Covered Decks and Pergolas

Cleveland gets about 2,500 hours of sunshine annually, which puts it in the bottom tier nationally. That's not the point. The point is that when the sun is out in June, July, and August and the temperature is sitting at a comfortable 78 degrees, the outdoor season the region waits for all year is actually happening. A covered outdoor space means you don't lose those days to an afternoon shower, and you gain the shoulder season weeks in April and October where the weather is mild but unpredictable.

A covered deck extends usable hours and usable weeks from a Cleveland outdoor season that's already shorter than most. A solid roof over a deck section means the furniture stays dry, the grill is accessible in a light rain, and the space works on the kind of overcast September afternoon that an open deck can't compete with. We build covered deck additions tied into the existing roofline or as freestanding structures over new and existing decks, depending on what the architecture and the project scope call for.

Pergola construction is the lighter option, and it's a popular one in Cleveland's inner-ring suburbs where the lots are smaller and the aesthetic is more traditional. A cedar or pressure-treated pergola over an existing deck or patio creates a defined outdoor room without the structural requirements of a full roof. The open top allows air movement in summer and lets the light through in a way that a solid cover doesn't. String lights in a pergola do something to an outdoor evening that's hard to achieve any other way. We've built pergolas on properties throughout Cleveland Heights, Lakewood, Rocky River, and Bay Village that have become the most-used part of the outdoor space.

Snow load is a real consideration for covered deck structures in Cleveland. A solid roof over an outdoor deck accumulates the same snow load as any other roof on the property. We engineer covered structures to handle Northeast Ohio snow loads and design roof pitches that shed snow rather than holding it.

Call us to talk through covered deck and pergola options for your Cleveland property.

Learn about our deck repair and replacement services in Cleveland.