Pergolas, engineered rather than assembled
Open structures for shade and definition, designed to your block and built by a licensed team. If you want the rain kept off, we will tell you to build a patio instead.
QBCC Licence [00000]Licensed Queensland builder
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2–6 weeks approvalWe lodge it and chase it
[6 & 15-year] warrantiesStructural and material
What a pergola actually does
A pergola is an open structure — blades or battens with gaps between them. It breaks up direct sun, defines an outdoor space as a room rather than a stretch of lawn, and gives a climbing plant something to climb.
What it does not do is keep the rain off. That sounds obvious written down, and it is still the most common mismatch between what someone asks for and what they actually want. If the plan is to sit out there through a Brisbane storm, the structure you want is a patio.
We would rather have that conversation before the quote than after the build.
See patios — solid roofs, from $12,500 insulatedWhen a pergola is the right call
- Filtered shade, not full cover. Over a garden, a path, a pool surround or a courtyard, where you want the light broken up rather than blocked.
- Definition. A large flat yard with nothing in it reads as leftover space. A structure over part of it makes that part somewhere to be.
- A frame for planting. Wisteria, star jasmine, an ornamental grape — the structure is the point in year one and the backdrop by year five.
- Where a solid roof would be too much. A patio roof against a small courtyard can black out the rooms behind it. An open structure will not.
One team, from the first measurement to the last screw
Design, engineering, council approval and construction, without a handover in the middle of it.
Design
We come to your place, measure it, and design to what is there — the roofline, the fall of the land, where the sun comes from in February.
Engineering
Every structure is engineered to its span and its site, and certified.
Council approval
We prepare and lodge the application. You do not chase it.
Construction
Our own team builds it. The people who quoted it are the people who show up.
Warranty
[6 years structural, 15 years on materials].
What a pergola costs
No published starting price on this page, because we have not run the ads that would let us stand behind one. What moves the figure:
- Size and span. An open structure still has to carry wind load, and the wider the span the heavier the steel underneath it.
- What it attaches to, if anything. A freestanding pergola over a garden is a different job to one tied into the house.
- Ground conditions. Footings do most of the work on a freestanding structure. Slope, fill, rock or reactive soil all add to them.
- Blade spacing and profile. How much shade you want decides how much steel is up there, and it is the thing people change their mind about most often once they see it drawn.
- Whether it needs approval. Mean height, boundary setback and any overlay on your property decide it, the same as any other structure.
You get a fixed price before you commit, and it does not move afterwards. Deposit is [5–10%], then progressive payments as the work goes up — you are never paying for something that has not been built.
The council part is our problem, not yours
An open structure is still a structure. Mean height, boundary setback and any overlay on your property decide whether it needs approval, the same as a carport or a patio.
You can build to within 500mm of a boundary with your neighbour's written agreement. Approval usually runs 2–6 weeks.
We check it against your address before quoting, and lodge the application if one is needed.
How council approval worksHow long it takes
| Stage | How long |
|---|---|
| Design and quote | [TBC] |
| Council approval, where needed | 2–6 weeks |
| Build | About 2 weeks |
| Installation | Up to 10 weeks from order |
Common questions about pergolas
What is the difference between a pergola and a patio?
A pergola is an open structure — battens or blades with gaps between them. A patio has a solid roof. A pergola gives you shade, definition and something for a plant to grow up; it does not keep the rain off, and it does not make a space usable in a downpour. See patios.
Will a pergola keep the rain off?
No. That is the honest answer, and it is the thing most worth knowing before you commit. If you want to sit outside while it rains, you want a patio roof. If you want filtered shade over a garden, a courtyard or a walkway, a pergola is the right structure.
Can a pergola have a roof added later?
Sometimes, but not usually as a simple addition — a frame designed for an open structure is not carrying the same wind load as one with a solid roof on it. If there is any chance you will want it covered, say so at quote stage and we will engineer for it now. It costs far less than doing it twice.
Do I need council approval for a pergola?
It depends on the mean height of the structure, how close it sits to your boundary, and any overlay on your property — the same three things that decide it for a carport or a patio. We check it against your address and lodge the application if one is needed.
Steel or timber?
We build in steel. It holds a line, it does not need re-oiling, and in a climate that alternates between beating sun and horizontal rain it stays where it was put. Timber looks beautiful for the first few years and then becomes a maintenance schedule.
Tell us about your place
Send us your address, a photo of the space and a rough idea of what you want covered. We'll come out, measure it and give you a fixed price.
Prefer to talk? 07 3276 8899
- QBCC Licence [00000] — licensed Queensland builder
- A fixed price before anything starts
- Council application prepared and lodged by us
- [6 & 15-year] structural and material warranties