Browse Forums General Discussion Re: Alfresco or Not? 2Apr 27, 2009 2:14 pm My DP would not build without an alfresco.. But i'm not too fussed. I like an area to go outside, but it doesnt have to be an 'alresco' If you were adding space to your meals area, that should be fine, you can always pop a pergola up afterwards to create and outdoor room type area. I doubt the builders would allow you to make any structural changes without charging a fee for including the alfresco back on thought, you may want to ask them first. Building with PD - Regent 23 Cascades on Clyde Estate HomeOne Building Thread - PCI Completed - 28th August. Handover - 11th September. Re: Alfresco or Not? 3Apr 27, 2009 2:26 pm I still call ours an alfresco even though there is no floor and no roof! We will have pavers going down soon so we'll have a floor, and till we decide what to do with the roof we'll just use an umbrella for shade. It's still an alfresco to me "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Alfresco or Not? 4Apr 27, 2009 2:33 pm Hi erinleigh, yeah I guess I will just have to go with a pergola. I will not consider paying extra to put it back. I just wanted to know from those with 'alfresco', how is it different with a pergola? Definitely it looks different coz the alfresco seems to be part of the house, but what else? Re: Alfresco or Not? 6Apr 27, 2009 2:46 pm raeking Hi erinleigh, yeah I guess I will just have to go with a pergola. I will not consider paying extra to put it back. I just wanted to know from those with 'alfresco', how is it different with a pergola? Definitely it looks different coz the alfresco seems to be part of the house, but what else? Completely different, because it becomes part of the house ceiling. We have downlights and fans in ours (no paved floor yet...but it will happen ) It's also weather proof, whereas a pergola doesn't tend to be, so much. A pergola will let in more light, as it's not so enclosed.I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that they are quite different. DH is going to build a pergola at the side of our house - they can look really nice , I know VJ has a fantastic pergola on her place! If you don't have the space for an 'Al Fresco' room - and they really are outdoor rooms - then either a pergola, or a paved area with a nice umbrella are great options! Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: Alfresco or Not? 9Apr 27, 2009 3:23 pm Petal, When you said it was weatherproof, this is what I felt -> The reason why we had it removed is that we have a sort of an alfresco at the house we're renting at the moment. But it's really a pergola. We don't stay out as much due to the weather which is mostly cold & windy. If it's sunny, then we've got the flies. So I thought, we won't be staying out that much so.. take it off! But then again.... I love outdoors specially I've got kids. That is why I'm torn in between even up to now. More inputs please! Re: Alfresco or Not? 10Apr 27, 2009 3:37 pm raeking Petal, When you said it was weatherproof, this is what I felt -> The reason why we had it removed is that we have a sort of an alfresco at the house we're renting at the moment. But it's really a pergola. We don't stay out as much due to the weather which is mostly cold & windy. If it's sunny, then we've got the flies. So I thought, we won't be staying out that much so.. take it off! But then again.... I love outdoors specially I've got kids. That is why I'm torn in between even up to now. More inputs please! I didn't mean to make you feel !!!!! You can always put some clear perspex over a pergola to make it more waetherproof!!!!!!!! One reason we had the fans put in was to alleviate the fly problem - apparently it really works!!! Solidarity, not solidity.......The Lexicon of Life Re: Alfresco or Not? 11Apr 27, 2009 3:50 pm I love a covered outdoor area of some sort, many previous debates on here re 'alfresco' vs 'pergola' but haveing larger indoor space and no outdoor space wouldn't work for me. Re fans and lights, these can easily be added to the underside of a solid pergola roof, we are certainly planning to put lights on ours and maybe a ceiling fan, it will be a gabled colourbond roof to match house roof with some skylight sheets to let more light in. Solid pergola roofs are waterproof, as much as alfrescos under main roof, I would of thought. Obviously basic pergola roofs are sometimes less solid material, say, shadecloth. I'm not a fan of those little 'land-locked' alfrescos, more like mini courtyards I suppose; my pergola will be open to the back garden so we have full vision of the garden when sitting under it as well as shade plants growing under the pergola itself. I guess I prefer a pergola as I want it to be an 'indoor' extension of the garden rather than an 'outdoor' extension of the house - does that make sense?? Re: Alfresco or Not? 13Apr 27, 2009 6:39 pm Helyn I love a covered outdoor area of some sort, many previous debates on here re 'alfresco' vs 'pergola' but haveing larger indoor space and no outdoor space wouldn't work for me. Re fans and lights, these can easily be added to the underside of a solid pergola roof, we are certainly planning to put lights on ours and maybe a ceiling fan, it will be a gabled colourbond roof to match house roof with some skylight sheets to let more light in. Solid pergola roofs are waterproof, as much as alfrescos under main roof, I would of