Saw a neighbor's pergola collapse during a windstorm last weekend

It was just a cheap metal frame from a big box store and it folded like paper when a gust hit. Has anyone else switched to wood or aluminum after seeing something like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryk281mo ago

Wait, did you say it collapsed from a gust? Those cheap kits usually go down from poor anchoring, not just wind speed alone. I'm not defending them, but I've seen people skip the ground brackets or set them on pavers without concrete. A proper aluminum one with the posts bolted into footings can handle a lot more than people give it credit for. Wood can work too but you have to keep up with sealing the ends or they'll rot at the ground line and get wobbly. Honestly the frame material matters less than how it's actually attached to the ground.

daniel4741mo ago

Dead on about the anchoring. I've seen aluminum frames outlast wood ones just because the owner actually poured concrete footings and used the right brackets. The cheap kits are such junk because the hardware they include is garbage, half the time the bolts strip out before you even get it tight. Same thing happens with wood if you half-ass the posts into the ground without gravel or concrete, it'll heave after one freeze and then it's just a waiting game.