Pergola Material | How To Avoid Mistakes

free standing black louvered roof pergola on patio in backyard living space

Looking To Transform Your Backyard space?

aluminum pergolas best pergola material is aluminum for minimal maintenance for outdoor spaces

Many families across the United States are renovating their backyard to better accommodate their needs for spending time with family, or having friends and other guests over. There are many reasons for why you may be looking to enhance your space with a pergola.

But where do you start?

Outdoor living made easy with low maintenance outdoor structure in pergola kits design

This is a common question with most people. A simple google search if "outdoor pergolas" and you will confronted with hundreds of different companies. How do you dig through them?

Are All Pergolas Created Equal?

The simple answer is just NO. But, the explanation is a bit deeper than just a simple one word answer. Of all the options, only a fraction may be applicable with your location. If you are near a coast line you may experience heavier winds than most other locations.

Not every pergola manufacturer makes a pergola able to resist winds of over 70, 80, or even 90 MPH in many cases. These pergolas would be crushed in the next hurricane or incredible storm. A great way to see your wind ratings would be to check out the link here to the ACT Hazards website.

Many localities base their permits on their local wind rating and snow rating through this service. If your area is requiring permits, you likely will not be able to install a pergola rated for less than your necessary wind resistance.

The Luxury Pergola

Outdoor living made easy with aluminum pergolas for your backyard space and outdoor living space

When it comes to pergola materials, here at the luxury pergola we use 6063-T6 aluminum. Otherwise known as aircraft grade aluminum. Alongside stainless steel as the baseplate. These materials are chosen for many reasons. One most importantly so you ONLY HAVE TO BUY AND INSTALL ONCE!

Fiberglass pergola kits, while offering improved strength and resistance to extreme temperatures, come at a higher cost compared to aluminum, making them a less preferred option unless specific exterior shapes are required. Our aluminum pergola exceeds the capabilities of vinyl pergolas or wood pergolas by a large margin. When comparing materials, a wooden pergola offers natural aesthetics but requires more maintenance and is less durable under certain weather conditions than aluminum or fiberglass. When it comes to maintenance, weathering, and durability, high grade aluminum will always outperform.

Made in the USA

The Luxury Pergola is proudly a made in the USA product. Our manufacturing operations take place in Westfield Indiana. With our Aluminum Extrusions from Georgia in the United States!

Wind Ratings

Pergola project for your outdoor space best with aluminum pergolas over other pergola materials

The Luxury Pergolas standard unitcan resist winds of up to 160 mph. Now wait, it only gets stronger! The Luxury Pergola Magnum can stand winds of up to 180 mph, that's a ton of wind!!

What does this mean for those who live in the rest of the country only getting 80-100 mph wind or less? well it means your pergola should only need to be installed once.

The important thing to remember is that even if you dont have high winds but do have snow. a pergola that cant resist high winds, probably cant handle large snow loads either so keep an eye out for that!

Snow Ratings

aluminum pergola kit installation costs tend to run cheaper than replacing wooden pergolas after a couple years with natural wood.

Snow ratings is massively important if you live in an area that receives snow. Snow can be a killer when you consider it collapsing structures. This is why we designed the Luxury Pergola to be able to withstand snow loads of up to 60 lbs psf.

The Other Guys

comparing other materials and pergola kit designs to the luxury pergola

Now let's help you understand the other companies out there. Have you ever heard of drop shipping? Sometimes you will notice that companies out there have crazy lead times. 2-3 months sometimes. Those same companies may not proudly advertise where their product is manufactured. Sure they may say designed in x country. Apples iPhone also says "designed in California" but where is it manufactured?

You Get What You Pay For

distinct advantages of the luxury pergola for aesthetic preferences or maintenance free designs are perfect outdoor space structures

This is very true in the aluminum pergola business. So many companies out there sell the exact same product. I Will say that again. SO MANY COMPANIES OUT THERE SELL THE EXACT SAME PRODUCT. And it is quite easy to find out. When discussing how to build the pergola or instruction manuals you may notice many share the same install manual.

If you are looking into the companies hard enough, you will be able to visually see the similarities (everything being the same) on the pictures and design. This is a large indicator you are over paying as that company is selling a product they are buying direct from a manufacturer.

Video Showing The Luxury Pergola

Why chose aluminum pergolas

Low Maintenance

Why buy a product you will have to repaint, reseal, rebuild or rebuy? Me personally I like buying a product to last. Not just a year or two but forever. This is the direction you're moving when deciding on an aluminum pergola for your outdoor space.

Louvered Pergola

unlike wood, aluminum is rot resistant under extreme temperatures making the best material for your outdoor structures

Louvered pergolas aren't very common on wooden structures, especially motorized remote controlled louvers. But why would someone want a louvered roof pergola?

Same when comparing pergola materials, the roof system has more to offer than just be above your head. Louvered pergolas allow you to control your outdoor living area. if you want more or less sun you can make that happen. If you want to stay outside while its raining but not get wet, you can make that happen too!

Durable Material

key factors of the luxury pergola design help prevent heat transpiring through louvers material.

Aluminum is obviously a stronger material than vinyl, and definitely weathers better than wood. even in the most perfect conditions wood can rot, crack, and warp. This is a dynamic you won't have to deal with on aluminum structures. Especially with the fantastic powder coated product The Luxury Pergola is manufacturing.

Other Materials

Pressure treated wood is a very durable material. Unfortunately the wood pergola weather pressure treated or not. under extreme cold or extreme heat and uv rays eventually degrade the wood material even if it's cedar.

Vinyl Pergola Kit

Big box stores tend to sell vinyl options as well. vinyl pergola kit can be very affordable. the issue with them while the price is attractive, is the low resistance to weather. vinyl pergolas are light weight and can have the umbrella affect in high winds.

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