Pergola Above Door – Free Plans

Outdoor Plans June 30, 2011 WoodworkCity 13

The following is a free plan for a pergola above a garage door. I have a new project house that I will be working...

The following is a free plan for a pergola above a garage door. I have a new project house that I will be working on. I am fortunate enough that it is a lake cottage that lost a lot of charm with the addition of vinyl siding. When reviewing our choices to “cottage” the place back up, we decided some wide molding around the windows along with stylish accents such as an over the door pergola would help. There isn’t much function in this item, it is almost entirely an aesthetic pergola (many are). A large pergola does give some relief from the sun, but doesn’t do much to keep the weather at bay.

This free over the… (garage door, entry door, or window) pergola is a very simple plan that is also very inexpensive. Structural strength is generally not an issue if you are positioning this pergola above a door or window. Many refer to this type of pergola as a “wall pergola”.

Wall pergola plans – Above a window or door

These pergola plans come courtesy of WorkbenchMagazine.com.

I can’t say enough about the quality of the plans from Workbench Magazine. They provide so much in the way of a measured drawing and exploded views, you can almost get a view of the item from all angles.

If you are like me, and looking to add some charm to a boring facade, consider a wall mount pergola over a window or door. Mine will be placed over a garage door at the cottage. Maybe I’ll post a picture once it is complete.

Good luck. Click on the picture for the direct link to the plans (PDF).

A reader “Rick B.” did a fantastic job building his own “above door” Pergolas. He did a version above a slider and above a window and the turned out fantastic. These pictures could be right out of the magazine with the original plan. Great Job Rick and thanks for sharing!

Comments

Rick B
July 8, 2017 #1 Author

Thanks for the great plans. Really appreciated the lumber layout, It was a fun project to build with the family. Built to plans for above the patio door and narrowed it up for a second one above the kitchen window.

Thanks RMB
- WoodworkCity
  July 9, 2017 #2 Author
  
  Thanks Rick B. This project has always been one of my favorites. Glad to know this helped you with yours.
  
  WoodworkCity.com
Bern eugene
May 21, 2016 #3 Author

I like the plan, but need it be 18 ft long. Can this be done withot additional supports?
- WoodworkCity
  May 23, 2016 #4 Author
  
  Bern,
  
  You probably could get away with it, but I doubt that I would try. I am assuming you are working with an 18′ solid piece of lumber. If not, I would say no way to the span without support. If you are working with an 18′ board, I would consider your area. Will there be snow sitting atop? Even a relatively small amount can add considerable load.
  
  If I were doing it, I would probably create a cable anchor at the middle point that extends up the wall and supports from above. The thickness of the cable needed would be nominal and should be something that is barely visible from a distance.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  WoodworkCity.com
Steve
October 1, 2015 #5 Author

Hi WoodworkCity,
Thanks so much for this awesome plan. I have a question on how to attach it to my exterior wall.
I found that there is no stud where the SUPPORT BACK will be. It only has exterior plywood in between 16″ studs spacing.

Could you please recommend appropriate techniques or screws/lags/toggle that can secure this to the plywood?

Thanks again for this project plan.
Michael
June 7, 2015 #6 Author

I am interested in the Pergola Above Door plans, but they are no longer linked to the article at https://www.woodworkcity.com/2011/06/30/pergola-above-door-free-plans/

Are the plans available somewhere else? Thank you!
- WoodworkCity
  June 8, 2015 #7 Author
  
  Michael,
  
  The link to the PDF should be updated now. The correct link is: https://woodworkcity.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/wall-pergola-plans.pdf
  
  Good luck.
  - Michael
    July 7, 2015 #8 Author
    
    Perfect! Thank you.
brandon
September 25, 2014 #9 Author

great post. i do have a serious question. i have a brand new home. i want to install this right over my rear french doors which look exactly like this one on your post. do you just use bold screws and screw it right through the vinyl siding into the wall? How long does the screws have to be? and most importantly when you screw it on to the outside, do you have to caulk it to ensure no rain or snow melt leaks through the bolt holes?

hope you can answer my questions!

again great post!
- WoodworkCity
  September 26, 2014 #10 Author
  
  Brandon,
  
  Thanks for the question. This is a great project and is relatively simple for such a dramatic change. This has always been one of my favorites.
  
  Attaching to siding is a tricky thing. Many people will attach to vinyl and bind the siding up to the point that it buckles on either side of the attachment (I am talking about you, all of you satellite dish installers!). How you attach will partly depend on your layout and the material just underneath your siding layer. If I had a situation where there was only a few feet of siding on either side of my pergola, I wouldn’t worry too much about the buckling. However, if the door had 10’+ of siding on each side, I would be concerned.
  
  This is not a lightweight item and needs to be secured well. Your screw length needs to be enough to go into your actual framing (find your studs). Rather than standard screws, I would use lag bolts with washers and would be sure to penetrate the studs by at least a couple inches. Personally, I would go overboard and would probably remove/cut the siding behind the pergola and then flash/waterproof and trim with J-Channel. However, that isn’t something that you can go back from.
  
  Consider using blocking (stand off’s) that allows your pergola to extend just beyond the siding. This will allow for more movement and should still allow for a solid installation. The following discussion demonstrates this method to install an awning that would be similar enough in concept to duplicate.
  http://sunsetterdealer.net/index.php?topic=35.0
  
  Here are a couple of additional resources with regard to attaching to vinyl. Hopefully this will help.
  http://ronferrisandson.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/how-to-attach-things-to-vinyl-siding/
  http://www.diychatroom.com/f2/nailing-screwing-through-vinyl-siding-8083/
  
  Good luck!
  
  WoodworkCity.com
  - Brandon
    June 8, 2015 #11 Author
    
    Hi,
    
    although it is now June of 2015, i thought it would be respectful to say that everything you wrote was correct and turned out perfectly. if it weren’t people like you peoples houses would look boring. thanks so much for adding informative information on the net like this!
Ruth Dunlop
July 14, 2012 #12 Author

We are renovating our cottage and the front of the house is flat so we were thinking a simple structure over the RED front door would be nice. We are thinking of a Cape Cod style structure but not over-powering since the cottage is not huge.

Thanks
Ruth Dunlop
- admin
  July 16, 2012 #13 Author
  
  Ruth,
  
  That is a great look. Good luck building your Pergola. If you want to share a photo, we would love that. E-mail to contact@woodworkcity.com
  
  WoodworkCity.com

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