The 4 "Must Haves" to Price a Pergola or Pavilion Kit

Need a quick quote for an amazing timber frame pergola, gazebo, pavilion, arbor, pool house or other timber frame structure? Hi, I am Mark, the production manager here at Western Timber Frame™. I would like to show how you can get an even faster answer when you call for pricing.

I have customers that call everyday just looking for a price for their pergola or pavilion project. I'll start asking questions about what they are looking for and sometimes they say, "Just give me a price." There is a lot of information I need in order to give that price and I like to explain it this way:

If you were in the market to purchase a vehicle and you called a car dealer to know the price of a vehicle they would need to know what exactly you were looking for and how you were going to use your vehicle. Is it for family use or work, an economy car, minivan or truck, etc.?

We all know that there are way too many makes, models and options to just give a price. The dealer would ask you many questions to find out exactly what you are really looking for. I need to go through this same discovery process. Is your 14' x 16' pergola going to have 6", 8", 10" or 12" posts? When you barbecue does your family like...etc.? Quite often I bring up questions that the customer has never thought of before. In the end both the customer and myself are on the same page with a clear understanding of their project and the quote.

As we go through the process of pricing their project there are many areas that tend to be misunderstood. The biggest one is the size of the pergola. When they tell me they want a 14' x 16' pergola for their patio they are usually talking about where the post will sit on the patio. As a designer we often have pergolas with varying roof overhangs depending on what they want to accomplish. For example, a pergola going in next to a pool might have the roof close to the edge of the pool but move the posts back to keep them out of the walkway around the pool.

Now that we have the roof size figured out the next thing I need to know for pricing is the Timber series. This is the size of timbers you kit will be made from and we have several to chose from starting with a more common 6000 series all the way to a massive 12000 for that really heavy timber look and feel. 

Here is the list of timbers used in the different kits.

The standard height of a pergola is 8’ to the bottom of the support beams. This is the lowest beam on the kit and has all of the rafters (with the decorative ends) sitting on this beam. There are many times when a client might like more height then this under the pergola. For example, when a pergola is on a patio next to the house and there are steps coming out of the house down to the patio they might want more height so when they come out of the house they are not starring straight into a beam that feels like they need to duck to get under it. For this, we use taller posts on the pergola kit; which is an upgrade and this is why we need to know the height of the pergola for pricing.

Many clients are very interested in what they can add to their pergola for a customized feel. We have many options to choose from. Some are arched knee braces that span from post to post creating an arched entrance into the pergola. Another is our full wrap roof which has rafters with the decretive ends on all four sides of the pergola. We have pre wired posts with GFCI outlets and light switches and even USB ports notched into the posts as a way to control future lighting or electrical to be installed. If you want the white stain we offer it is an upgrade because it takes several coats of stain to get just the right look in white. If you would like a custom stain color this could be an extra cost as well.

Every pergola kit comes with your choice of the three standard choices included. There are 8 Beam & Rafter Profiles, 4 Knee Braces styles, and 6 Stain Colors to choose from. These are included in the standard price so they don't affect your price but we do need those choices when you place your order.

Wow, that is a lot of information that needs to be collected to give an accurate price for your project! Let us help you even faster by understanding the discovery process. We will do everything we can to help ensure you are crystal clear on what your project includes and the price. So, when calling for a pergola quote here is a recap of the 4 things I need to give that price:

1- Roof size of the pergola

2- Timber Package Size (6000 to 12000)

3- The height of the pergola (to the bottom of the support beam)

4- Any upgrades wanted (arched knee braces or full wrap roof etc.)

Still, not sure what you want? No, problem.

Give us a call and we can help as little or as much as you like.