Cedar
The classic, and the value: light, stable overhead, takes stain or silvering gracefully. Wants a re-coat every few years if you keep the color.
A3 — Pergolas
Proportioned to the house, not ordered from a catalog
A pergola is the most architectural thing in a backyard — pure structure, fully visible. Which means proportion is everything: post dimension, beam depth, rafter spacing, overhang. We draw it before we build it.
CCB #138911 Licensed, bonded & insured 70+ projects since 2020 Portland & the east side 5-yr written workmanship warranty
A3.1 — the honest part
What a pergola is — and isn’t
A pergola gives you dappled shade, definition, and something worth looking at from the kitchen window in January. Vines love it. String lights love it. Summer dinners love it.
It will not keep the rain off. If what you actually want is to sit outside in October, you want a patio cover — and we’d rather route you there now than sell you the wrong structure. Plenty of projects end up as both: covered by the house, pergola over the open end.
A3.2 — materials & spans
Cedar, hardwood, and steel where it counts
Material choice shows more on a pergola than anywhere else — every stick is in view.
Hardwood
Ipe or mahogany overhead is furniture-grade structure — heavier, costlier, and effectively permanent. The right call beside a hardwood deck.
Steel connections
Long spans without sag, and clean lines without knee braces where the design wants air. Hidden or expressed — drawn either way.
A3.3 — budget
What a pergola costs
Most of our custom pergolas land between $8,000 and $25,000 — size, material, and footing conditions move the number. Attached to a new deck, the economics get better; we’re already mobilized.
Range to confirm against job history — see website-plan.md appendix.
Next step
Draw the structure your backyard is missing.
The consultation looks at sightlines from inside the house as much as outside — a pergola you see from the kitchen every day should be drawn like it matters.
Book a Design Consultation
or call Tim: (503) 597-8520