Where to site a pergola in your garden

The size of a pergola comes from the furniture under it. Where it goes comes from the garden: when the sun reaches that spot, where the wind comes from, how you get to it from the house and what is next door. Settle the spot first. It narrows the choice of kit more than any brochure will.

Watch the sun for a few days

Note where the sun is at the times you will actually sit out. For many people that is a weekday evening and a weekend lunchtime, not midday on a weekday. A spot in full sun at noon can be in the shadow of the house by six, and the other way round.

• Want shade? A spot that takes the strong afternoon sun is where a louvred or fixed roof earns its keep.
• Want warmth? A spot that catches the evening sun suits an open timber frame or a retractable canopy you can pull back.
• Trees. Overhanging branches drop leaves, sap and bird mess on a roof and in a gutter. Roots can also get in the way of a base.

The roof types guide explains how much shade each roof gives.

Think about the wind

Gardens have their own wind patterns. Gaps between houses, the end of a terrace and open ground beyond a back fence can funnel gusts across a patio. A roofed pergola in an exposed spot catches far more wind than an open frame, and side screens add to it.

Notice where garden furniture gets blown about or where the washing whips around. That is the spot to treat with care. A more sheltered corner may suit a roofed pergola better, or the exposed spot may call for a stronger frame and base. The wind and snow guide covers what makers state and what to ask them.

Against the house, or out in the garden

Next to the back door is convenient: a short dry walk with plates, and the house wall may carry one side. It also brings in door and window heights, the damp-proof course, air bricks and where the rain goes. Further down the garden you get privacy and a different view, but every trip to the kitchen is longer, and power and lighting are a bigger job.

The wall-mounted or freestanding guide sets out what changes when one side is fixed to the house.

Leave room to walk round it

A pergola that fills a patio edge to edge can block the route down the garden. Plan for:

• A clear route past it, not only through it, so nobody walks between diners to reach the lawn or the shed.
• Room outside the posts for a chair pushed back, a barbecue, or a side screen drawn out.
• Access for maintenance. You need to reach the gutter, the roof and the far side of each post. That is hard if one side is tight against a fence or hedge.
• Doors and gates that still open fully.

Use the what size pergola guide to get the footprint. Then mark it out on the ground with string or garden canes and live with it for a weekend before you order.

Check what is underground and overhead

Before you pick the exact spot, find drain covers, inspection chambers, buried pipes and cables. A post or pad on top of an inspection chamber is a problem you can avoid now. Look up too: telephone wires, overhanging gutters and upstairs windows that a roof would sit below.

Neighbours and planning

Where the pergola sits affects how it is treated under planning rules, especially if it is close to a boundary or forward of the house. Rules differ across the UK, so check your council if in doubt. Our planning permission guide explains what to look at, and the boundary guide covers siting near a fence.

Is it better to put a pergola next to the house?

It depends on how you will use it. Next to the house is easier for meals and for power. Further out can be quieter and catch a different part of the day. Neither is right for every garden.

Should a pergola face south?

There is no single best direction. Decide whether you want shade or warmth at the times you sit out, then watch where the sun falls at those times.

Can I put a pergola under a tree?

You can, but expect leaves and debris on the roof, a gutter that needs clearing more often, and roots near the base. An open frame copes with that better than a louvred roof.