Pergolas Look Great. Then It Rains.
A pergola is all the look and none of the cover. Open slats let the noon sun pour through, and rain falls straight onto the furniture below-which is why many homeowners now choose a covered pergola Acworth GA for year‑round usability.
The homeowners in Acworth had an aging pergola that gave them no reason to be outside once the weather turned. We took it down and rebuilt it to keep the open feel while adding cover that works in any season.
A Roof That Sheds Rain and Keeps the Light
A solid roof would have traded the weather problem for a dark patio. Instead, we installed the Palram SunScape polycarbonate roof on a subtle 1:12 pitch, balancing daylight with weather protection.
The panels:
- Block around 70% of UV, sparing the furniture and the people under it from direct sun
- Shed rain fast down the slope, keeping the patio dry
- Hold up to storms and hail
- Let daylight through, so the space underneath reads bright
Timber-Frame Bones in Cedar
Every visible member is cedar:
- 6×6 posts at the corners
- 6×12 beams overhead, heavy timber that anchors the frame
- 4×10 rafters with ornamental rafter tails
- Cedar purlins for rigidity and a second layer of shade
Connections are Simpson Strong-Tie hardware. Where framing met concrete, we swapped cedar for Owens Corning composite, since wood against masonry rots over time.
Sanded, Sealed, and Stained Blue Slate
Every piece was sanded to 80-grit, opening the grain so the stain soaks in evenly instead of sitting on the surface.
The finish is Cutek Extreme cedar finish with Colortone in Blue Slate, a deep gray-blue that grounds the cedar against the tan siding and stone. Cutek penetrates the wood rather than forming a film on top, so it protects from within and won’t peel or flake.
When one batch of cedar arrived below our standard, we re-prepped it before any oil was applied.
Matching Stone That’s 15 Years Old
Setting the new footings meant cutting into the original outdoor kitchen. Its veneer stone was 15 years old, weathered to a color no stone yard sells off the shelf, so a fresh pallet would have stood out like a patch. We sorted stone by hand to match the aged tone and rebuilt the base course by course. The seam between old and new is gone.
Additional Upgrades
With the frame standing, a few finishing details made the space work the way the homeowners pictured it:
- Hidden wiring. New electrical runs are routed through painted EMT conduit, so the lines read as part of the structure rather than an afterthought stapled to a post.
- Fan and lighting. An outdoor ceiling fan moves air on still summer nights, and the lighting carries the evening past sunset.
- Wired for game days. A TV mount sits pre-wired and waiting, so the screen goes up without anyone having to fish cables through the wall later.
How It Lives Now
The old pergola was something to look at. The new one is somewhere to be, in any weather and at any hour.
That’s what we mean when we call an outdoor space an extension of the home, not an add-on.
