Small pergolas

A roof that closes against rain. At 8×10 and 8×12 this means a louvered aluminum kit, usually worked by a hand crank, and the table below lists every one with its price. The kits differ in what comes in the box, in warranty length and in whether the roof is flat or slanted, so read those lines on the product page before you choose. None of the kits we list is motorized below 10×10, so a motor means moving up a size; the motorized pergola page lists them.

Cheap shade for a small square. Sunjoy’s Arcadia is a steel frame with a fabric canopy that slides along rails, listed at about $343 for the 9×11. It is sold for shade, not for rain or snow, and Sunjoy tells owners to take the canopy off before severe weather. The catch: it states no warranty, and its own listing gives two different wind figures, so treat it as a seasonal shade. Who should buy something else: anyone who wants to sit out when it rains.

A barbecue corner. The grill pergolas are the narrow ones, five to eight feet deep, made with bar shelves on the sides so a grill sits under the roof with room to stand beside it. Mirador includes bar tables and anchor bolts on every model, and Erommy’s comes with side shelves and base plates for anchoring. They are a poor fit for a dining set because of their depth.

A louvered aluminum 8×10 costs about $1,750 to $2,400. Open-slat wood pergolas at 8×10 cost about $4,800 in the middle of the market and vinyl about $5,300, so a kit with a closing roof costs about half as much as a wood one, or less. What you give up is the look: aluminum louvers are a hard, modern roof, not a lattice of wood.

The price on the page leaves out the bolts for your slab or deck and any help with the build. Budget a few hundred dollars for both, more if you hire it.

A size on a kit is the footprint of the frame, and the posts stand inside it. On an 8×10 the clear space between the posts is roughly seven and a half feet by nine and a half, because each post takes up several inches. Two makers publish the real figures for their small kits, and they show how far a label can be from the floor you can use.

Leave about three feet to walk around furniture and to pull a chair out. That is why an 8×8 suits a bistro table for two, and why an 8×10 takes a loveseat and a chair, or a small table that you reach from the open side. Maker size guides disagree about four-seat dining: some say 8×10, others 10×10. If a table for four is the goal, treat 10×10 as the size where it works, and measure the table you own before you decide.

Height is the other surprise. Small kits stand lower than big ones: Erommy’s grill pergola is 7.3 feet at its tallest. Check the height if you are tall or want a ceiling fan.

If the patio is long and shallow, or butts against the house, a pergola that fixes to the wall uses the house as one side. Purple Leaf’s wall-mounted 8×10 is the one small kit built that way, and it needs a wall solid enough to take the fixings: brick, concrete or wood studs. Check which side of an 8×10 runs along the house, because 8×10 and 10×8 are not the same fit. The attached pergolas page lists every wall-mounted kit, including larger ones.

If you want a fixed roof rather than louvers, small gazebos exist at 8×8 and 8×10, and the 10×10 gazebo page has a section on the smaller sizes.

A small frame is light, and a roof of louvers catches wind, so the anchoring matters more than it does on a bigger kit. Bolt it down: wedge anchors into concrete, or lag bolts into the joists of a deck, not just the boards. Pavers and bare soil need a proper footing, which is more work than the kit.

The anchors are not always in the box. Mirador includes anchor bolts for flat concrete on its grill pergolas, and Erommy’s has pre-drilled base plates. Sunjoy says its Arcadia’s anchors are not supplied, and it recommends expansion bolts or concrete screws. Buy heavier anchors than the stock ones if the spot is exposed. Before you dig for footings, call 811.

We found no owner reviews for the kits at these exact sizes, so this is what owners of the same kinds of louvered kit report. Dents and bent parts from shipping are the commonest complaint, followed by a missing screw or bracket, and the makers usually send replacements quickly. Plan on two or more people and a day, and expect the frame to wobble until it is anchored. A few owners had a small leak where the roof panels meet, which is a reason to check the seals when you assemble it. Unbox and check every part as soon as it arrives.

The permit. At 64 or 80 square feet, a small pergola is under the line many towns use for small structures, but that line is local, and attaching it to the house, a solid roof or electrical work can change the answer. Ask your building department, or see our permit guide.

The HOA. Associations often regulate louvered roofs even when the town does not, and one maker tells buyers to get approval before ordering.

Stock. Some of these kits showed as out of stock when last checked, the Erommy grill pergolas among them, so confirm availability before you plan the weekend.