20 Best Wood For Outdoor Pergola (2023 Updated)

We’ve had it for a few weeks and we’re already sitting outside so much more. It was fairly easy to assemble with two people and not much strenuous lifting or holding until you get to the cross beams.

You will definitely want an impact driver and a sturdy ladder. Instructions were pretty clear until you get to step 11- one crucial piece of info missing is to make sure you don’t try to screw the bolts into the cross beams from the back.

There’s a fixture on the back that you can’t unscrew once you screw the bolt into it, so we ended up having to go to the hardware store to replace two. So make sure when you get to the big curved beams, screw the bolt from the side with the wood exposed and holes pre-drilled, NOT into the metal fixtures.

Other than that, it’s pretty easy to get it right, just make sure as you go all your angled top beams line up. The wood is great quality, and I love the gray paint color. The instructions say it’s “rust proof” paint, and since we live in a very rainy climate, we decided to give it a waterproof stain coat as well.

The shade provides shade ONLY, not rain protection so we’ll probably replace it at some point with corrugated clear polycarbonate to make it useable year round. But it’ll be great for summer time as is! Overall, it’s incredibly sturdy, and beautiful and roomy.

Very happy with our purchase!.

Amazing product. I love it so far. I had trouble with shipping and only got half of it but customer service was great and got me everything I needed. It took me all day to build myself and the instructions are not great.

Several times I had to take apart sections because the instructions were subpar, but in the end it turned out great.

I love my new pergola! I’d love another but are out of stock ! The four of us put it together in 3 hrs and we took a break ! The only problem we had was the top cross pieces didn’t align but we fixed it with small L brackets on some.

We decided not to use the snack bar or bench yet so we could eventually put 2 together.

I purchased this pergola with very minimal building/construction experience outside of of small furniture. I didn’t know what to expect, but I needed some shade in my yard and much faster than companies could come out to build one for me.

I ordered the product and it arrived fast! I built it with the help one person and it was a breeze. I did have to borrow a few neighbors to help move the completed product, but that took no time and it was a breeze.

Unfortunately, I sold that home and have relocated so I do not get to enjoy it at the moment, but I am considering another for my new home and doing it all over again. Also, so many people that came and viewed my home commented on how great it looked and couldn’t believe I built it myself! It certainly added more value than the price I paid and looking forward to getting another soon!.

We bought this product about 2 months ago because we wanted to add a nice seating area in our backyard. We love it! Backyard Discovery seems to have a lot of good products. We bought a swing set from them last year and they have both been great quality.

The instructions are easy to follow and the pergola is pretty simple to put together for the most part. You can do most of it with two people but it would definitely be handy to have a third when you’re standing up the sides otherwise they might fall down (speaking from experience).

Overall, it’s a great product and exactly what the pictures show you. Highly recommend!.

No wonder this is a best seller. Well made. The posts are solid even though they have cedar panels on the outside and lots of 2x2s inside to make they solid. But you have to use your own judgement in using the manual to fit your own needs.

I put up the basic frame first and keep making sure the 4 posts are perfectly straight before the next step. Also, DON’T screw in the 4 braces early, as they suggested in the manual, until the very last step.

Because as you take a step to make one post straight, the other posts shift. As careful as I was to make sure I do the braces last, I still had to redo all posts! To lift up the entire structure to secure the post footing with concrete screws is unrealistic because by then the pergola is already too heavy.

It is like a table already. Why would you fasten down an 600 lb dining table?.

This is a beautiful piece of furniture and a perfect solution to provide shade on my patio. The materials are very sturdy should hold up nicely against the wind and weather. I do have a few minor complaints to pass along to the manufacturer.

First, I love the decorative screens, but I was expecting these to be made out if metal, not plastic. For as well made as the rest of the is, this is the one area they cheaped out. Second, the bottom seat cushions are very dense and sturdy which is what i wanted.

However the back cushions are too thin and flimsy to provide adequate back support. I had to go out and buy a 3″ thick bench cushion to give the support and projection need to keep from slouching in the seat.

Finally, i found the instructions extremely challenging to follow. Even the online tutorial was of little help and I found myself having to redo certain steps as a result. I still love the set and would buy it again.

IšverstiShow in original languageThe pergola is very nice for the money. You literally could not buy the materials for the cost of this pergola. The build took longer than 5 hours for just me and my husband.

