The pergola has taken many forms throughout history. Ancient pergolas can still be found throughout Europe built from marvelous marble and stone. Traditionally, the most common material for crafting pergolas has been wood. The wood pergola is a common sight in many residential backyards, restaurant courtyards, etc. Unfortunately, though, this pergola is actually very limited in its functionality. It also lacks long-term durability and requires a great deal of maintenance. This is why the Azenco wood finish isnāt made from wood at all, but rather high-quality aluminum.
Limitations of the Traditional Wood Patios Covers
If you are planning an outdoor home addition, erecting a wood patio cover can seem like an affordable path to shading your patio. While this outdoor structure will provide some shade, its fixed roof slats do not allow you to control that sun/shade balance at all. These wooden roof slats are also unable to block the rain, which further limits when you get to use your new patio. Beyond the limited functionality of the traditional pergola, this material selection also requires significant long-term maintenance. Left untreated it will develop a distressed look. While this can be a nice aesthetic, untreated wood is also more prone to rot over time. Treating a wood with water resistant coatings, stains or paint can extend the life of the structure, but also means you need to reapply these coatings on a regular basis.
Lastly, a wood patio cover of this nature is susceptible to structural damage as water pools at the base of its columns. The potential for a complete failure of the structure is always a possibility.
Wood Grain Aluminum Structures
The solution to all of these wood structure woes is to take a massive step into the future with a modern aluminum pergola with a wood grained exterior powder coating. With numerous wood finishes to choose from, you can make your advanced pergola look like a traditional wood one, while enjoying all the modern advancements made in pergola design, functionality, and durability.
Long-Lasting Aluminum Pergolas with a Wood Finish
Crafted from high-quality aluminum, a modern metal pergola is lightweight yet strong, so they stand up to the elements for decades. Featuring high-quality exterior powder coatings, these pergolas repel rust and resist fading under constant sunshine. As mentioned above, Azenco can also customize this powder coating to fit your homeās exterior style. So, you can have a pergola frame with wood grain louvers, or the entire structure can feature a wood finish exterior.
Modern aluminum pergolas are also designed with hollow support columns which are leveraged to hide the pergola gutter system. On an Azenco R-Blade, the louvers extend all the way into the surrounding pergola frame where rain water is deposited into the hidden gutter system. Rainwater flows through the gutter to downspouts in the pergola columns. Not only does this hidden system maintain clean exterior lines throughout the structure, but it allows the water to be deposited in a nearby garden or lawn, keeping the living space below dry in any weather and water from pooling at the column bases.
Fine-Louver Control for All-Weather Outdoor Living
Beyond their durability, wood finish aluminum pergolas offer a great deal of functionality that a traditional wood patio cover cannot. Most notably, our pergolas feature motorized adjustable louvered roofs which allow you to:
- Open the roof for full sun exposure
- Close the louvers partially to create shade, or close the roof completely to create full shade and block out the rain.
The louvers can be controlled with a simple handheld remote, or tied into your digital home assistant of choice to allow for voice control of the pergola roof. For the most-advanced louver control, you can opt for an embedded sensor array to:
- Monitors the weather
- Automatically closes the roof at the first sign of rain
- Opens the louvers in high winds to mitigate potential damage
- Opens the louvers in freezing conditions to prevent snow build up.
The hollow construction of an aluminum pergola also means modern amenities can be built right into the wood finish structure without exposed wiring ruining the look of the pergola:
- Patio fans can be embedded into the roof
- LED lighting can be added to the frame
- infrared heaters can be mounted overhead
- Embedded privacy screens
These motorized retractable screens can be lowered for privacy or to block the setting sun, then raised at the touch of a button to their hidden space in the frame.
Conclusion
The look of a traditional wood patio cover is a timeless aesthetic for any patio, garden or deck, but that doesnāt mean you canāt have all the modern functionality, design and durability of the most advanced outdoor structures on the market.
Reach out to us to learn how our motorized adjustable louvered roofs can deliver the same aesthetic without the limitations of wood.
4 Responses
What is the typical price range for these
Good evening Trisha.
The wood grain finish is not a standard color, and each structure is custom. We recommend connecting with our team for a free estimate of your pergola project.
Leslie,
Please make email contact to discuss large poolside pergola build.
Good evening.
Thank you for your interest in our pergolas. Les lie will connect with you shortly.