Vinyl Pergolas
Looking for a zero maintenance pergola in white or ivory color? Consider a Baldwin Vinyl Pergola
Main benefits of the Vinyl Pergola:
* This pergola is entirely plastic with no exposed hardware.
* Maintenance free is worry free. Just enjoy without having to consider work.
* Fully customizable to any size.
* Designed for easy assembly with minimal tools and experience.
* Engineered to withstand 140 mph winds! Even in Florida.
Freestanding Vinyl Pergolas
Built tough
Our vinyl pergolas are really pressure treated pine pergolas within a durable vinyl (white plastic) sleeve. The pergolas have been engineered to withstand hurricane force winds. We use Florida as a standard so that we don't have to build to various standards.
Attached or freestanding
This very easily could have been an attached pergola. If that were the case, it would have two fewer posts and no overhang on the backside of the rafters.
You can see that the patio is no level, but the pergola top is. Each post gets cut a unique length based on the elevation of the patio in each post location.
Vinyl or fiberglass?
The vinyl pergola is built entirely different than the fiberglass pergola. The strength of vinyl and post and beam pergolas come from the connections at the top of the posts. Think of these pergolas like dining tables. They can be strong without being bolted to the floor.
The vinyl pergolas design allows it to be very rigid even when built upon a deck. If this were a pavilion, someone would need to reinforce the deck framework, but pergolas are not as heavy.
Overall size vs. post centers
This is a 6x16' foot pergola which means that the columns are about 5' x 15' apart from each other when measured from center to center. You may notice that our pricing charts begin at 8x8 and span all the sizes up to 16x32, so this 6' depth is pretty unusual. I think this would be a great place to hang a love seat swing.
Perfect for entertaining guests
Our vinyl pergolas are perfect for entertaining guests in your backyard. Guaranteed to last, a vinyl pergola is the perfect addition to any backyard.
Got shade?
Want shade? No problem, Baldwins got you covered. Our shade systems are available in manual and motorized configurations and offer a wide selection of color choices.
Maintenance free
Unlike cedar or pine, our vinyl pergolas do not require annual staining. Our maintenance free vinyl will last for years to come with no maintenance required.
Arched Vinyl Pergolas
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As you might imagine, we are exceedingly proud of the Arched Vinyl Pergolas. The bending of the vinyl sleeves is done on a semi-custom form within a giant oven. We machine strips of pressure treated lumber and laminate them around a matching form. Everything slides simply together at our factory and gets delivered to you as an assembly.
This design is new since 2014 and we've sold only a small number of these arched vinyl pergolas, but we expect that to change this year due to the sheer beauty and relatively low price.
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Attached Pergolas
A slide show
Attaching a vinyl pergola to your home is fairly simple. We do not encourage you to remove the siding or even install flashing. We supply the ledger beam, fasteners and instructions. You hold the beam up in place, drill through the holes to pierce the siding then send lag bolts into the studs of the house. It's not even critical to catch the studs because of the large number of fasteners. Once mounted the gap above the ledger gets caulked with silicone. The fasteners get concealed behind another section of the beam and that top gap gets caulked as well. Presto.
A slide show
The pergola is basically the same price as a freestanding pergola except that we remove two (or more) of the posts. These posts have a value, so you achieve a savings.
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It often makes a lot of sense to remove the extra posts or columns. They can block a view when close to the house, so why not elimiate them? You gain extra strenth by connecting to your home. Wires can enter the pergola through the ledger, so if you have a light fixture on the exterior wall, consider using that power and switch to operate all the lights on your new pergola.
Vinyl Pergola Options
Options
Attached or Freestanding?
Our pine pergola can be attached to your home without much difficulty. You gain a savings by reducing the number of posts and braces in your kit. The structure of the pergola doesn't change at all. One of the beams gets attached directly to your house, above the siding. Onto that go your rafters and purlins. We create the parts in such a way to make the installation very easy. All that being said, freestanding pergolas are still much more popular.
Options
Depth and width
Our pergolas are available in standard sizes for ease of pricing, but we can custom tailor the size of your pergola down to the exact inch you require. Our order form makes this simple, but you'll need to tell us exactly where you want the centers of your posts. The best way to do this is to place pots or plates where the posts will be then measure. Custom drawings will be created for your review and approval.
