Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 14, 2009 12:56 pm G'day guys,
Is it better to get alfresco upfront as part of the house price or is it more value for money to just get the house built and then put on a pergola later on? By avoiding the alfresco we can savey approx $7k with DFH. T-F Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 3Feb 14, 2009 1:35 pm A pergola will look like an add-on as opposed to alfresco which will flow with the house. Do it now if you can. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 4Feb 14, 2009 2:13 pm Thee was a recent thread about this very topic - interestingly some-one said alfrescos umr are so yesterday; now pergolas are so 1993 (why that particular year?)
Weigh up pros and cons of what you want - not what is the 'in thing' eg: alfresco is dearer, especially with builders markup, as a result is often smaller than a pergola. Alfresco can make inside rooms darker whereas this can be avoided in a pergola by choosing adjustable roofing materials, skylight sheets etc. I prefer a pergola, mainly for above reason, also by haveing light comeing thru the roof you can grow greenery underneath and have a flow on effect to your garden. I don't think it looks 'add-on', in a bad way as buildingadreamhome implies, just because it is not under the main roof line - in that sense a shed, tank,verandah etc look 'add-on' - is that bad?? Our pergola will be aprox 6m x 11m, at side of house behind garage, opening onto back garden. Some alfrescos also do this, of course, but some are 'landlocked' with only walls and fence around them, no direct view or access to garden. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 5Feb 14, 2009 3:09 pm I like both, if they are done well and suit the home and the yard....
Pergolas can look great, if they are properly constructed and can have a nice flow on from the house to the gardens/yard. I like the feeling of space and openess pergola's provide. Alfresco's though do have a touch of wow factor to them..... if they are of a decent size though. The small ones l think can look poky, dark and give you a closed in feeling....whilst a decent size one can really allow you to bring the indoors outdoors. The standard floorplan of our home came with a pergola which we were happy with, though when we saw the updated floorplan which had the extensions we made to the Rumpus, we were quiet pleasantly surprised that the builder turned our pergola into an alfresco Like most things, I suppose it all comes down to cost, if you think you can better spend that money elsewhere or simply avoid the additional cost of getting an alfresco then do so and add a pergola later on. But perhaps do some reseacrh and find out how much it will cost you to build a pergola, you may find that the savings are nominal? I know of friends that have spent $8-10k to add a pergola to their home. Good luck with your decision Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 6Feb 14, 2009 3:10 pm Pergola all the way.
The new enclosed alfresco/outdoor rooms are hideous IMHO, they are that small you can't use them to entertain, coz you can't fit everyone in/under it, so a waste IMHO. Our pergola will be 14mx5m with a pitched gabled roof with matching colorbond sheets as house with stamped, colored concrete, definatley not 1993 IMO, but each to their own we want to be able to use our outdoor entertaining area to have parties and people over, so for us a pergola is a much better option. Everyones needs/wants are different, you need to decide what you want and build it based on that, not what's in fashion ATM. Good-Luck Building Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=13002 Site start: 8th July 2009 Handover: 11/12/2009! 5 months total build time. 40 sqs of luxuary...Bliss! Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 7Feb 14, 2009 3:10 pm very true donot go with the in thing have what you want,I have always had a perolga myself so much cheaper than the alfesdo and they basically do the same thing.I am having a perolga myself one of those metal roof ones and donot believe they are so 1993 if you look around many new homes still have them finished building 40 square home on 5 acres with perry homes.working on the landscaping just finished pool deck with ://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=2217 Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 8Feb 14, 2009 3:25 pm We have the same question. Our plan for outdoor entertaining is to have 70% covered and 30% open pergola as we wanted lots of natural light in the kitchen to the back of the house. However price has come in at 30K for 4x10m area. After a few calls to some timber/pergola places we could do a standard deck and basic covering for 10-15K cheaper.
The problem is I'm thinking if we did this afterwards we wouldn't be able to: - Use the area under the alfresco as storage. 1.5m above ground. - Tile the area. Would be nice to have similar tiles to inside the house - Install speaker/downlights in the roof. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 9Feb 14, 2009 3:32 pm hehehe look at you lot getting offended over the 1993 jibe. lol
As if you would go with an old school pergola instead of a proper alfresco area. Do you lot even know what an alfresco is? I think some of you have short arms and deep pockets. Time to shell out for the real stuff folks. Go the alfresco T-F! Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 10Feb 14, 2009 3:42 pm Our alfresco will be 9x4m. Plenty of room to swing a cat!!! Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 11Feb 14, 2009 4:08 pm Quote: As if you would go with an old school pergola instead of a proper alfresco area. Well, obviously, some people would or they wouldn't have replied saying so (myself included) Buildingadreamhome, I agree, yours is a good size alfresco, some I have seen are as small as 3 x3m - certainly if cost is an issue, I think it would be better to get a larger pergola than a smaller alfresco - also, of course, you can then get it done at later date if immediate funds are not available. ok180, cost issues are many people's reality - not a good idea to poke fun of those on a budget - this forum is for everyone, not just those who have unlimited funds micks-k, why cant you tile the area under a pergola - we are doing paveing but I cant see why you couldn't add a cement slab, like you do in a shed, and then tile it? We are also getting lighting attached to our roof, have seen this on other pergolas, so I'm sure you could also attach speakers? Re cost - ours is costing $12,000 for 6m x 11m, colourbond gabled roof. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 12Feb 14, 2009 4:29 pm ok180 As if you would go with an old school pergola instead of a proper alfresco area. Do you lot even know what an alfresco is? I think some of you have short arms and deep pockets. Our backyard will be about 30m deep so we ant an undercover area out there.... it also faces south. Alfresco is not necessarily the best option as there is light issues for the rear of the house. Open pergola or built so that light comes through is an option for us and I can assure you we can afford the alfresco. We may simply not want it because it doesn't suit our needs. Both pergolas and alfrescos are great, but neither is always the right option. Each home is different. But I'm with Helyn, I think it's pretty low to make fun of people who may have a budget they have to stick to which makes an alfresco impossible. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 13Feb 14, 2009 4:38 pm Problem for us is we have downward sloping block and house including alfresco will be on bearers and joists. About 1.5 above ground at the back of the house. A lot more expensive to extend the house those extra 4 metres than bang in some decking. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 14Feb 14, 2009 4:48 pm We are having an "alfresco" area with this house purely because it came with one. However at a future date we will also be adding a large patio ( at least 12m x 4 m and it may end up longer still yet )down the side of our house to connect up with the "alfresco". I'm not too keen on the completely flat patio style. I would love to have one with a gable section mid way. Given that we are looking at such a long length and knowing full well how expensive they are my "want" may not happen. I'm hoping I'll have some luck convincing DH to do so though since ours will be in full street view along the side of the house.
