Choosing the right pergola kit for your space can be a hassle! Throughout this selection process what many people don’t think about is the difficulty of the installation. Whether you’re a DIY’er or you’re hiring a professional, finding an engineered pergola kit with an efficient installation process can be tricky. The last thing anyone wants is having their product show up and it doesn’t go together the way it is supposed to… better yet – the company doesn’t respond right away when you need something! Here are some of the different pergola installation topics to keep an eye out for while you’re selecting the right pergola for you.
Make sure to find out how the roofing / shading portion of your pergola kit goes together – some systems can be a nightmare!
OK – so every pergola kit out there has an installation guide of some sorts. You really need to take a good look through their materials and see how much detail they go into. Too many install guides leave a lot to the imagination. Make sure to go through the pergola installation guide and see what, if any, questions you may have for your specific project. Detailed diagrams that make sense are also vital to a clean and efficient installation. Lastly, make sure your pergola company makes their installation guide easy to access on their website – make sure they have nothing to hide!
How much effort did your pergola kit company put into their installation support? Some brands offer full video support for pergola kit installations! Everyone learns a different way – and a lot of DIY’ers or carpenters learn best by watching someone else do it first. There’s a few companies out there that can offer this level of support to really show you the in’s and out’s of their pergola kit’s installation process. Heartland Pergolas offers exactly this! We have a video for every step of the pergola kit installation process – here’s an example of installing a small vinyl post sleeve over your post mount – it’s one of the many videos we have on our YouTube Pergola Kit Installation Series.
Not all pergolas are perfect squares or rectangles! The installation process will differ at specific areas that are unique to your project space and sometimes everything doesn’t make it into the install guide. Here are some common areas to think about:
These are all common questions you’ll have to assess when planning your pergola’s installation. Make sure your pergola kit’s company has the capability of providing you with this extra information if necessary. You should be given a drawing or CAD drawing for square or rectangle pergolas – and a custom hand drawing or CAD drawing for uniquely shaped pergolas! Here at Heartland Pergolas we also like to make PDFs for situations like splicing – see the rafter splicing example below!
This may be the single biggest thing people forget to look for when selecting a pergola kit. What happens if you get stuck or you need a question answered in the field? Some of your options online for pergola kit companies cannot support you outside of weekdays during normal business hours. This may be fine if you’ve hired a professional, but what if you’re installing on Saturday morning and you need something – do you just wait until next Saturday? Be sure to find a company willing to give you a cell phone or at least an email address they will respond to outside of normal business hours. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes you make a mistake or get confused because you don’t do pergolas every day! Heartland Pergolas is a family business and can support you 7 days a week! Rest easy knowing you won’t be waiting 6 hours for a response to a simple (or complicated!) question regarding your pergola kit.
It’s also not uncommon for us to make personalized videos and privately link them on YouTube for customers. Sometimes you have a very unique situation that requires a little creativity to get the job done. We are more than willing to make a video in our fabrication facility demonstrating exactly how we would solve one of your problems. These types of personal support responses don’t take days or weeks to get done… we do them right away because we know you need it!
If you have installation questions don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 563.345.6745 or aaron@heartland.ctws53sj-liquidwebsites.com! We have drawings, pictures, videos, PDFs and anything else you may need!
If you can’t find what you’re looking for please give us a quick call at 563-345-6745 or use our chat box in the bottom left corner of your screen!
