Pergola Construction

A pergola turns a patio into a room

When the afternoon sun makes a space unusable, a pergola fixes it — filtering light, defining the area, turning an exposed slab into an outdoor room. Ryan designs the size, height, and rafter spacing for your space, sets posts on proper footings, and finishes with protective stain or paint. Every pergola is his start to finish.

Pergola styles we build

• Attached — ties to the house for a seamless indoor-outdoor transition; ledger lagged and flashed like a deck ledger so it never causes water damage
• Freestanding — goes anywhere (fire pit, poolside, garden) on concrete footings, engineered for wind loads
• Modern — clean lines, flat-top rafters, hidden hardware; pairs with contemporary homes
• Traditional / craftsman — rafter tails, knee braces, and post caps, hand-cut on-site for bungalow and Spanish-style homes in Altadena and Pasadena

Materials

• Cedar & redwood — the natural choice; rot-resistant and takes stain beautifully
• Pressure-treated pine — budget-friendly, great with a solid stain or paint
• Composite & aluminum — zero maintenance, installed to manufacturer spec for full warranty

What makes a pergola solid

It’s a structure and needs a foundation: posts on poured concrete footings with bases above standing water, members sized to the span (undersized beams sag and fail), rated connection hardware at every joint, and sealing from day one so the wood doesn’t check and gray.

Shade options

A spaced-rafter pergola gives filtered shade; for more, Ryan adds shade cloth, retractable canopies, louvered panels, or climbing plants like wisteria. He orients rafters to the sun path — east-west for the most midday shade.

Pergolas on Altadena properties

Ryan designs to complement your home, not compete with it, accounting for hillside wind exposure, WUI fire-zone material limits, view framing, and mature trees. He’s built pergolas across the San Gabriel Valley and designs for local conditions.