Options
Height
We encourage our customers to design short pergolas because they look better and provide more shade. Our pine pergolas are seven foot, three and a half inches tall to the bottom of the main beams. That's 87.5" inches. Many projects require taller posts for a variety of reasons. We can make your posts taller if needed. It's about $15 for every six inches in height, per post. In this photo, you can see that the scale of this job is just too tall.
Options
Leg trim and leg quantity
We offer a kit of trim which comes as an assembly called a Superior Post. They add visual weight to the leg which helps to balance the bottom of the pergola and the top of the pergola. If you don't select the superior posts, we will include post skirts which are about six inches tall.
You can add as many posts as you like to create your perfect architecture.
Options
Glue-Lam headers
Our standard design allows only about 15' feet from post center to post center. To make the pergola larger, we can either add more posts, or use stronger beams. The stronger beams are called glue-lams. It's layers of pressure treated 2x6 glued together with special exterior truss glue. After the lamination process, they go through an industrial planer to smooth the edges for a nice fit and finish.
Options
Choose your color
Our pine pergolas come to you either raw, or with a stain/sealer. The most popular is the Canyon Brown, but the Mahogany really glows in the sun. The choice is yours.
Options
Shade systems
Overhead fabric sun-shades have become more and more popular in recent years. Our preferred shade consists of one large sheet of fabric which extends and retracts. More information is available in our Shade Systems section of the web site.
Options
Installation
Our pergolas were specifically designed to make installation easy. If a task such as drilling holes or sanding parts can be done at the factory, it gets done at the factory. After completing thousands of installations, we can confidently say that no job is every easy. Unexpected site conditions are the primary reason. We bring every tool known to man and use most of them during the installation. You will see installation service on the order form, but it is only available if you live within 100 miles of our factory located in 06457, excepting special conditions.
Details Make Baldwin the Obvious Choice
Why Baldwin?
Our Planning and Design Team
Max Baldwin founded Baldwin Pergolas over 30 years ago and is considered a leading expert in the industry. With decades of experience you can count on Baldwin to get the job done right the first time! At Baldwin we care and we have an experienced design and sales team that is prepared to guide you through the process of creating your perfect pergola. Mike Hurlburt is our project manager and is ready to help you design and build your dream pergola TODAY!
Why Baldwin?
Our Materials
All of our columns are high density FRP fiberglass and will last for generations. Our competitors use high density foam or hollow plastic column capitals and bases. We do not. Rather, we use the same high density FRP that is found in our columns to ensure durability and longevity.
Why Baldwin?
Our Rafter Tails
Our rafter tails are precision crafted by utilizing cutting edge CNC technology.
Why Baldwin?
Their Rafter Tails
Many of our competitors employ a substandard rafter tail design. They achieve their rafter tails by attaching countoured block of foam to a square cut fiberglass tube. We epoxy high density polyurethane foam inside of our fiberglass pultrusions and then precisely cut our contours directly into the fiberglass with a CNC machine.
Why Baldwin?
Our Tie-Downs
Max Baldwin and company pioneered the industry standard column mounting system which uses threaded rods to tie down columns to slabs or concrete footings. We use 5/8" inch diameter stainless steel threaded rods that attach at the footing, run the length of the column and are fastened to a structural aluminum assembly at the top of the column. Each threaded rod provides approximately 6000lbs of downward force to prevent uplift.
Why Baldwin?
Stainless Steel Hardware
We use only stainless steel hardware in our pergolas because we believe in using the highest quality materials available. If it's not perfect, it's not a Baldwin.
Why Baldwin?
Notched Intersections
We carefully design and notch our pergolas to make the structure more beautiful, stronger and easier to assemble. You just match the notches up and it slides together. No measuring is required.
Why Baldwin?
More Shade
We offer a variety of options from canopy shade systems to vertical curtains.
Why Baldwin?
Concealed Wires
All of our fiberglass pultrusions and columns are hollow and act as conduit allowings us to conceal any and all wiring. Please be sure to coordinate your lighting, A/V and other electrical needs in advance with one of our design consultants.
