Forty pergolas in, we've made every small mistake there is to make and figured out what actually matters. Here are the field notes we wish we'd had on day one.
Drainage is a design decision, not an afterthought
The louvers channel water into the frame, but the frame has to send it somewhere sensible. On a flat lanai that "somewhere" isn't obvious. We now plan the downspout path before we ever set a post — running it down a column and tying it into existing drainage — so there's no surprise waterfall off the corner during the first storm.
Lighter frames hide salt; dark frames show everything
Color is taste, but near the coast it's also maintenance. Darker powder-coats look stunning on day one and then show every speck of salt spray and pollen. Lighter and mid-tone frames stay looking clean far longer between rinses. We'll always tell a coastal customer this before they pick.
The measurement everyone gets wrong
It's not the footprint — it's the finished ceiling height with the louvers closed. People measure to the top of the frame and forget the louvers and motor housing eat into headroom. Get it wrong and a tall door or a string of lights suddenly doesn't clear. We measure to the closed-louver underside, every time.
Wire for more than you think you need
Customers almost always want to add lighting, fans, or heaters later. Running an extra conduit during install costs us an hour; retrofitting it costs the customer a wall. We now rough in spare runs by default.
Every space teaches us something. If you're planning a pergola, the experience behind these notes is exactly what you're hiring us for — let's talk through your project.