Why on earth do you want a pergola when you have such a beautiful covered porch? Pergolas are way overdone and almost always done wrong-they are meant to grow things on for a living roof.

We're looking to expand our outdoor living space. Our summers are hot, 110-115 from June - August.

Are you thinking of the area next to the porch? It would be nice to add trellises on the front of the porch columns to tie in in.

Exactly, for shade.

They don't offer shade, they offer strips of shade sometimes. People stick them everywhere (front entry!) and I find them overdone and usually done wrong. It will offer you exactly 0 relief from the heat, unlike your covered patio which should help a lot.

The point is, what you have is lovely and I don't think a pergola will add much if it doesn't detract from what you have now.

You must live in Tucson or the Phoenix metro area. If this is the case you also have high winds during the summer monsoon season and termites. Your Pergola will need to have a robust structure. Do you have a budget?

Example:

Feel free to look at a large pergola on my website (I am in Portland Oregon). In the example shown there are six cedar wrapped columns which are connected to 8"x 8" tube steel. The steel goes 40" below the concrete slab surface into massive concrete footings. This is keeps it from being pushed over from wind shear (and protects from pests and moisture). My suggestion is that you find a good contractor that can have complete plans with structural engineering.

My customers love their pergola because they can be outside but protected from the elements. In our case it is rain and snow. For you it may be protection from the direct sun.

Good luck!

Thanks for pointing that out regarding winds and termites. Metal will work then; budget, nothing too extravagent.

Greenwish1234, we are looking for several ideas, not just a pergola. We need ideas for landscaping, texture cement pad or pavers/bricks, and outdoor plants,

Roger K.,

The metal would be concealed inside your pergola columns. In my example we used brick column bases to conceal the tube steel.

Is the photo example going to be the approximate size structure that you want?

To you want to keep or replace or add to your current cement area?

We are looking for a 20x20 structure. Not sure if we want textured cement pad or pavers/bricks for the floor.

Pavers are much more attractive than stamped concrete IMO. Why not follow that nice curve you have? It would ensconce your home and contrast its angles nicely.

1. Start a backyard landscape ideabook. Note the features you love and the ones you MUST have.

2. Make a plot plan including existing features to scale.

3. Use tracing paper over your plan to sketch out functions of each space and habits of plants in each location.

4. Use your current globally-warmed Phoenix winter to sit on your current patio, survey the landscape, and evaluate each plan critically.

With luck, you'll make a decision and have it constructed in time for NEXT winter.

It's what I did to go from this...

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...to this:

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In southern Arizona, it's still not usable in the summer, so I mostly just look out the window at it and watch the dogs scatter the gravel.

Roger K.,

You should be able to create some shade with a 20' x 20' covered roof area. You can also use only 4 columns. As stated before, due to wind issues the project will require engineering. Several thousand will need to be spent below your patio surface.

We have a pergola on the house we bought. In our case, it adds partial shade and creates a sense of enclosure and architectural interest - but we don' t have the covered porch. So those are the pros, but there are some downsides. If you use wood that is stained or painted, pergolas are a pain to clean or paint as they age (unless they are covered by vines). We also find that orb weaver spiders love to rappel from the pergola at night - a bit annoying.

My first though when I saw the comment about AstroTurf is that it will heat up enough to be unusable by pets and people if it is in sun, unlike plants. What is your planned use for the AstroTurf? How large an area?

-If it is just for aesthetics, you may want to reconsider and look into low growing plants that will tolerate dry conditions better than turf and use less water.

-If it is for walking on or as a place for pets to relieve themselves, I would want to put it in full shade or keep some real sod.

As groveraxle commented, having your plot plan (can be gotten from the city) or measuring and drawing one to scale and then trying out different ideas using an overlay is helpful. If you have trouble visualizing spaces, paint for athletic fields (takes a while to wear off) or rope or flour can be used to outline spaces in the yard to try things out. Take whatever functions and furniture you plan to use out there to see if sizes work.

Think about what the pergola in various sites will do to change the gorgeous views, both from inside the house and from the current roofed patio.

Learn about how far from the plants you want to keep you can dig for foundations without creating too much root disturbance for them to survive.

"... we are looking for several ideas, not just a pergola."

You've mentioned some things you might want, but I don't think you have really laid out your objectives ... what you are trying to achieve and why. Eventually, it comes out that you want additional outdoor living space with protection from sun. If you trying to find out where it could fit in the yard and how it might be shaped, you should include a simple plan of the relevant area. It seems like it could have a square footprint or be L-shaped.

For planting, it is not clear exactly where you are talking about.

Hi Roger, looks like you have a nice house and backyard. The scale of the space in conjunction with the exact placement of the pergola is critical. How many plants you want and if you have preferences in the type of plants is also an important factor. Really you are mixing three things - paving, plants and the pergola so all three need to be coordinated with each other. We've done work in Mesa so I know there are a lot of good garden centers around that could help you with plant choices, but I'd hate to see you spend money by simply putting a bunch of ideas together and hoping for the best. I'd really suggest finding a local landscape designer to put together a full plan for you. The backyard doesn't look large so I think a design would be affordable and well worth the expense.

James

I live in New England, so maybe I just don't get it. Here, you would ideally have a shaded/rainproof (add for us bug proof) spot like you already have and then a sunny area. Assuming shade is the reason for the pergola (even though I don't believe one would provide it in a magnitude sufficient to make 110 degree summer days tolerable unless it has a dense canopy of foliage), you already have a fully shaded seating area. Wouldn't you want an uncovered patio where you can grill and have a fire and see the stars or warm up on a sunny winter day? I say leave the pergola and use the money for the rest of the project. Unless you want to grow grapes or vines, in which case I think they make stunning alfresco eating areas.

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some ideas: