Design Insights — Pergolas Over Pools
One of the most common requests we get is for a 20-foot-plus span incorporated into a pergola, usually because a client wants the structure to cover part of a pool without a support post obstructing the water or the view. It’s an understandable request — nobody wants to wake up every day and see a post blocking their favourite view — but a pergola spanning that distance over a pool needs real structural engineering, not just a wish list. Long spans without intermediate support require substantially larger beams, proper engineering for wind and snow load, and careful attention to how the structure ties back into the house or deck framing at the anchored end.
It’s absolutely possible to design a pergola with a clear span over a pool — we’ve done it — but it has to be engineered for that specific span from the start, not adapted from a standard design after the fact.
