Pergolas are an attractive feature to add to your deck or garden. Unfortunately, the design of most pergolas do not lend themselves to offering shade or protection from the weather. Adding an attractive tarp to your pergola can greatly add to its enjoyment and extend its use.
Custom pergola covers offer numerous benefits, making them an excellent choice for homeowners looking to enhance their outdoor areas.
Heavy Duty Tarps, established in 2013, has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality custom tarp solutions that are both durable and aesthetically pleasing. With thousands of successful deliveries across Canada and the USA, our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is second to none. Whether you’re looking to create a cozy, shaded nook or ensure your outdoor space remains usable in wet weather, our custom pergola covers offer the perfect combination of functionality and style. With free shipping and a focus on using high-quality materials, you can trust that our products will provide long-lasting protection for your outdoor space.
Unlike off-the-shelf solutions, custom covers are designed to match the exact dimensions and style of your specific pergola. This ensures a precise fit, covering every corner and providing consistent shade and protection from the elements. Whether your pergola has a unique shape or specific design preferences, a custom cover can be crafted to meet your needs, adding both functionality and aesthetic appeal.
By choosing a custom pergola cover, you invest in a solution that not only meets your functional needs but also enhances the overall beauty and enjoyment of your outdoor living space.
There are two main materials that are suitable for covering your pergola.
The material you choose depends primarily on whether you want a waterproof cover.
If you need your pergola to be waterproof, you will most likely want to go with an 18 oz solid vinyl material. This comes in a wide range of colors to match your garden décor. Waterproof pergola covers offer essential protection for outdoor living spaces, ensuring that your next outdoor event will not get "rained out". These covers shield the area beneath from both sun and rain, keeping furniture, grills, and other outdoor accessories cool and dry. This makes outdoor spaces more versatile and reliable, allowing for uninterrupted use even during unexpected changes to the weather. By preventing water from seeping through, waterproof covers also help maintain the structural integrity of your pergola, protecting it from damage that can result from prolonged exposure to moisture, such as warping or rotting of wooden frames.
In addition to protecting the pergola itself, waterproof covers also create a more comfortable and usable outdoor environment. They help control the microclimate beneath the pergola by blocking rain while still allowing for adequate airflow. This means you can host gatherings, dine outside, or simply relax without worrying about getting wet or having to move indoors when the weather changes. Furthermore, waterproof covers come with UV protection, adding an extra layer of defense against harmful sun rays, which can cause skin cancer and sun burns as well as fading and damage to furniture and other materials. By investing in a high-quality waterproof cover, you not only extend the life of your outdoor space but also enhance its functionality, making it a true extension of your home that can be enjoyed year-round.
In addition to being waterproof, solid vinyl covers will block out a considerable amount of light and heat. While this is generally desirable, keep in mind that if your pergola is directly adjacent to your house, any doors or windows that are covered by the pergola will not allow as much light into your home. This does have the benefit that the inside rooms, next to the pergola, will tend to be cooler and more energy efficient during warm periods.
When using a solid vinyl cover you should ideally have an angled pergola so that it sheds water. If the cover is completely flat you may get some water pooling in the middle during heavy rain.
Mesh covers have the advantage that they allow better airflow since they won't trap warm air under the pergola, as might happen when using a solid cover. Also, if you want to allow some sunshine to get through the cover, mesh is a good choice. Of course rain can filter through our mesh covers so they are not suitable if you want to keep furnishings or other items in your pergola dry.
Our 90% Block Premium Mesh comes in dark green, black, blue and red. Dark green tends to be most popular since it's a neutral shade that blends in well with trees and foliage.
Note that, even with 90% block, you still get quite a lot of sunlight filtering through the material so you would tend to want to wear a hat on bright days while under the cover. By the same token, you could get a sunburn with prolonged exposure to the sun while under the mesh material.
