar gain in the house during hot weather, but it does provide some weather protection. Doesn’t like strong winds though.

[gangzoom]

For ideas Ai is really useful. We’re thinking about something similar, I really wasn’t sure how a Pergola would look stuck on the back side of the house extending out from the sliding doors in the kitchen. But actually, Ai shows it wouldn’t half as bad as I feared……..£££££ is a separate issue .

[Craikeybaby]

My old house had covered outdoor space, and I really miss it now that we have moved. We have a conservatory, which is nowhere near as useful.

[defblade]

this is my username said:

We bought an electrically operated awning from Primrose. It seemed pretty cheap for what it was (about £500 I recall). We primarily use it to keep the sun off the patio and reduce solar gain in the house during hot weather, but it does provide some weather protection. Doesn t like strong winds though.

I saw those earlier, quite like the idea of the 4m extending one, and easy enough to tuck it back away.

[Snow and Rocks]

On an old stone house, something a bit more rustic out of chunky timber would probably look more fitting?

If you can, position it so that you can access it directly from the house and make it permanent - you'll get so much more use out of it if the furniture stays dry and clean all the time and you can get out there without getting wet.

We built a covered porch a few years back and we spend more time out there than we do in the living room, even up here in Aberdeenshire.

[LotusMartin]

Hurcules Gazibos are excellent. We’ve had one for years, up for around 6-8 months. Usually get a new canopy every year. Ours is 4m x 3m

Handy as you can get all the spares if you do break it (ours has been fine in virtually storm conditions.

If I brought again, I would pay extra for the aluminium version - lighter and won’t rust.

[dickymint]

Polycarb roof would be an absolute pain to keep clean! With a slight price creep you can get this..................



Watertight, dead easy to open/close the slatted roof (and of course practical) includes a 3kw heater and some cool 'council' lighting

You could add their sliding screens at a later date.

I and a few others on PH have one and love it - many others have similar by other companies but from what I've seen they are all made from fairly generic parts.

https://hyggepergola.co.uk/product/hygge-aluminium...

PS their 3m x 3m is just under £2k

[OutInTheShed]

Some sort of covered outdoor space is great to have.
Both to keep you and your stuff out of the rain, and to provide some shade.

A 3m wide structure isn't much shelter if the sides are open, if the sun or rain are coming at an angle.

Awning to keep the sun off patio doors is great, but wind can be a problem.
We do get sunny, windy days when our electric awning would decide to retract itself.

As well as being prime space for eating outdoors etc, covered space outside is very useful for drying things, doing odd jobs like working on pushbikes which can be awkward when your garage is full of tat.

It also reduces the exposure of plants under there to frost and some plants will grow well if the roof is not too opaque or they get enough light from the sides.

If you're using it as a multi-purpose space, you maybe don't want it bang outside the lounge window.

[ARHarh]

Threw this up about 5 years ago for just over £700. I guess materials will cost a bit more right now. Easy to build and has made it through some storms without issue. We live on a hill with open countryside all around so the wind can have its moments. Its 3.6m square. We still find the need for side screens when the sun is low. It creates much needed shade in summer and shelter from the rain if needed.

[LotusMartin]

Hurcules Gazibos are excellent. We’ve had one for years, up for around 6-8 months. Usually get a new canopy every year. Ours is 4m x 3m

Handy as you can get all the spares if you do break it (ours has been fine in virtually storm conditions.

If I brought again, I would pay extra for the aluminium version - lighter and won’t rust.

[mrsshpub]

We had a 4m x 4m glass veranda installed by these people around 12 years ago, covering a corner between 2 walls of the house. We're still very pleased with it. BBQs in the rain — no problem!

https://www.123v.co.uk/verandas/

[The Gauge]

dickymint said:

Polycarb roof would be an absolute pain to keep clean! With a slight price creep you can get this..................



Watertight, dead easy to open/close the slatted roof (and of course practical) includes a 3kw heater and some cool 'council' lighting

You could add their sliding screens at a later date.

I and a few others on PH have one and love it - many others have similar by other companies but from what I've seen they are all made from fairly generic parts.

https://hyggepergola.co.uk/product/hygge-aluminium...

