In what sizes can a pergola cover be bought?
A pergola cover is for sale in 3 different widths and 3 different lengths, as you can see in the pictures.
The width is fixed and cannot be changed. Keep in mind that you need to leave at least 5 cm free space on each side. That may be a bit more, 10 or 15 cm doesn't look strange, from 20 cm you really start to see a gap between the pergola cover and the pergola or wall, but that doesn't have to be disturbing either.
Do you have a terrace against the house of, say, 340cm wide? Then you can easily use a 290cm wide pergola cover in a Lean to pergola .
Let's do the maths:
- terrace 340cm wide
- minus the width of the beam of the pergola (9 or 14cm): 340 - 9 = 331cm
- minus at least 5cm clearance, but when you have plenty of room I would recommend at least 10cm: 331 - 10 = 321cm
- minus the width of the pergola cover 290cm: 321 - 290 = 31cm
- That leaves 31cm of free space on the wall side.
31cm of free space between the pergola cover and the wall of your house is really not much, it can easily be more. At my house it's even more than 50cm, which leaves enough space for the outdoor lamps hanging against the wall.
The sun is never exactly straight above the pergola and thus falls obliquely against the wall. On the ground, there is then just shade. Also, you are hardly ever tight against the wall. Even if some sun gets between the awning and the wall, you will still be sitting slightly away from the wall in the shade.
The table below shows the minimum free width needed, more is no problem. (For your convenience, we have also added the number of steel cables in the pergola cover fabric, so you know immediately how many are needed.)
Longitudinally, you don't need to keep a free space. The length is variable. If, for example, you hang a 500cm retractable pergola canopy in a free space of 470cm, this is not a problem. The pergola cover will simply slide open a little less and stay wavy when fully extended.
Longer than 500cm is not possible. The forces on the tension cables will then be too great and thepergola cover will sag. If the length exceeds 500cm, an intermediate beam must be installed between two fabrics. That's no problem for Vinuovo, we simply adapt your pergola to it. For a lean-to pergola, we can make a 10-metre-long pergola with just 3 posts! (In the case of a free-standing pergola, that obviously means 6 posts, 3 on each side).
Width of pergola cover |
Minimal free width |
Pergola cover length |
Suitable for a free length of: |
200cm (2 steel cables) |
210cm |
300cm |
200 to 300cm |
200cm (2 steel cables) |
210cm |
400cm |
300 to 400cm |
200cm (2 steel cables) |
210cm |
500cm |
400 to 500cm |
|
|
|
|
290cm (3 steel cables) |
300cm |
300cm |
200 to 300cm |
290cm (3 steel cables) |
300cm |
400cm |
300 to 400cm |
290cm (3 steel cables) |
300cm |
500cm |
400 to 500cm |
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|
|
|
370cm (4 steel cables) |
380cm |
370cm |
300 to 370cm |
370cm (4 steel cables) |
380cm |
500cm |
400 to 500cm |