Pergolas and decks go together like strawberries and chocolate or game day and tailgating. It’s a natural pairing, a match made in heaven! To make sure your pergola is absolutely perfect for your deck, the best strategy is to have them designed together and built together. Archadeck of Fort Wayne has been designing and building pergola-and-deck pairs for more than a decade. If you have custom deck and pergola designs on your mind, we are the only Fort Wayne, IN, company you need to call!
Of course, if you already have a deck, we can add a pergola to that deck for you. We pride ourselves in being able to add components to an existing structure while neatly making it look like they were originally built together. As custom deck designers, however, we will be the first to tell you that a custom deck and pergola complement each other perfectly when designed together.
The primary benefits of integrating your deck and pergola designs are threefold:
- Creating and maximizing shade
- Ornamentation and visual interest
- Additional function beyond shade
A Custom Deck with Pergola Makes Shade Work for You
How much shade would you like on your deck? You may think there is one simple answer, but that is not the case. When Archadeck of Fort Wayne designs your pergola, we make sure to ask how much shade you will expect it to provide.
This is really a two-part question. First, do you want your pergola to cover the entire deck, or just some portion of it? Some homeowners prefer to leave part of the deck uncovered. Preserving an area of open deck allows you to bask in the sun, when it’s not too hot, and enjoy star-gazing at night.
Second, how much shade do you want? When you look at photos of pergolas, you usually see a grid pattern of sunlight and shade on the surface below. As your Fort Wayne pergola designer, we can increase or decrease the amount of sun allowed through. We do this by increasing or decreasing the angle and/or size of the rafters and slats at the top of the pergola. We can also increase or decrease the amount of space between rafters or slats.
Shade amount is also affected by the position of the pergola in relation to the sun’s path. When we design your pergola, we’ll go over all of these details carefully. If you want total shade, we can cover your pergola with a retractable canopy or with polycarbonate sheeting. These coverings also protect you from rain showers, so that’s another great reason to incorporate a pergola into your custom deck design!
For Stunning Custom Deck Creations, Add a Pergola!
When it comes to our custom deck designs, the ones with the most “WOW factor” are usually those with a pergola. As the client, you decide what accoutrements you want to include in your deck design. For ornamentation and visual interest, we recommend incorporating a pergola into the deck design. Not only does the pergola provide shade for your 
deck, its posts or columns become visual accents, too. A pergola can also help set off a specific area of the deck for an intended purpose. For example, a pergola over a dining table sets off the dining area. A pergola over an outdoor kitchen defines that area. A pergola at the outer edge of a deck can serve as a visual boundary for your outdoor living space. It’s your custom deck, so let’s customize it!
A Pergola Facilitates Other Custom Deck Ideas, Too!
Would you like the option of having your deck cooled off by ceiling fans? Add a pergola, and hang your fans from that! Would you enjoy festive string lighting across the deck, not just around the perimeter? String your lights across your pergola. Although a pergola isn’t required for deck lighting, your lighting options do expand greatly when you have a structure overhead. Does one of your custom deck ideas include adding privacy screens? A pergola at the edge of your deck provides a perfect place to hang privacy screens.
When you think about it, the benefits of integrating a pergola into your custom deck design go on and on and on.
If you’re looking to integrate your deck and pergola designs, your best choice is a deck contractor who has vast design experience combining decks and pergolas. That builder is Archadeck of Fort Wayne. To start a conversation with us about designing and building your outdoor living project, please call us at (855) 931-4746 or contact us.
— Craig Whitman, owner at Archadeck of Fort Wayne.