Pergolas are often used to provide shade. Nevertheless, there may be times when you are sitting out under the pergola when the sun is rising or setting and it is too low in the sky to be shaded by the pergola. Consider extending the pergola cover to come down on one of the sides if this would help provide shade during these periods. In addition to shade, this is also a way to use the pergola to add privacy, in cases where your back yard is visible to neighbors. This may also provide shelter from the wind if that is a problem if your back yard. If you want to incorporate sun protection into the sides of the pergola, without losing viability, use our 90% Premium Mesh on one or more sides to dampen the sun's rays.
It is possible to combine different materials into pergola cover. For example, we could add a transparent vinyl skylight to our solid vinyl material to let in more light while still being waterproof. Clear vinyl can also be used to cover the sides of your pergola during spring and fall to extend the period when you can comfortably sit inside your pergola. We can even make the roof of your pergola solid vinyl in some areas, say above an outdoor dining table, while being mesh along the outside to allow more sunlight.
In cooler climates, where you don't use your pergola during the winter months, it is a good idea to take down the cover to store it indoors while not in use. Use this opportunity to wash and dirt and debris off of the material using a mild cleaning solution consisting of soap and warm water.
You will need to decide the best way to fasten the cover the structure. If you are planning to screw the grommets into the structure you will need to supply us with a diagram that shows exactly where each grommet needs to be placed. Even if your pergola trusses are evenly spaced at say every 12 inches, if you order your tarp with grommets every foot there is a chance they might not line up perfectly. By supplying a diagram with exact grommet positions this alerts us to the fact that the grommet spacing is critical to your application.
If possible, it is better to fasten the cover to the continuous boards on the sides so that precise grommet spacing is not necessary, as is the case if you are trying to line up the grommets onto the center of adjacent boards.
My brother and sister have a tarp over their deck and suggested this product. We installed it on a pergola and it works great. Heavy Duty Tarps assisted me in the weight colour and selection process. They were quick to respond. Very great people to deal with and excellent pricing. It was a perfect fit for my needs.In terms of solid covers, we generally recommend 18 oz vinyl. We also offer 22 oz vinyl, which is a little thicker, however it is generally not necessary to go with a heavier material. One exception would be if you are planning to keep your cover up year round in climates where it would be exposed to snow load. In such a case, you might even want to go with our 50 oz material.
Regarding mesh material, we recommend our 90% Block Premium Mesh. Our 90% Block Super HD Mesh would also work but it tends to be a stiffer material that is prone to kinking. We don't recommend out 60% or 70% block mesh materials since they let in too much light.
For 100% rain and UV protection we recommend a solid vinyl cover. Our 90% Block Premium Mesh material contains UV protection to prolong its life, however, since it does not block all of the sunlight you and your belongings under the mesh cover will be exposed to some ultraviolet light, albeit much less than without the cover.
If your pergola is square or rectangular we can create a custom fit to your exact requirements. For other shapes we would need an accurate diagram to determine whether this is something we can fabricate.
Our 18 oz Vinyl comes in black, blue, brown, charcoal, green, grey, maroon, orange, red, tan, white and yellow. Our 90% Block Premium Mesh comes in black, blue, dark green and red.
If you are somewhat handy, it is fairly easy to install a pergola cover yourself. We can offer advise but we don't provide any installation services. You will need to decide on the type of fastener you want to use to secure the cover. On request, we can install grommets or D-Rings at precise locations to align with your fasteners.
It is also possible to secure your cover without any special fasteners just by folding the cover over your structure and connecting opposite sides of the cover to itself using ropes.
Depending on the design of your pergola, it is possible to suspend the cover under your pergola on rope or metal cables that would allow you to slide/collapse the cover to one side when you want full sun and fully extend the cover to provide full shade.
The longevity of your cover will depend on whether it is kept up year-round or just used seasonally. Most people use their covers from, say, May to September. If you take good care of your cover, and store it indoors during the off season, it is common for them to last 10 years or more.
You should generally scrub it with dish detergent and a soft brush once a year at the end of the season. Make sure it is completely dry before storing it.
To some extent, this depends on the time of year when your order is placed. We tend to be busiest in the spring and fall. Nevertheless, we strive to complete most of our orders within 10 business days.
