Ready to enhance your landscaping with a pergola? Here are the average pergola costs broken down by material, square foot and type.
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Wood is the most common material for pergolas&#;and prices vary depending on the species&#;but you can use some other materials to design your custom pergola as well.
Cedar
$25 &#; $35
Pine
$20 &#; $40
Teak
$45 &#; $100
Redwood
$40 &#; $50
Vinyl
$10 &#; $30
Aluminum
$10 &#; $30
Fiberglass
$50 &#; $70
Cedar
Cedar is a durable and attractive wood that is naturally resistant to insects and rot. You&#;ll need to stain the cedar and maintain it over the years with regular cleaning to increase its lifespan, but all in all, cedar is a great choice for your pergola. On average, cedar pergolas cost $25 to $35 per square foot, including materials and installation.
Pine
Pine is the most affordable wood used for pergolas. The cost to install a pine pergola ranges between $20 and $30 per square foot, including materials and labor. The pine should be pressure treated to ensure its longevity. Even with regular cleaning and staining, pine may not last as long as other woods because it&#;s naturally softer.
Teak
Teak is an indulgent, luxurious wood for pergolas. Expect to find it used in structures for luxury homes. You&#;ll spend $55 to $100 per square foot for teak pergola installation. Similar luxurious woods, like ipe and tigerwood, fetch similar prices for pergola construction. Teak requires less maintenance than woods like pine, cedar and redwood.
Redwood
Redwood is another popular, higher-priced wood for pergola building. At $40 to $50 per square foot for installation, it&#;s more expensive than cedar but less expensive than teak. Redwood stands up well to insects and extreme weather.
Vinyl
Building a pergola on a budget? You can install a vinyl pergola that mimics the look of real wood, and you won&#;t have to worry so much about maintenance. Though vinyl pergolas only cost $10 to $30 per square foot, they generally don&#;t last as long as wood or aluminum pergolas.
Aluminum
Aluminum pergolas also fall in the $10 to $30 per square foot price range. They&#;re long-lasting and require little maintenance. However, the color will fade over time.
Fiberglass
One of the most expensive types of pergolas is made from fiberglass, which costs from $50 to $70 per square foot. Though it&#;s expensive, fiberglass is lightweight and strong which makes it easier to install extras, like overhead fans and lighting fixtures.
The average size of a pergola is 16×12, or 192 square feet. With a typical price range between $10 and $60 per square foot, that&#;s $1,900 to $12,000 for the average pergola.
When working with a DIY kit, you&#;ll be limited to standard-size options, but customizing your own pergola (and hiring a deck builder near you to do the work) opens up size options to fit your yard&#;s unique needs.
COMMON PERGOLA DIMENSIONSAVERAGE PERGOLA COST RANGE10 x 10
$1,000 &#; $6,000
10 x 12
$1,200 &#; $7,200
12 x 12
$1,440 &#; $8,640
16 x 12
$1,920 &#; $11,520
16 x 16
$2,560 &#; $15,360
16 x 20
$3,200 &#; $19,200
20 x 20
$4, &#; $24,000
The material costs explored above include professional installation, so you&#;ll spend less by building a pergola yourself with the raw materials. However, this is challenging, and we recommend a DIY prefab kit if doing it on your own.
Labor costs to build a pergola vary depending on the size of the pergola, the material you&#;re using, the time of year, where you live and the general accessibility of the site. In general, labor accounts for 20% of your overall costs, or $385 to $2,300 for a 16×12 pergola.
A pergola costs an average of $1,500 for a DIY scratch-built wood pergola. The average cost of a prefabricated aluminum pergola is about $7,500. The average cost of a custom-built pergola ranges from $12,000 to $16,000.
Building a pergola adds value to a property. Adorned with trailing plants such as jasmine and even lighting, a backyard pergola provides a gorgeous space for dining, socializing, gardening, or for quiet moments.
