Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Apr 02, 2010 10:00 am Hi everyone, Like many others, our house has no outdoor space like alfresco or similar. So, we'll have to build some kind of pergola. I am interested to see some pergolas built at the back of 2 storey houses. Another important issue - how high off the back sliding doors would you attach the pergola to the house? I'm talking about the battens (or whatever they're called) that are "attached" to the brick wall above the back doors and windows. Also, we'll have some services coming through the brick wall at approx the same height where the battens / pergola roof needs to be attached to the house wall. So, can the battens be "broken" mid-way because those services must not be covered? Next, do the battens need to be attached to the brick wall, or can they be supported by some posts, for example? Anyone built that?? Any advantage of doing that?? Thanks!! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Pergola Ideas for Double Storey Houses - Pictures and He 4Apr 03, 2010 5:36 pm Well, Lex, I'l have a go at answering. I think the current trend to alfresco areas under the main roof has somewhat diminished the interest in adding pergolas, but surely some are still being done. I think you first need to sort out the main purpose of the pergola. Is it to improve the appearance of the house or to provide an outdoor living space? Are you talking a pergola or a verandah ie will it be open on top, shadecloth or a fixed roof? Is there a possibility of building a pergola now and adding a roof later? Because, you need to allow for the fall now. It sounds like you're thinking of a simple flat-top pergola. But if you're really thinking of a roofed structure, pitched roofs seem to be more the go at present - partly due to appearance and partly due to the fact that any translucent roof that's almost flat tends to get very dirty very quickly. As for height of the wall-plate above the sliding door, surely this depends on the look you're trying to achieve. Also the size of the structure will help determine the ideal height to maintain nice proportions. I'd suggest printing a photo of the back of the house and roughly sketching your ideas on it to see how they might look. I can't see any problems in having gaps in the wall-plate to let services through, but obviously more dynabolts (or other fasteners) will probably be needed. One thing to check, though, is if it's OK to bolt the structure to the brick wall if it's brick veneer. An engineer's opinion on this may be required by some authorities. Though, if I read you correctly and you prefer to use posts on the wall side of the structure, then this should be OK. Personally, I'd prefer the "cleaner" look of bolting the structure to the wall, if feasible. Cheers zeke Re: Pergola Ideas for Double Storey Houses - Pictures and He 5Apr 03, 2010 6:10 pm Oh, thanks zeke!! I totally appreciate it's very hard giving answers to these quite generic questions!! Yes, I'll have to get going on putting some pics and sketches soon ... Yeah, it should be a very simple structure, with a slightly tilted roof (well, that's current thinking, and thanks for opening my mind to other possibilites!!). We'd build a pergola only because otherwise we wouldn't have any covered and civilised outdoor living. One thing to note is that the back wall of the house is one straight line, so the pergola would be open on 3 sides !!! Having separate posts so that the weight is fully supported by them is purely because I am not confident in brick walls being strong enough to bear all that weight and tension. Might not look as good, but for us it's usually practicality before prettiness. I need to actually see some pergolas and how high or low their roofs are (where they adjoin the house) and where are the services located (like ducting etc). Hopefully those beams can be in 2 pieces?!?! (as you mentioned) ... My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... 1 4581 Hi Kristy Around $1.7-1.8m or around $4,600/sqm. if you PM me your email I will send you a break up in a spreadsheet so you can get an understanding of the costs for… 1 9952 Regardless of wall hung toilet or floor pan toilet your feet will be right on drain, seems to me the waste should not be in that location given the design. Also are you… 6 7039 |