Before and after: Residential backyard in North Carolina

Residential: Backyard Before and After – Shade and Rain Protection for an Existing Patio

Last Updated on November 30, 2023

Mooresville, NC sits among the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area where winding subdivisions meet lush farmlands in the North Carolina countryside. It is a beautiful place for growing families but the Southern heat and blazing sun easily turn outdoor living space untenable in the summer afternoons. For the owners of one recently built home awaiting surrounding trees to grow to maturity, the heat was driving them from their beautiful backyard patio where they congregate with family for barbecues and festivities. The owners reached out to Azenco dealer Kulyk Outdoors for a backyard transformation that would put them in control of the sun, rain and routine heat.

📍 Location: Mooresville, NC
🏡 Type: Residential
📅 Date: August 2022
👷 Installed by Kulyk Outdoors

Product Choice

  • Products: R-BLADE™ louvered roof and R-SHADE™ insulated roof pergolas
  • Type: Freestanding structures
  • Size: 23’x15′ and 6’x4′
  • Options: Motorization, embedded lights and ceiling fan
  • Color: Standard gray bronze for frames/columns and standard white for louvers/fixed roof
  • Benefits: Indoor-outdoor space is protected from the elements.

Project Overview

Creating a shaded and rain-protected outdoor dining and grill space for this home allowed the homeowners to take full advantage of their new home’s lush backyard. But, building a pergola after the patio has been installed can present some unique challenges. In this project, with an existing patio defining the living space already, the design team at Kulyk Outdoors crafted a rectangular pergola with an adjustable louvered roof to allow the homeowners to control the sun/shade balance on the patio.

  1. To ensure the homeowners could climb the stairs to the home and be protected from the elements, the team incorporated a solid fixed roof zone connecting the main pergola to the home.
  2. An additional solid roof zone was added over the grill station, which fell just outside the footprint of the patio itself.

With a creative mixture of louvered and solid roof zones, the Kulyk Outdoors team completed a backyard makeover that gave these homeowners the full enjoyment of their outdoor space.

backyard transformation

Design Challenges

R-BLADE™ louvered roof

This covered patio project made for an amazing backyard transformation in which the addition of the pergola totally changed the look and usability of the backyard before and after the installation. The homeowners wanted to be able to control the sun/shade balance on their patio, but also ensure they could fully block the routine afternoon rain showers in North Carolina. So, for the main pergola zone, Kulyk Outdoors turned to the Azenco R-BLADE™. As the only adjustable louvered roof pergola on the market capable of totally blocking out the rain, the system was the ideal fit for this backyard makeover.

R-SHADE™ insulated roof

Building a pergola after the patio has been installed can often create challenges for the pergola designers. In this case, the new pergola would have its footings on the patio to ensure a symmetrical look to the final design. But the homeowners also wanted to create protection for their outdoor grilling station, which sat just outside the edge of the patio, and the stairs from the patio to the back deck. Which meant the project also needed to include a bit of a deck makeover.

Kulyk Outdoors designed a smaller pergola zone using the solid fixed roof of Azenco R-SHADE™ to protect the stairs down to the patio area. Attaching the pergola to the home ensured complete protection against the sun’s rays, creating full-time shade and rain protection to allow the homeowners to traverse the stairs without concern for the weather. To cover the grill station, Kulyk Outdoors leveraged another Azenco R-SHADE™ zone that jutted out over the grill area. The insulated sandwich panel roof was supported by two pergola columns that sat atop a masonry wall that gave the grill area some definition and provided housing for the natural gas hookups for the outdoor kitchen.

Selecting the approriate options

The Charlotte area is generally quite humid during the summer months. So, to give the homeowners more control to cool an outdoor space like this backyard pergola, Kulyk Outdoors designed the structure with an integrated fan beam from which to mount a pergola fan. Maximizing this fan beam, they also incorporated embedded LED lights allowing the homeowners to extend their evening entertainment past sunset. The fan beam also became a style element by splitting the louvered roof zones down the middle.

HOA approvals

A challenge which many Azenco dealers often encounter when building in modern subdivisions like this neighborhood is Homeowners Association (HOA) approvals. The covenants of an HOA often mandate what type of structures can be built in the neighborhood, where they can be located and even the allowable colors for structures. Needless to say, they become cumbersome when taking on any home addition. In this case the Kulyk Outdoors team presented the board with 3D renderings of the project to give them a pergola visualizer which helped streamline the approvals and keep the project on a speedy timeline.

Color Selection

The color selections for this pergola project also added to the dramatic backyard before and after this backyard transformation. With the home’s existing exterior set in a solid gray and offset by white trim, the designers opted for a two-tone color scheme for the pergola. A gray bronze frame and columns help the pergola stand out from the home and create an architectural element for the backyard. The gray bronze also helped create a color transition to the brick pavers in the existing patio. Choosing all white louvers and fixed-roof panels ensured the patio still felt spacious and airy when the roof was closed, and tied it back to the home’s white trim.

Garden view - bakcyard pergola

The Turn Around

  • Four weeks
  • Two days on-site installation

If you would like to explore how an Azenco custom pergola can make your backyard makeover shine, contact us to explore more amazing backyard before and after photos, and we will connect you with one of our expert local dealers who will make the perfect contractor for your outdoor living project. Contact us to learn more about our innovative solutions for your courtyard, deck, or patio at 305 306 32-04.

detail of Azenco pergola

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6 Responses

  1. Hi Leslie,
    We still love our Pergola. We hope you will one day figure out how to run both R-Blade sections with ONE remote control. Cameron Kulyk was wonderful to work with.
    Bill & Vicki
    Simpsonville, SC

    1. Hello Bill & Vicki,

      We’re thrilled that you like your R-Blade pergola installed by Kulyk Outdoors, our local partner and we agree, Cameron is a professional expert who strives to make your customer experience unique! Thank YOU!!!

  2. What would the cost be for a 10′ x 12′ similar to this residential pergola? Color: Gray
    Location of project: Wichita, KS
    INCLUDE –
    – Material costs = $?
    – Tax = $?
    – Shipping costs =$?
    – Installation costs = $? (free standing on a 6 inch reinforced concrete slab with a (20mm)
    porcelain tile floor topping – exspansive clay soils)
    TOTAL = $?

    1. Hello Gregg,
      All our products are custom. We recommend connecting with our local dealer to get an accurate estimate of your project.

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