thought. Obviously basic pergola roofs are sometimes less solid material, say, shadecloth. I'm not a fan of those little 'land-locked' alfrescos, more like mini courtyards I suppose; my pergola will be open to the back garden so we have full vision of the garden when sitting under it as well as shade plants growing under the pergola itself. I guess I prefer a pergola as I want it to be an 'indoor' extension of the garden rather than an 'outdoor' extension of the house - does that make sense?? I agree with Helyn on this one. I also want a pergola roof that's colourbond/laser light so that I can get more light into the house. The area that I will be roofing does have 3 brick walls which will help block a lot of the rain/wind 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Alfresco or Not? 14Apr 27, 2009 7:27 pm This has been such a problem for me and my partner. We are building and he wants an 'over the top alfresco'!!!! I would have rathered just a pergola or a nice outside area a few metres away from the house connected to the pool even. I have given in because some of the pictures I have seen are beautiful and I guess it will make the home a nice entertaining one. We are going to have one on the side of our house, about 4 by 7m, with some funky wall and water features, and the pool few metres away for a nice veiw. Not to mention the Beer on tap that we are having in our bbq area. DA approved Waiting on a few more Builder's quotes. Re: Alfresco or Not? 15Apr 27, 2009 7:31 pm Pergolas are so 1993 (Sorry, I couldn't resist ) Blog: http://bluemistkids.blogspot.com "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, and professionals built the Titanic." Re: Alfresco or Not? 16Apr 27, 2009 7:36 pm LOL Hels! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Alfresco or Not? 17Apr 27, 2009 7:48 pm there's always one smart arse, hey, Hels My pergola will be a fair size, aprox 6 x 11m and surrounded on 3 sides, it will be at the side of the house so 1 side will be house, other side the fence, garage at rear (roller door can open so garage area can double up as extra undercover space for large gatherings) and front open to the lawn and garden area of back garden. However at the moment this flash pergola remains a figment of my imagination: we have the money, we even have the materials but builder of same is a small one man company (we thought we would support local small business ) and he has fractured his shoulder and had to have shoulder reconstruction, who knows when this pergola will actually eventuate!!! Believe it or not we got measure and quote back in June last year , before we even moved into the house, aiming to be ready to start as soon as possible after handover. Have been in house 6 months now and still waiting. In the meantime floor area is still dirt as we cant put the paveing down before the pergola posts go in The whole house was built in 8 months, at this rate faster than the pergola!!!! sorry for rant and thread hijack Re: Alfresco or Not? 18Apr 27, 2009 7:56 pm Well funnily enough we just got back from having a lovely roast with my Mum. We left our dog outside while we were gone as it wasn't bad out there so we thought she would be ok. We just got home and had to go and get her, the ball girl was soaked!! Mainly because we don't have any undercover area at all in our little courtyard. I said to DH, I'm so glad in our new house we have the alfresco built under the roofline, not for me but for the dog!! I think it will be a great spot for her My karma ran over your dogma Re: Alfresco or Not? 19Apr 27, 2009 8:04 pm We'll have an approx 25sqm alfresco on the east side of the house. And we'll have an add on open pergola to this eventually. Out the back, we have put a sliding door on the rumpus and will eventually have a "so 1993" added to it. That side is south so we definitely didn't want something enclosed there. So we'll have both. It's not simply a matter of pergola or alfresco. You have to consider your block orientation and how much light etc. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Alfresco or Not? 20Apr 27, 2009 8:15 pm We love our al fresco room (yes, with downlights and feature lights and ceiling fan....and plans for built-in BBQ and bar ), but we also loved the decked pergola we had at our old place. It got a LOT of use, especially because the house was so small - with three kids, the deck effectively became another room. We ate there more than indoors in summer, and Sunday breakfasts on the BBQ were a common thing too. It was a nice spot to sit and read a book, or just to chat over a coffee or a drink. It was pretty well rain-proof, except if we had a really torrential downpour, when the spouting would overflow. Even in Melbourne, we got probably 8 months good use out of it each year. We positioned it so it was lovely and sunny in winter, and deciduous trees plus the aspect gave us shade in summer from early afternoon. Pots of herbs plus some sandalwood sticks kept mozzies away...flies, you just have to deal with. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It's what you make of it, really. Whichever you have, just make sure it's positioned to take advantage of the local weather conditions. Hello! I've alfresco pitch of 3 degrees sitting just below the highlight window. Need advice on below: 1. Will the 3 degree pitch be ok to drain the rain water? 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