We build timber pergolas for Geelong homes: open frames for a vine or a shade sail, shade-battened tops for the summer sun, and pergolas fixed to the house or standing on their own. The same crew sets out the posts, builds the frame and paints or stains it before we leave.
Most pergola calls fit one of these. Many end up as a mix, like a freestanding frame with battens over the end where the afternoon sun comes in.
Posts, beams and rafters with nothing over the top. An open pergola frames an outdoor area, carries a climbing plant or a shade sail, and still lets the winter sun through. Every joint is on show, so we cut the rafter ends and fit the beams the way you would build furniture, not the way you would build a frame that gets covered up.
Battens fixed across the rafters break up the summer glare without closing the area in. The spacing and direction of the battens decide how much shade you get and at what time of day, so we set them out for where the sun sits over your yard rather than to a standard gap.
An attached pergola fixes to the house on one side, so that connection has to be right: fixed back into the wall frame, flashed where it meets the house, and set to suit the eave and gutter line. A freestanding pergola stands on its own posts, which suits a corner of the garden, a spot over a deck, or a house wall that can’t take a fixing.
Posts set straight into soil or concrete hold water at the bottom and rot from the base up. We stand posts on galvanised stirrups or post supports, clear of the ground, so the end grain dries out after rain.
A beam too light for its span starts to sag within a few years, sooner once a roof or a heavy vine goes on. We size beams and rafters for the span and for anything you might add later.
A pergola fixed to a fascia, or screwed over weatherboards with no flashing, lets water into the wall behind it. We fix back into the frame and flash the join.
Raw timber goes grey and splits in a Geelong summer. We paint or stain the frame as part of the job, cut ends included, so it is protected from day one.
Already have a pergola that has started to rot or sag? That is a different job, covered on our pergola repairs page.
A call, a message or a few photos. Tell us what the pergola is for: shade, a vine, or somewhere to eat outside.
We measure up, work out where the posts can go and what the house wall will take, and check whether it needs a permit.
Timber, finish and fixings set out line by line, so you know exactly what you are getting before you say yes.
Posts set, frame built, painted or stained and the site cleaned up, by one crew from start to finish.
The old pergola had rotted past saving. We took it down and built a new one in treated pine to match the original system, replaced 1 metre sections of fascia on three corners of the house while we were there, and painted the lot. 2025.
Part of a back-garden build. The pergola went up in a day with ornamental Japanese-style beams. The owners then asked for extra walls on it and a lattice screen on the brick wall behind, and we fixed mesh over the top for a creeper vine and stained the frame. 2025.
Pergola work done in the same job as new cladding on the house, so one crew handled both. 2022.
We are so happy with our finished Japanese style garden, completed beautifully by Karl and Charley. It is really beyond our expectations, and it was great to work with people who could turn our ideas into something better than we imagined.
A pergola is often one part of a bigger outdoor job. These are the ones that tend to come with it.
Roofed and fixed to the house: new builds, repairs and period verandahs.
New posts, beams and roofing sheets for a pergola that has seen better days.
A deck under the pergola, in timber or composite boards.
Oiling, staining and painting a deck that has gone grey.
We build pergolas across Geelong, the Surf Coast, the Bellarine and Golden Plains. Pick your town to see everything else we do there.
Tell us about the space and we will come out, measure up and give you a free estimate.