It would have gone much faster with 2 ladders and 2 power drills/screw drivers. The final step (per the instructions) was to install the post plates to secure to your concrete slab base. This needs 4 people since fully built is over 400 lbs.

We had help and each person moved a post, however it was hard on the structure to keep it square and not crack or flex the pergola too much. Overall it turned out well. I’m giving 5 stars because of the price to lumbar costs AND because everything was received and in good condition minus a few warped pieces, which are normal.

I would buy again.

IšverstiShow in original languageWe bought this a month ago and it has been the perfect addition to our patio! It adds so much character and a cozy feel to our patio. Very easy for my husband and I to put together with the easy to follow instructions.

We love the power port, it makes it so easy to put decorative lights on the pergola. It is a beautiful modern design with dark walnut stain.

IšverstiShow in original languageWe’ve used pop-up canopies for years to get a little shade in our backyard. They have been a nightmare to anchor and many have succumbed to winds and thunderstorm damage.

We decided to get a pergola this year and are glad we did. The sturdy design is great and it was easy to assemble. We added a cheap sun shade sail from Amazon. Could not be happier!.

You can pretty much tell the quality of a product by the way it is packed (hello Apple!), and from the moment the long pallet arrived, I knew this was a product shipped with the utmost care. All wood parts are carefully stacked inside a brand-new plywood box, fitting perfectly like a cedar Tetris game.

The whole thing was covered in a reusable tarp. All wood parts are made of high quality wood and have excellent finish and attention to detail. All posts have flat corners, and the cuts are sharp and perfectly made.

I assembled it mostly by myself, using two 3′ bar clamps, a couple of ladders, and a 12″ carpenter’s square. Take your time making sure all parts are 90 degrees to one another and properly spaced. Main assembly took one weekend, working about 8 hours each day.

I used the 6″ Simpson Strong Tie (ABU66) adjustable bases over my wood deck,and I recommend them since the posts will rest on a 1/2″ metal base, keeping them away from water. I also did NOT bolt the posts until I was done with the roof “ladders” and corner braces.

I let it rest on the Simpson bases, and I aligned those so the pergonal frame would not tip. The finished product looks incredibly beautiful day and night and it has transformed our outdoor sitting area into something out of an HGTV special.

We ordered this pergola as an alternative to building one ourselves entirely from scratch. It arrived 4 days after the initial delivery date, which was frustrating. It was fairly easy to assemble however we did notice a few boards had some mould spots and one of the 6×6 posts began to crack when we were screwing in the lag screws.

It is about a 5 inch crack right at the top, so not really noticeable, however we will have to use some wood fill and seal it to prevent it from getting worse.

We bought this pergola for our deck & to cover our hot tub. We took our time setting it up. Reading the instructions first, then watching the video really helped. Instructions are very clear about putting it together.

It does take 2 people. We are very pleased with our purchase.

This pergola is gorgeous. It took four of us to assemble it, but we did it in only a few hours. We needed a pergola that was tall enough such that we could go through the back door and down a few steps while still being under it.

This was the only one we could find that met our needs and it is so beautiful! We strung lights under the roof and have gotten so many compliments on how amazing our backyard looks now!.

The Pergola design has been well thought-out for shipping and easy construction. All of the pieces fit together as planned and every pre-drilled hole aligned. Took me and my son a little over 7 hours to complete the assembly and cover the unit with a static canopy.

The hardest part had nothing to do with the Pergola per say but was the drilling into the pavers to anchor the unit to the earth. I should of had 2 or 3 carbon tipped masonry drill to get the job do sooner.

Everyone that has seen it loves it i. e. looks great. Oh, the instructions were easy to follow / accurate and were in color which helped.

It’s gorgeous, exactly what we were looking for. We ended up using concrete footings for the pergola so it’s very sturdy – I can’t speak to what it would be like if it was just sitting on top of our deck, but the wood is all substantial and it is well designed.

The pergola is very nice. It was shipped promptly and came early. It took my husband a couple of days to assemble alone (needed 3 people in one 10 minute section). He made sure all the parts were there, we printed the instructions before the pergola arrived and he reviewed them while waiting.

That helped a lot. The canopy is heavy and thick, but I actually need sunglasses when the sun hits at a certain angle through the top of the canopy. The light is defused, it’s not like canvas. The only problem (even though it was expertly packed) was one of the posts had a small dent, not a deal breaker.