Why Baldwin?
Color selection
We use PPG industrial grade exterior paints and we are able to match any color. In each case, we purchase screw caps to match your preferred color of paint. Our pergolas are built with a designers eye for quality and none of our fasteners are exposed.
Terminology
Footing: A concrete anchor which holds the pergola to the Earth. They need to be deeper than the frost line, but also large enough and deep enough to hold the pergola to the Earth during a strong wind. Footing size should never be less the 42" deep and 12" diameter.
Post: The 6x6 or 8x8, your choice of a vertical member which supports the pergola top.
Post skirt: This is a box of trim which conceals the post mounting bracket. It comes standard with all of our vinyl pergolas. If you upgrade to superior posts, then this is not included.
Superior post: This is a taller box of trim which conceals the post mounting bracket and gives visual balance and weight to the bottom of the pergola.
Main Beams: The beam fit between the posts and supports the rafters.
Rafters: These are the primary shade creating members that make up the pergola. They are a true 2" thick by true 6" tall. They are not notched. The typical overhang which is measured from the center of the post to the tip of the rafter is 22" inches.
Purlins: These make up the top layer of the pergola. Each purlin measures true 2" thick by true 4" tall. They screw down into the rafters and keep the rafters in a perfect grid. The typical overhang which is measured from the center of the post to the tip of the purlin is 22" inches.
Overhang: This is the distance from the center of a post to the tip of the rafter or purlin. Typical overhangs are 22" for vinyl pergolas.
Room size: This is the distance from the center of one post to the center of the opposite post.
Shade area: This is the overall size of your pergola which includes the overhangs, so it's basically your rafter length and your purlin length. It's represented on your site plan by the outermost rectangle.
Spans & Height
Spans are measured from center of footing to center of footing. Often the design calls for large open spans so a beautiful view can be unobstructed. This causes two design concerns: The beam must be built in such a way that it can support the weight of the rafters and purlins without sagging. The larger concern is this: The wind loading of the entire pergola must be divided by the number of posts. Fewer posts means more stress on each post. We solve this wide span problem by placing two posts close together on either end of the span.
Our typical vinyl pergola beams are capable of supporting a 16' pergola with post centers 15' 1.75" center to center. If you want to go further than that, then we upgrade you to glue-lam beams which allow a center of post to center of post distance of 21' feet 1.75" inches. A pergolas job is to provide a feeling of protection when you are within it. "If a branch were to fall toward me, this pergola would protect me from harm.". If the spans are super natural, the pergolas occupants will be wondering what's holding it up and therefore will be in a state of fear rather than security.
Height is also a structural concern because each post has mechanical advantage like a lever. When you apply ten pounds of force to the side of the top, you exert eight times that amount of force to the bottom, assuming that the post is eight feet tall. Our typical offerings are designed to endure high winds, but large residential pergolas and commercial jobs may require engineering. These are things which get discussed.
Our Easy Shade Canopy
Our easy shade systems work very well with all of our pergolas. We have a entire page of information about the Easy Shade system which you can link to here. The information on this page is specific to combining an Easy Shade system with a Baldwin vinyl Pergola.
The Easy Shade has a main, central beam which wants to be centered and run perpendicular to the rafters. When you order a pergola with a shade system, we create three of your rafters with lumber inside which allows one to attach the mono-beam securely.
The fabric is hung from cross-bars which roll back and forth within the centered mono-beam. We restrict each end of the cross bar from being blown upward with shade rails. These shade rails attach to the inner face of the main beams. If your pergola is attached to your house, then the inner shade rail is attached to the bottoms of the rafters. By lowering the outermost shade rail, we can get rainwater to flow away from the house.
This pricing chart shows standard sizes for pergolas along with standard sizes and prices for shade systems. Select your pergola by size then your shade color. We make it easy.
The Pergola Ordering Process
Measure and photos
Determine where you want the center of your posts. Measure distance in width and depth. Determine how much overhang you would like on each side. Overhang is measured from the center of the post to the tip of the rafter or purlin. The standard overhang is 16" inches. Rafter length is your depth from center to center plus your front and rear overhangs. Purlin length is your width from center to center plus your left and right overhangs. Consider height and sight lines. Remember, short pergolas give more shade under the pergola. Consider the time of day you will use your pergola and the angle of the sun at that time. Take a few photos of your site and send them to us.
