Browse Forums Outdoor Living 1 Sep 23, 2010 8:13 am Should pergola be fully attached to and supported by the house wall, or should it sit on separate posts which are right next to the house? I mean, the posts and beams next to the house - should the weight of pergola be fully transferred onto the house, or should the pergola fully stand on its own legs and only be "touching" the house walls? What are the pros and cons of each solution? This is the general layout: My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 2Sep 23, 2010 2:07 pm I believe it will be dependant on the construction of your brick wall. If its brick veneer I wouldnt be placing any load on it. My last house had a pegola attached to the house however it was single storey and tied into the actual frame, not supported by the non-structual brick skin. My preference for addons to the house is to make them freestanding unless this is not practicle. For your pegola, I would be inclined to support it by posts and tie it back to the house frame for bracing requirements. The pergola appears quite large so may need a building permit (is it roofed or unroofed?). The design review process of the permit will ensure your plans are adequate if you intend on DIY? Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 3Sep 23, 2010 8:10 pm Thanks Sierra! Yep, you've nailed it - we don't actually want to attach it to the house, but it seems like it's routinely done that way, even on brick veneer houses like ours. We had one "quoter" so far and when we mentioned that we'd like it free-standing (just "touching" the house), he said that the top part would eventually come apart from the house and we'd need to fasten it back (since it apparently isn't just "touching" the bricks, there's something else about that top horizontal board along the wall, perhaps flashings or something - I forgot, it was too quick! ). Anyway, this was our only appointment with experts so far, will need to ask many more Qs ... Nothing is simple! You're right, it will be a large pergola, and it will have a roof. I think max allowed is some 10 m2 without having to apply to council ... ours would be more like 40 m2. No DIY here, that's for sure ... so this could take a while then?? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 4Sep 24, 2010 7:25 pm Attaching a pergola takes away the majority of lateral stability issues. Freestanding will need posts in ground and bracing to stop it from falling over Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 5Oct 27, 2010 11:00 am The guys are telling us they only ever attach it to the house wall, never on separate posts that would be installed next to the house walls ... Does anyone have it actually separated from the house? (I mean right against the house but not attached to it.) My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 6Feb 14, 2011 10:23 pm Seems like this is a tough but interesting question ... 750+ views and only a couple of replies Pergola threads get lots of attention but not much replies Lots of time has passed since the last update though, so - can anyone give any more input or advice? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Attach pergola to the house or not? 7Feb 15, 2011 8:06 am Hey Lex, I am no expert but I am currently going through the same thing like yours. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=42913 Well, you can have a look what my plan. You can make the decision whether you would like it to be built attached to the house or free standing. But, from what I saw it is usually attached to the house because of the following: 1. No posts will need to be dug close to the foundations of the house. 2. Easier to get a level and work out how it is need to fall for drainage purposes. 3. Much neater as really why would you want a post when you can attach it to the house without affecting its structural integrity. At the moment, I am waiting for some drawings to return from a drafting company who is going to produce all the nitty gritty (i.e how it will be attached to the house, how far the post will be apart and work out the roof structure.) Usually there is a table as per the australian standard for a particular grade of wood (i.e F7 treated pine or cyprus) that will specify the maximum span you can go before you need another the post and all that. The beam which is attached to the house is called a ledger I think and at this stage I am not sure how it is linked to the house. I am waiting for the drawings to comeback in order to see how he specified the construction in that regard. I have read through a few DIY pergola construction in order to get a feel of what is happening. If you send me a pm I can send you what I got off the net so far. Hope that helps. 4 9069 Old Home Restoration / Renovation Cheers mate! This is exactly what I was thinking but wasn't sure if it was something I'd find on the shelf. I agree with you, fixing the brackets to the board will look… 2 3285 Is there a building permit? RU in Victoria? What is the value of the building contract? 1 6835 |