I just wish he had turned it towards the fence, but I don’t think he noticed it.

We put this up last Spring. It shades a large area of our wooden deck. The fabric is not waterproof, but it does block a lot of rain. I retracted the canopy when the winds got really bad, but we did not bolt the pergola to the deck – the whole thing held up beautify all summer.

Over the winter we pulled the canopy back, so that it was underneath the 1 ft wide strip of protective fabric. Now that I unfold it (in March) I can see that no harm was done. I expect to get a lot more use out of it this year.

Very happy with my purchase.

I couldn’t be happier with our new pergola. With help my husband and myself assembled and erected this project and it looks fantastic! The arched design adds the unique characteristic I was looking for and after adding vinyl lattice we purchased separately it is exactly what we wanted.

Everthing needed for assembly was included, however, we did find the screws provided insufficient and my husband chose to use square-drive instead making it so much easier to get them to screw in all the way.

Also provided was a sample of the stain color which was extremely helpful for colormatching (kudos to Sherwin Williams for the awesome match!) because that couple of ounces wasn’t near enough to “touch up” the minor shipping nicks.

Besides, for our application we needed to make a couple of modifications to fit our space that required much more stain than provided. The end product is awesome and we are getting many compliments.

Today, we finally were able to erect the 12×16 pergola we purchased from Hayneedle (concrete driveway had to dry). It was fairly easy to put up, if you have two men who can read instructions and a wife who reads even better.

All kidding aside, it is fantastic! So beautiful and an eye catcher. We are using it as a fancy carport on an otherwise, fairly plain front of a Florida home. You cannot imagine how many people stopped to cheer us on, and say how beautiful it was and even took pictures.

One of the arches broke off but we were able to screw it back on and no one needs to know.

Seems to be of sturdy construction and adds so much needed shade to sun, allowing use of large out door patio area during the hot Las Vegas summers. The added cost of the lattice roofing is a necessity though to make it effective as a sunshade.

Easy to install (with some help) and adds a luxurious effect to the outdoor entertainment area. Very happy with it.

The pergola kit was well packaged. We ended up requiring 5 people and two step ladders to lift the assembly in place. Unfortunately two plastic straps pulled out of the plastic buckles with just a 20 km/hr wind.

One strap unravelled while whipping against the post. The sintering at the end of the strap was inadequate. The shade sail provides excellent shade but it must be taken down in moderate to high winds.

You cannot set it up and leave it up the whole summer. It would have been nice to have a bottle of touch up paint as one bracket lost a sliver of paint on one edge during assembly.

Product: 5 starsInvincible, quality steel, easy to use, Communication: 5 starsI contacted customer service 3 times with build questions and product availability, each time I recieved an answer within hours.

Shipping: 5 stars (UPS guy wants warning next time 😀)Warning: If you have more than a few people show up to help you with the build. Have them WATCH THE VIDEO!!!6×6 bulid – inside bar 12 x 16, outside add on 10 x 14 go big you will regret it if you don’t.

We went with individual parts and didn’t order a kit. 4 x 4- we used the footers for our son’s serenity tower, bar and placed them on an old table made by my husband’s grandpa. Up next our grapevine arbor rebulid.

Thank you Toja Grid!!.

We are so happy with this Pergola. We bought it in August. It came very quickly and in good condition. It took my husband and I an afternoon to set up. Should have asked another person to help as it was heavy to hoist up and balance while getting the 2 front vertical posts in.

Looks absolutely stunning. We bought a side sail as well as it gets fairly hot when the sun is on the west side and it helps control sunlight when eating dinner out on the deck. It is designed very well.

To answer some questions one might have, the rain does come through the top. Handles windy days very well. You can adjust the side sails to go 1/4 from bottom, clip half way up or remove all together very quickly to accommodate and enjoy a breeze etc.

We took the sails down mid September to get ready for fall. Everything was so well thought through. You won’t regret purchasing this pergola. We highly recommend it.

Fantastic looking pergola. Brackets appear to be high quality. One negative is the cheap screws they send strip very easily and MUST have a pilot hole drilled before insertion. The caps also don’t always stay on the screws.

Another negative is the sail shade can collect water which pools if it rains hard and fast. I’m concerned this could wreck the shade of it pulls hard.