Curved and cantilevered pergolas

What are curved and cantilevered pergolas?

Curved and cantilevered pergolas are intricate designs of raised structures that can be free standing or fixed to an existing building or structure.

They are complicated elements of a project and aren’t usually something designed on site. Manufactured in a workshop by skilled professionals, then taken to site in kit form for a rapid installation.

Depending upon the design, the curves are manufactured from simple fins or box section and curved to a radius during manufacture. The design may call for the curved arrangement to be manufacture from straight pieces, this does reduce price but can look facetted.

Cantilevering raised structures and pergolas

For years, these raised structures have been designed with a cantilevered design. This causes complications for the structure due to the weight, bending moments and behaviour of solid or laminated timber. The solution has been to create flitch plates and stiffening beams in steel which would then be wrapped in the timber. This is a costly affair and required Structural Engineers to provide detail and calculation for these structures. They then take excessive time on site to install and can sometimes be cost prohibitive.

Technowood solves pergola problems

The use of Technowood for complex pergolas is now an integral material for modern structures. Technowood can span up to 7.5 metres in the normal production of these structures, this would be for an unsupported form. If design requires dimensions over this then Technowood can use GRP to then create lengths of up to 12.5 metres.

“There are also other benefits by using TechnoWood”

It can be A2 fire rated

Much lighter than solid timber

Up to 60% quicker on installation

No flitch beams nor unnecessary reinforcing

No visible fixings

Warranted for 20 years

FSC and Environmental Product Declaration

And it looks like timber … because it is wrapped in real timber veneer.

How to design a perfect Pergola

Of course, designers and Architects don’t need us to tell them what to design… We do help with the connections and advise on how the whole package is assembled. Do give us a call and we can send over the DWG’s, DXF’s and SKP’s, these will have all of the elements on the Technowood portfolio of you to use in your design.

Technowood do have in-house designers that offer solutions should you require. You can visit their office and showroom which is based in the Sky House design Centre, Amersham. Top of the Metropolitan line on the tube…