A pergola is the right answer when a full roof would be too much — over a patio seating area, along a pool deck, or at the far end of a covered porch where you still want light. Rafter size, spacing and orientation determine how much shade you actually get and at what time of day. Running the top members perpendicular to the afternoon sun is a small decision that changes how usable the space is at five o'clock in July.
Rafter spacing and orientation tuned to your exposure and the hours you use the space
Cedar, treated timber, composite-wrapped and powder-coated aluminum framing
Optional canopies, shade cloth and retractable systems
Louvered roofs when you want to change your mind
An adjustable louvered roof gives you open sky, filtered shade, or a closed rain-tight roof from one structure. On Lake Murray that flexibility earns its cost fast — a summer storm rolls in off open water with very little warning, and a louvered system closes before the furniture is soaked. Motorized units can add rain sensors, integrated lighting, fans and screens.
Motorized adjustable-louver roofs with rain sensors
Integrated lighting, fans, heaters and drop screens
Aluminum structures with finishes that don't require repainting
Attached or freestanding
Attached pergolas extend the house and need the same careful ledger and flashing detail as a porch roof — a badly attached ledger is a leak you'll find years later inside the wall. Freestanding pavilions let you place the structure where the view is best rather than where the house happens to be, which on a lake lot is often twenty feet closer to the water.
Properly flashed ledger attachments on attached structures
Freestanding pavilions sited for the view rather than the wall
Footings and post connections engineered for wind uplift off open water
Built to hold up here
Sun, humidity and wind off the lake are hard on anything undersized. We build with posts and beams sized for real loads, stainless or hot-dipped hardware, concrete footings below grade, and finishes selected for UV exposure — not a kit assembled on top of a patio and hoped for.