Is our pergola too short?

9 years ago

We had a beautiful pergola with shades & canopy installed on a preexisting patio yesterday. Since we had to remove pavers to pour concrete footers to support the posts I did not take into account that we would lose a little height. On the length, we have 81" from patio to horizontal support beam, but on the width, due to the casings for the shades we have a 75 1/2" clearance. My husband is a little over 6'2" and that gives him only one inch clearance on that side when the shade is completely up. I also feel that it looks a little short so close to the house. The installers are willing to come back and raise it 12". They've been a dream to work with. I'm just looking for some other opinions. Should we raise it up, or is this an acceptable height?

Featured Answer

Carol Welch

9 years ago

Personally I would raise it. My husband is 6'2" as well and it would make him crazy. Also it looks a little disproportionate to the house. Hopefully it's not a huge expense to change. I would got 12-18" higher.

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Comments (21)

acm
9 years ago
Yes, a foot will make it look and feel better. Sorry you have to go another round!
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wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
My heart is telling me "raise it!" Especially before I have my electrician & stone guys come back. I think 12" is about right. Too high and it will be harder to control the canopy when I want to open and close it.
suzyq53
9 years ago
Yes, I would definitely raise it. And paint it.
Chessie
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Definitely raise it. Paint is fine - it matches the trim on the house.
hummingalong2
9 years ago
Raise it while you have the opportunity. I don't think you will ever be happy with it if you don't.
Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
yup its def low compared to the house AND your husband. it looks like a toy. i wonder if 12" will do it. every photo i see matches height with the home's first floor.

M-G Residence · More Info
your yard is gorgeous... dont let this miss the mark.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago

At least a foot and higher if possible. Looks stumpy compared to the height of your home.
PRO
Design Intervention
9 years ago
Yes, it looks too short. Raise it up!

The pergola should add some real presence in a yard!
From tear down to fabulous · More Info
decoenthusiaste
9 years ago
It appears to be aligned with the little shed roof over the stone protrusion, instead of with the soffit of the house's roof. It may take more than 18" to cover that distance.
wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
@BeverlyFLADeziner- About how much higher up would you estimate that you made that rendering?

To open the canopy, I need to be able to link a pole to a little eyelet in the shade. If I go too high up, it makes it harder for me to reach the canopy (and the shades). I'm not sure I can go up high enough to match the soffit.
decoenthusiaste
9 years ago
Well, at least go as high as you can. Anything you can do will help.
Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
i'd work out a step stool rather than keeping the pergola shade low enough to reach.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years ago
Why not measure to the underside of your gutters,?
Chessie
9 years ago
ninigret - agreed!
wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
I don't know... Most of the pergolas I see here that are even with the soffit are on a raised patio or deck. Our patio is on the ground. This looks a bit high for a 12x16 pergola. (Pardon my terrible photoshop).The lowest beam would be 10 feet off the ground- canopy height of 10' 6". Forget about a step stool at that point. I'd need a full blown ladder! That's not very convenient for every day use.
Judy Mishkin
9 years ago
the one i showed had brick faced bases on the pillars. you could match your wall stone perhaps?

anyway, anything you add is in the 'better' category.
decoenthusiaste
9 years ago
Yes, pillars might do the trick. Love to see a nice I/O chandy above the table.
wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
We like the pergola as is, so we don't want to change the design, just the height.

I spoke with the contractor today and he doesn't recommend raising it higher than 18". I'm leaning towards raising it around 15" which brings it to about the height depicted in @BeverlyFLADeziner 's rendition. That brings the top a little higher than the soffit and I can still manage to move the shades and canopy without needing a stool.

Thank you all for your advice. I can live with the ripped up patio for a few more weeks.
wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
@ninigret- I was thinking you meant the bottom should align w/the soffit. I see that now that I look at your example photo, did you mean the top? There's 20" between the lowest horizontal beam to the very top of the pergola
wil554
Original Author
9 years ago
@decoenthisiaste Would love to do a chandelier, but we can't because of the canopy. We did get it wired for electricity in case we decided to do a fan or chandelier instead one day. For now we'll do string lights...as tastefully as possible.