The enquiry

This client was looking to add some improvement to her beautiful pool – a bespoke, green Oak pergola and a small paving extension to make the most of the area throughout the year.

The job

We sourced the beautiful, hand sawn green Oak locally and started work at the yard to prepare it for its new home. It required cutting to the required lengths and sanding to ensure a smooth finish. We also prepared the decorative ends and pre-drilled the timber so that when it arrived on site, it was ready to put straight up with the minimal amount of wood dust and shavings created and ending up on the pool cover!

The legs of the pergola were concreted deep for a strong structure with some planting holes left around the new sandstone paving for the client to plant some climbing plants which will engulf the pergola with incredible colour and scent for years to come.

When building a pergola, consideration of the timber to be used is very important. Softwood is the cheapest but it will have a shorter lifespan than hardwood. Green or kiln-dried hardwood is also a choice to be made where you could expect to see more movement and cracking/splitting in a green timber as it continues to dry and age in situ, whereas when kiln-dried these movement and cracking it usually at a minimum. This is a purely aesthetic choice as the splits and slight movement can show character and a certain uniqueness.

How long did it take?

3 days on site but a few extra in the yard to prepare timber

What do we love about it?

A very attractive addition to the pool area which over time will age and show a wonderful character and a fabulous space to relax and rewind.