Pergola wind ratings

100 mph, Pro-Tect tested — the highest published wind rating anywhere in backyard shade, and stated with the condition in its strongest available form: the product must be anchored as specified in the instruction manual, with concealed concrete anchors supplied.

The construction is where the figure comes from. 100% cedar with 5.5 in. x 5.5 in. posts, dual structural cross beams and corbels. Wind failure in a post-and-beam frame is a racking failure — the structure parallelograms before anything actually breaks — and post section plus connection stiffness is the direct answer to it.

The roof is the other half: a multi-level cedar trellis with crossing rafters, open rather than solid, so air passes through instead of loading a continuous plane. That is the best wind configuration available and it is also why the pergola provides no rain cover at all.

Five-year warranty, sizes 10 x 10 through 20 x 12 ft. On an exposed site choose the small end — roof area is the load and it scales with area while the post count does not. Re-seal the cedar every two to three years.

72 mph, fully secured with expansion screws on a hardened floor. Joint-highest among aluminum pergolas, and the most precisely conditioned figure in the whole category — which on this page matters more than the number.

Almost nobody states the test condition alongside the rating. "72 mph" on its own is a ceiling. "72 mph when fully secured with expansion screws on a hardened floor" is a specification, because it tells you the figure describes a pergola bolted into concrete rather than one standing on pavers or a deck without blocking underneath.

The frame is the only one in the category publishing its gauge: powder-coated aluminum, 1.5 mm wall, 4.33 in. x 4.33 in. crossbeams. Wall thickness is what resists twisting, and it is the specification most often missing.

And it is louvered, which changes the rating in practice. Open the louvers before a storm and the roof plane disappears — PURPLE LEAF recommends exactly that, plus raising or removing shade screens. So the published figure describes a closed roof, and the structure you actually leave standing in a gale can be better than it.

72 mph wind and 15 lb/ft² snow — the only pergola we track publishing figures for both loading directions, which on an exposed site is the combination that matters.

Wind and snow arrive together, and a snow-loaded roof in wind is a worse case than either load alone. Having both numbers from one manufacturer, in usable units, is better documentation than any competitor offers.

The anchoring instruction is the most pointed in the category: M6 expansion bolts into a wooden deck or concrete floor, immediately after assembly. The word "immediately" is doing real work — the window between finishing a build and getting round to anchoring it is precisely when these structures blow over, and Domi is the only manufacturer we found that addresses it directly.

Five years on the hardtop roof and frame, one year on curtains and netting — the longest structural term in the louvered category by a factor of five. Aluminum frame with adjustable louvers, 10 x 10 through 12 x 20 ft.

6 in. x 6 in. posts with classic plinths — the largest post section in our pergola registry — under a multilevel open trellis roof. And no published wind rating at all.

It is on this page because when a figure is missing, the structural evidence is what you have, and this is the strongest structural evidence available. Post section and connection stiffness resist racking; 6x6 is a step up from the Beaumont's 5.5-inch posts and a long way from a 4.33-inch aluminum crossbeam. The open trellis roof is the best wind configuration there is.

That is evidence, not a rating, and we are labeling it as such rather than presenting it as one. Substantial construction makes a structure likely to perform well; only a test produces a number.

It also publishes something almost nobody does and which matters for wind: a 12 x 12 ft roof over a 10 x 10 ft base, outside-to-outside of the posts. The base dimension is what determines where you can get an anchor in, and an anchor set too close to a slab edge will crack the concrete out rather than hold.

Five years limited on lumber against rot and decay; anchoring is not addressed on the product page, though it is offered as a paid service.