POLYWOOD pergola: the Westgrove

The Westgrove comes in two sizes and one color, which POLYWOOD calls Natural. Ground shipping is free within the contiguous United States.

The 12×12 covers 144 square feet against 96 for the 8×12, so you get half again the space for about a thousand dollars more. Unless your patio only fits the smaller one, it’s the better buy.

The posts, beams and slats are POLYWOOD lumber, a plastic lumber made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), with stainless steel fasteners. It isn’t wood, and POLYWOOD says it won’t splinter, rot, crack, chip or peel. The color will soften over the years, though: POLYWOOD’s warranty says all colors fade to some degree in the sun, and fading isn’t covered.

The roof is open slats, so you get dappled shade but no shelter from rain, and POLYWOOD doesn’t sell a roof or canopy for it. It also publishes no wind or snow rating. If you want a pergola that keeps the rain off, look at a pergola with a roof instead.

The Westgrove stands on its own and isn’t designed to attach to a house. It is heavy, too: POLYWOOD lists the shipping weight at 792 lb for the 8×12 and 964 lb for the 12×12. POLYWOOD lumber is not flame retardant, so a grill or fire pit doesn’t belong under it.

POLYWOOD says professional installation is highly recommended, and its manual asks for at least two adults. Each post bolts down with an included bracket to flat, level concrete or a structurally supported deck. The screws that fix those brackets to your surface aren’t in the box, and grass or soil isn’t an approved base. Plan on about 3 feet of clear space on either side.

POLYWOOD’s White Glove service is a paid upgrade, and it doesn’t publish the price. For a pergola, delivery and assembly are two separate appointments, and the installer reschedules if your base isn’t ready. A swing needs eye screws that are sold separately. Check with your town before you order, because POLYWOOD says a permanent structure may need a building permit.

Delivery: POLYWOOD makes every pergola to order. The product page says it ships in 10 to 20 business days, while POLYWOOD’s FAQ quotes a production lead time of 2 to 4 weeks. You can cancel until it ships; after that, freight costs are yours.

Returns: this is the rule that can cost you. POLYWOOD takes a pergola back only unassembled and in its original packaging, and you pay a 25% restocking fee plus return shipping. On the 8×12 that fee alone is about $2,250, so measure and check your base before you order.

Warranty: POLYWOOD warrants the pergola’s lumber not to break for 20 years of residential use, and its hardware for 5 years. Labor, assembly and storm damage aren’t covered.

At 12×12, the open-slat cedar kits we list cost far less. The Veikous cedar pergola is about $750, the Backyard Discovery Beaumont about $1,400 and the Yardistry 12×12 about $2,040. The Westgrove costs about five times the dearest of them.

The catch with cedar is that it’s wood, so it weathers and needs looking after. If you want low maintenance for less money, a vinyl pergola is the other route. If you want lumber that won’t rot and the budget is there, the Westgrove is the one to buy.