Go online
We have an online pergola pricing tool you can use to configure your pergola. When you are using the pricing tool, you will need to select your options such as: The cut on the ends of the beams and rafters, post size and type, color, fabric color.
The pergola pricing tool will give you a price for the pergola, your electrical options, drapery and even a trucking quote. It’s easy to modify your pergola until it is exactly what you desire. You can feel comfortable using this no dicker, always accurate pricing tool. We do reserve the right to adjust prices due to lumber costs without notice.
If the pergola you desire cannot be built using our system, please enter the pergola as closely as possible then describe what you would like done differently in the notes section. You can also call our sales team during business hours at 800 344-5103x1 and they will do all of this for you.
When you are pleased with your pergola and are ready to talk to one of our designers, click the “Submit information” button. Your data gets sent to us.
On our side
We review your pergola choices and call you to answer any questions you might have. We suggest making changes that would either make your pergola more useful or more beautiful, but we also look for ways to reduce the lead time and your cost.
Deposit then Drawings
When all of your concerns have been addressed and pricing established, a deposit gets the wheels rolling. Along the way you can request an elevation drawing of the front, back, or either side so you can see what pergola will look like. Based on this visual, you may request changes. We adjust your file and explain any changes in price. We also create another visual for your approval. When you are happy with the drawings you confirm every detail and we begin production.
Scheduling & Logistics
During production you may get a call or email from the production team asking about your ceiling fan height or what color light switches you want. When the pergola kit is complete, we require final payment before shipping. If you are within 300 miles, we offer you our in-house, white glove delivery service.
If you are more than 300 miles from our factory, we use Yellow Freight as our over the road trucking company. In case of a freight company delivery, you will be responsible for physically removing the pergola or pavilion from the truck. Unless you have a forklift, this requires entering the truck, unpacking the structure and physically unloading it from the truck, member by member. You are also required to remove all the pallets and packaging from the truck. A freight forwarding service could be hired to preform this service for you, but that expense is typically $700 or more.
Installation
Baldwin Pergolas are designed to be very easy to put together, but there are still difficult aspects such as using a level to determine the lengths of the posts, cutting the posts to length, drilling the concrete and anchoring the mounting brackets. If this sounds like more then you want to do, we may be able to suggest experienced pergola installers in your area.
Pricing Chart
Use the following chart as a guideline to learn what a vinyl Pergola might cost. More precise pricing and selection of options can be found by designing your pergola using our custom pergola pricing tool Here.
| Patio size | Flat top | Shade | Site plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 x 8' | $4,295 | $2090 | |
| 8 x 10' | $5,320 | $2300 | |
| 8 x 12' | $5,690 | $2420 | |
| 8 x 14' | $6,415 | $2690 | |
| 8 x 16' | $6,895 | $2940 | |
| 10 x 10' | $5,850 | $2690 | |
| 10 x 12' | $6,175 | $1870 | |
| 10 x 14' | $6,820 | $2320 | |
| 10 x 16' | $7,315 | $3560 | |
| 10 x 20' | $8,740 | $4200 | |
| 12 x 12' | $6,695 | $2960 | |
| 12 x 14' | $7,200 | $3290 | |
| 12 x 16' | $7,740 | $3640 | |
| 12 x 20' | $9,890 | $4510 | |
| 12 x 24' | $10,970 | $5220 | |
| 14 x 14' | $7,570 | $3760 | |
| 14 x 16' | $8,415 | $4180 | |
| 14 x 20' | $10,385 | $5110 | |
| 14 x 24' | $11,565 | $6060 | |
| 14 x 28' | $12,780 | $6580 | |
| 16 x 16' | $8,900 | $4610 | |
| 16 x 20' | $11,035 | $5390 | |
| 16 x 24' | $12,070 | $6310 | |
| 16 x 28' | $13,700 | $8360 | |
| 16 x 32' | $15,020 | $9220 |
