Taking Great and making it Awesome
Since we completed our PERGOLA1 project, someone from almost every group has commented or sent photos of them relaxing in the shaded patio couches and chairs under it.
So, concept proven, Steve took to measuring and designing an even better PERGOLA2!
The plan is part of a multi-phase improvement of the main great room patio that includes more shade, weather protection, night time lighting, outdoor fan, and more living space (which will eventually include filling in the small pool and new tile for the main upper patio).
Existing SunSetter motorized awning provides shade over the outdoor teak tables (approx 128 ft2 coverage)
Plans for Improvement
Making plans for lumber pickup
First, PERGOLA2 is going to be a foot wider and 4 feet longer, so the engineering will require even larger structural members.
We worked out a main header beam made up of 2 x 3” x 12” x 24’ pressure treated beams. on a roof 4”x10”x20’ rear beam.
The rafters are 3”x10” and the purlins are 2”x4” laid flat every 24” to support the Cover Your Pergola™ Hercules roof system.
Mockup side view
Mockup front view
“Lefty” wasn’t left out on the project, but relegated to manageable loads of purlins, screws, and brackets
Building a Caribbean Pergola
The lumber is never ending. The lumber is huge. Coral Bay Trucking delivered the high-test pressure treated beams from Wood Truck out east.
The little yellow truck picked up and transported all the rest including 2x4s, screws, hardware, and paint.
We measured thrice over multiple days, made a few adjustments to the initial plans for an even wider food print, then got to chalking and marking up for tile cuts and beam installation.
As construction begins, we took one last shot of the old limited sunset view
Storm Season, Construction, and Cancelled Vacation
Some un-wanted weather systems both here and in Europe caused us to delay the big beam and rater installation and also cancel our long-awaited 17 day vacation to Poland. The storm blew wide of the Virgin Islands, but Poland had terrible flooding.
With new stacked scaffolding and some serious staging, the heavy lifting was nearly finished mid-October. The week before Halloween and our first guest arrival, painter Mikey Nice arrived from Vermont to put on the finishing touch.
The Finished Pergola by the numbers
Lumber, Screws, Brackets, etc: ~ $7K
Roof System: $5K (including shipment over water)
Labor: $6.5K + 60 Villa Owner hours :)
2 gallons of primer
4 gallons of paint
28 days
11’ wide open vertical view compared to prior 6.5’
Outside high-flow ceiling fan
New LED lighting
400 ft2 of waterproof covered space at a height of 11’
Bonus: For every inch of rain, we will now collect an additional 250 gallons. This will equate to about 9000 gallons a year!
Double Bonus: Now that we know how good the Cover Your Pergola roof systems are, we bought their Apollo system to install on Pergola1 this spring!!!