Cost to Build a Pergola

Find the average cost to build a pergola yourself compared with hiring a landscape contractor. Use your ZIP Code to adjust the cost to where you live so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a pro to do the job. Learn what to consider and the steps involved.

A pergola can become a focal point in an ordinary yard because it creates an attractive outdoor living space for seating and dining, either as a standalone structure or used to cover a deck. It is a trellis-like room made of supports and rafters where vines and plants grow around and through them. Years ago, a pergola was a custom-built structure but today, you can buy a kit and have it assembled or do it yourself. This is a complex project that involves several phases. The components of the unit are made of wood and should be primed and painted or stained before construction. The structure requires concrete footings for the supports; for flooring a base of quarry stone or brick are good choices.

A landscape contractor will charge $3,200 to assemble a 10-foot-by-12-foot pergola kit on a brick base, which includes the labor and material. You can buy the kit and foundation and floor material for $1,500 and do it yourself, and save 53 percent. But the job is complicated, involving pouring cement footings, laying a floor and assembling all the components. If there’s any doubt, hire a pro, and you supply the creative touch with lush plantings like clematis and wisteria that climb and grow to enclose the new outdoor living space.

National Average Cost
to
Build a Pergola

Hours

  • Pro
  • DIY
  • 45
  • 50

Money

  • Pro
  • DIY
  • $3200
  • $1500
Adjust Cost to
Your ZIP Code.

Would You Do This Project?

Poll Results

  • DIY    61%
  • PRO  39%