We might also endup another patio on the western side of the house. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 15Feb 14, 2009 5:09 pm We're having both, we will have a smaller alfresco under the roofline, well, it's actually underneath an upstairs bedroom, but it's not big so we'll extend that with a pergola. I think it looks great.. and soooo not 1993...
Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 16Feb 14, 2009 6:35 pm I'm having a pergola. The majority of my kitchen, meals and family windows are off that area and would be far far too dark with a solid roof, plus when I am outside I want to feel like I'm outside '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 Pergola? 17Feb 14, 2009 7:04 pm We are going an alfesco. It won't be huge - about 6 x 4.9.
Our first 2 houses we had an area prepared for a pergola (eg paved) but never got it built. We ended up selling before we had a chance and the real estate agents said the $10k spent on a pergola wouldn't add $10k to the sale price. So that's another reason i'm going alfresco, at least it will be done before i move in and i'll FINALY get to have people over for a BBQ! Also, when you do go to sell in the future alfresco adds m2 to your advertised house size whereas a pergola usually does not (sometimes it's listed separately). The added m2 gives people the perception your home is bigger, even though the areas may be the same size. Building 3rd House - Contract Feb 09 - Council approved 4/11/09 - Site works 18/12/09 - Slab 8/2/10 - Frame 16/4/10 - Hebel/Render 11/5/10 - Gutters 17/5/10 - Roof 27/5 - Insulation/Gyprock 10/7 - Locked Out 24/7 - PCI & Handover 7/10 Front Ground Upper Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 18Feb 15, 2009 10:06 am We're doing both, like Rachelle. Our alfresco room is quite big - some are so pokey they're useless - but we want an extended area that we can use for larger gatherings. The plan is to have space for our quite large outdoor dining setting, some lounge furniture, barbeque and bar, and still have room to move.
$7k sounds pretty cheap for an alfresco room, but how big is it? And does it have a concrete slab? If not, you'll have to spend extra on paving or decking to make it usable. You might be surprised at how much a pergola costs anyway.... I'd get some rough quotes before leaning one way or the other, especially if cost is going to be the deciding factor. Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 19Feb 15, 2009 11:07 am IMO, an alfresco flows nicely under the roofline and creates an 'outdoor room' - it flows on from a living area creating the impression of larger living spaces, it is lined, plus is part of the roof which looks nice.
To me, a pergola can look like an add-on, even looking like an after thought in some instances, it looks cheaper in a lot of cases as it has to be screwed onto the wall so you don't get that flow (you've all heard about the whole "bringing the indoors outside blah blah blah" BUT, I've seen some which look amazing! I've had a pergola with laserlite at our old place and the sun beamed through it, granted it was 10 years old but still, it wasn't as pleasant as an alfresco is (we sat under an alfresco in the 45 degree heat and were totally protected from the sun) just another thing to think about other than saying well I'm doing this so my idea is better. When it comes to cost, I would imagine an alfresco is more expensive, cost of beams, tiles, lining etc - but having said that - its not cheap to get someone in to do the pergola, my old man has had quotes and all are in excess of $10k. ICK So glad the building is over, never again. Loooove our house, but still not quite sure it was worth all of the stress they put us through! Re: Alfresco or Pergola? 20Apr 21, 2009 3:56 pm We are having an alfresco (or as we call it a blesesan, try using predictive text) but it will be about 11 x 4.5mtr, we are a little worried about how dark it will make the kitchen/dining in the winter, but we figure we can do a skylight type thing somewhere if it really bothers us, I can't wait to get a new BBQ and be able to cook on it all year round! We are also having a "proper" ceiling put in the alfresco as well as getting it insulated, hopefully it will look better and be more comfortable on hot days. Is there a building permit? RU in Victoria? What is the value of the building contract? 1 6807 About a year ago, I embarked on a DIY project to construct an outdoor Pergola, which measures approximately 5.2 meters by 4.0… 0 29568 i think option 2 is much better with easy access to the garden without having to walk through the new sunroom which makes it a better room for guests and TV .a simple… 2 8208 |