PS their 3m x 3m is just under £2k

I'd love something like that. In strong winds do you just leave the roof lats open so the wind can blow through?

[dickymint]

The Gauge said:

dickymint said:

Polycarb roof would be an absolute pain to keep clean! With a slight price creep you can get this..................



Watertight, dead easy to open/close the slatted roof (and of course practical) includes a 3kw heater and some cool 'council' lighting

You could add their sliding screens at a later date.

I and a few others on PH have one and love it - many others have similar by other companies but from what I've seen they are all made from fairly generic parts.

https://hyggepergola.co.uk/product/hygge-aluminium...

PS their 3m x 3m is just under £2k

I'd love something like that. In strong winds do you just leave the roof lats open so the wind can blow through?

Well it's been up since last August and I was quite concerned at first when we had some very strong winds not long after. My gut feeling was to leave them open but on observation during one really stormy afternoon I could see it wobbling a fair bit through the window so went out and closed the slats up and it was much more stable. It was like the open slats were acting like sails on a boat that needed 'trimming'! I leave them shut now so that the wind does 'blow through' without any sideways stress.

[gangzoom]

dickymint said:

PS their 3m x 3m is just under £2k

We are liking the look of these things especially with the number of heatwaves we now get every summer, black aluminium will also match the glazing at the back of the house. However we want one that extends out from the kitchen doors and than covers the area of the patio where the seating is, which means wall mounted, 6-7m x 3-4m, looking around its £10K+ with installation!!!

Edited by gangzoom on Sunday 6th July 22:03

[defblade]

Snow and Rocks said:

If you can, position it so that you can access it directly from the house and make it permanent - you'll get so much more use out of it if the furniture stays dry and clean all the time and you can get out there without getting wet.

That's a good thought.

If anything is going to be attached to the house... we're hoping to have the render re-done next year (been let down 2 years in a row now...), so if we are going to bolt anything on, makes more sense to wait until after that's finished.

[vladcjelli]

I like the look of the hygge stuff above, but they only seem to do 3m sized ones.

I’ve got a space that’s 2.7m wide, obviously.

Feel like I might need to self build from timber.

Does anyone know of a similar closing slat system to the hygge that can be tailored for different sizes?

[The Gauge]

vladcjelli said:

I like the look of the hygge stuff above, but they only seem to do 3m sized ones.

I ve got a space that s 2.7m wide, obviously.

Feel like I might need to self build from timber.

Does anyone know of a similar closing slat system to the hygge that can be tailored for different sizes?

I'm the same, my patio extends beyond my garage which is 2.9m wide, which is where i'd like a pergola, but that means it would stick out by 10cm and look a bit of a bodge,

However some aluminium pergolas can be cut down to size, but this requires them to have crossbeams that don't have ends that are specifically shaped to fit into the uprights. The cross beams need to be allow If you can find one that had generic cross beams that can be cut down then that might suit you. When looking at a pergola online see if there is a link to the instruction manual, that should tell you what the crossbeams are like, you need one that has hollow box section without being shaped to slot into the uprights.

[The Gauge]

My patio is crying out for a wall mounted pergola spanning the full width of the house (5meters), and coming out 3 meters to the side doors of my garage, Pergolux do them 5m wide, but Hygge don't. I don't want it to require a central support leg though








They all seem to have a sale on at this time of year. Yesterday their sale ended around midnight, but just like Allied Carpets, it has been extended into today, And will probably be extended into tomorrow too

I reckon they are full price in the spring, leading into summer when everyone wants one, and then discounts appear at end of summer

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 7th July 12:10

[dickymint]

The Gauge said:

My patio is crying out for a wall mounted pergola spanning the full width of the house (5meters), and coming out 3 meters to the side doors of my garage, Pergolux do them 5m wide, but Hygge don't. I don't want it to require a central support leg though








They all seem to have a sale on at this time of year. Yesterday their sale ended around midnight, but just like Allied Carpets, it has been extended into today, And will probably be extended into tomorrow too

I reckon they are full price in the spring, leading into summer when everyone wants one, and then discounts appear at end of summer

Edited by The Gauge on Monday 7th July 12:10

I just looked and they have a new sale starting Friday........

https://pergolux.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOooTl83a0pjhMN...