Pros
Moderately easy to build
Encourages growth of plants
Low maintenance
Cons
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Not a sun or rain shield
Need frequent care
Difficult to move
Cost of a DIY Pergola
The average cost to build a DIY pergola from scratch is about $1,500, with an average price range of $1,000 to $3,000.
This type of pergola uses pressure-treated 4x4s as the posts and sets them into post holes with a post-hole digger or auger.
As with any DIY home project, you pay only for the materials, not for the labor. One exception may be with the paving. Stone or concrete patio pavers can be laid successfully by many homeowners, but large concrete slabs usually look and perform best when poured by a concrete professional.
Traditional pergolas that often span for miles to shade paths for horseback riding have since been modernized and adapted for residential use. Backyard pergolas are shorter and are more akin to open-air patio structures than to long pathway covers.
Cost of a Prefabricated Pergola
Expect to pay from $4,800 for a 10-foot-square pergola to $9,600 for a 13-foot by 19-foot pergola.
An aluminum pergola is usually cheaper than a wood pergola and sometimes includes a retractable cover. Wood drives up the cost of the pergola, both in terms of the cost of the materials and the increased shipping weight.
Cost of a Custom-Built Pergola
A custom-built pergola will cost about $12,000 to $16,000.
A garden pergola built of pressure-treated wood and mounted in the ground with concrete varies in price depending on location and current cost of materials. Remember, this basic cost does not include taxes, delivery fees, or pavers. Appearance-grade pressure-treated wood will raise the price.
Though pergolas are usually freestanding, attaching one end of the pergola to the house makes the project go easier and saves on materials, since two of the posts are eliminated. Attaching to the house usually will require the project to be permitted, though.
DIY Pergola Installation
Building your own pergola is labor-intensive but simple to understand. Just six posts define the perimeter of this 8-foot by 16-foot structure. At the top is a lightweight partial cover constructed of 1x3s&#;ideal for trailing plants.
The most difficult part of building this pergola is digging the post holes, then setting 4x4 posts in concrete in those holes. Renting a gas-powered earth auger for one day is usually sufficient time to dig those holes. Otherwise, if the soil is soft and you have a post hole digger, you can use that.
You may need to apply for a building permit before building a DIY pergola. A pergola is often classified as an outdoor detached accessory structure by local permitting offices.
In general, freestanding pergolas will cost more than attached pergolas because four posts need to be set and built rather than two posts.
Pergola Alternatives
Description Solid Roof Climbing Plants DIY Difficulty Pergola Large detached structure with no roof. No Yes Moderate Patio Cover Full, solid roof, usually low-angle and attached to the house. Yes No Moderate Gazebo Detached structure with a full pitched roof, often with a round footprint. Yes No Difficult Arbor Short pass-through arch (or other shape) over a walkway. No Yes Easy Trellis Plant ladder attached to the house or other building. No Yes EasyIf building a pergola isn't right for your yard, there are a number of similar outdoor structures that may work, from DIY-friendly trellises and arbors to more complex gazebos and patio covers.
Patio Cover
A patio cover is a structure attached to the house that provides full coverage to the area below. The roof is usually kept to a low angle. Since one side of the patio cover is supported by the house, the other side is supported by two or more posts.
Astronaut Images/Getty ImagesGazebo
A gazebo is a large detached outdoor structure, usually round, hexagonal, or octagonal. Its roof is usually pitched at a high angle. Inside, the gazebo is sheltered from the elements and it may have permanent fixtures, such as benches.
David BeaulieuArbor
Built over an outdoor pathway, an arbor is a short arched or flat passageway meant for growing trailing plants. An arbor can provide a beautiful entrance to a property.
Darrell Gulin/Getty ImagesTrellis
A trellis is a flat, ladder-like garden structure that attaches to the side of a house, shed, or fence. A trellis is simple and cheap to build. A trellis is only for plant growth; it provides no shelter.
Stephanie White
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Hansø Aluminum Pergola Kit. Hansø
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