12×14 pergolas

For shade: the Backyard Discovery Beaumont. It’s cedar on 6 by 6 inch posts, and the box includes steel anchor plates and concrete anchors, so a sound patio is all you need. The brand rates it for 100 mph winds once it’s anchored as the manual says, and covers it for five years. The catch is the open trellis roof: it gives dappled shade and nothing against rain, and the cedar needs a clear sealant every year. Cheaper cedar kits from Veikous and Amerlife cost about $850 to $1,000, with one year or less of coverage.

For rain cover: Paragon’s Lugano. It lists 82 mph winds and 17 pounds per square foot of snow, ships in six boxes, and Paragon puts the build at about six hours for two people. Paragon charges about $4,500, and Costco sells the same Lugano at 12×14 for about $3,550, delivered but not set up; our Costco pergola guide covers that route. If you’d rather have steel and a five-year warranty, Backyard Discovery’s Ridgeline costs about $4,300 and lists 100 mph winds and 3,600 pounds of snow load.

For a cheaper roof that closes: Kozyard’s louvered pergola costs about $1,900. It has 4 by 4 inch posts, Kozyard lists 65 mph only after the posts are piled or bolted down, the warranty is one year, and it ships in seven packages.

For fabric shade: Backyard Discovery’s Windham costs about $1,200 and Sunjoy’s Palladio about $1,300. Both use a fabric roof, not a rain cover: Windham’s sail lets water through, and Sunjoy says the Palladio isn’t designed for harsh weather, including high winds, rain and snow.

The prices fall into three groups because the roofs are three different products. Open cedar slats cost about $800 to $1,600 and give dappled shade. Fabric canopies and sails cost about $1,200 to $2,800 and give shade without rain cover. Louvers are the only roof here that closes against rain, and they start near $1,900 and run to about $4,800. Some of the cheapest listings are sold out at times, so check stock before you plan around one. For every louvered kit at any size, see louvered pergolas.

A 12×14 covers 168 square feet, but the posts stand inside the roof, so the room is smaller. Between the posts, Veikous’s cedar kit gives about 11 by 9 feet, Sunjoy’s Palladio 12 by 10, and Yardistry’s louver room about 11 by 13. That is one furniture group: a dining table for six, or a sofa with two chairs, but not both. The kits that show their layout use four posts and no middle post.

If you want both a table and a sofa, step up to a 12×16, and for a smaller roof with the same shape, see the 12×12.

The permit. The model building code most towns start from exempts a freestanding structure under 200 square feet, and a 12×14 is 168, so it often needs no building permit. But many cities set the line at 120 square feet, and only 7 of the 24 places in our permit guide clear a freestanding open 12×14. Attach it to the house and it often does, so ask your building department first.

The base. On a sound patio you only bolt it down. With no slab, Angi puts a new one at about $600 per 100 square feet, so roughly $1,000 under a 12×14. Backyard Discovery recommends a concrete patio 4 to 6 inches thick.

The anchors. The Beaumont includes concrete anchors. Other kits ship with plates or ground stakes, and the wind ratings brands publish assume the posts are bolted down or piled as the manual says, so check the box list and budget for bolts.

The delivery. Kits ship in two to eight boxes, and some brands warn that the boxes may arrive on different days. The complaints that come up again and again in low-star reviews, including Costco’s Paragon page, are about damaged or missing parts and slow fixes, not about wind. Open every box and count the parts before you start building.