50 Awesome Pergola Design Ideas – This post explains how to build an easy DIY pergola on a concrete patio, with a modern wood slat privacy wall!

Well friends, if you’re looking for an easy way to spruce up your yard a DIY pergola is the way to go! We (mainly my husband, ha) built this pergola on our concrete patio last summer and it’s my favorite DIY project so far. It completely changed the look of our backyard and patio space.

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It may sound scary but this project was a lot of fun and I know how much it improves the outdoor space. This easy DIY pergola can be built on a budget and works with a variety of configurations.

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Our house has a small yard, and the houses are close to each other, so there was no privacy when we moved here. We live in a fairly new community so the trees are still very small and do not yet provide shade or privacy.

The back of our house faces south, so it’s always sunny and warm in the summer months. It was really hard to use this place without shade. But since I have two little boys, I needed a safe place to hang out with them!

It can also be very windy where we live, so we have a hard time finding shade solutions. We’ve tried umbrellas (with a very heavy base), a free-standing pergola (again weighted), and non-structural shade rugs. Nothing can resist the wind!

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We tried hard to find a good budget shed option but nothing good came up. Looking back I really wish we had bit the bullet and built a pergola right away. Before learning how to build a pergola, we tried three other ideas, and wasted hundreds of dollars.

Building this DIY pergola on a concrete patio was definitely rewarding! With the help of my husband’s brother, we were able to complete this project in two weeks! It went a lot faster than I thought, and it was a lot less expensive to make it yourself!

This is a DIY project that I would recommend to anyone looking to add some shade and privacy to their yard while increasing the value of their home!

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Edit March 2023: We moved a few years ago and the thing I miss most about this house is the pergola! However, it definitely helped our house stand out when we went to sell it. At every show we commented on how much they loved the pergola! It added so much to our little yard. Without the backyard it would have been a tough selling point. But with that said, it was one of the best features! So, if you are looking to increase the retail value of your home, I highly recommend this project!

How to Build a Backyard Pergola with Wood Slat Privacy Screen Step 1 – Pergola Design Inspiration Research

Before starting this pergola project, I did a lot of research! Pinterest is always my favorite search engine when starting a project!

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I saw many different styles and sizes and ideas. Pergolas attached to the house vs. free standing… Pergolas with traditional design styles vs. more modern styles… Cedar vs. Redwood vs. Pressure treated wood…

I also looked at a few different package options. Some companies, like Home Depot, sell DIY pergola kits where they will send you pre-cut pieces and then you can put them together. They of course recommend professional pergola installation.

I can tell you that the price you would have paid for a professional installation is at least 3 times the price we paid! Even the pre-cut kits were very expensive.

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Once we had a design idea in mind we measured our yard space to determine how big we wanted the pergola, where we wanted to add privacy walls, and how tall we wanted it to be.

We decided to use it to cover our existing concrete slab. The concrete slab is approximately 19′-6″ wide x 10′-6″ deep.

We wanted the pergola roof to sit over our windows. The top of the windows are about 9′ high.

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After that, I sketched out how we wanted it to look. I drew floor plans and elevations to scale. This way we can determine how many boards we need and what type. Figuring out what to order was the hardest part of this project!

Note: When we ordered the wood we updated some measurements/pieces, which I will mention below.

Since we wanted cedar and some custom sizes, we ordered the following items from a local lumber yard. By ordering from a lumber yard and going to Home Depot, we were able to get the exact type of lumber and the exact size.

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I’m so glad we did because we were able to order a custom size for the length and width we needed. It saved us a lot of time and labor when we got the wood because we had to make fewer pieces.

It only took a week for the pieces to arrive and then they shipped it directly to our home for a very reasonable fee! Again…using a local lumber yard is highly recommended! You’re also supporting a small business so it’s a win!

Note: We used 1″ x 4″ boards instead of 1″ x 6″ for the privacy wall, and left a 1″ gap between each board.

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The first step was to install 3 6″ x 6″ posts on the concrete slab. This was the hardest part! The beams were very heavy and 2-3 people were needed to hold them in place to make sure they were straight and straight.

After that, we installed the big header on the front. This was another difficult part that took two people. One person lifted the beam while the other pushed it into the 6″ x 6″ posts.

Also, as you can see in the image below, we created a space at the top of the 6″ x 6″ post to rest the header on.

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The next step was to install support boards and metal flashing to the house. Metal flashing is an important step in preventing water from collecting on the wood, which can damage your siding.

We decided not to seal or stain the cedar because we wanted it to age naturally. As cedar ages it browns over time and I love that color!

Some of the final touches we added were some sun shades! We’ve added these two outdoor roller shades seen above, which help a lot in blocking out the sun! They are easy to use and unobtrusive while climbing. They add even more privacy and feel like a private outdoor room when they’re down.

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We also added some sun shades to put on top of the pergola. They provided plenty of shade, protection from the rain and were barely noticeable. We used carabiner clips to attach them so they can be easily removed in the winter. Then we removed them so that the snow would not accumulate on them.

Then we added some decorative outdoor globe string lights! I’ve always loved the look of these lights! They felt magical and were perfect for when we were out at night!

One thing to note is that we were not prepared for this – the first few times the cedar wood gets wet (when it rains or snows) the water that drips will turn red and stain the furniture or concrete underneath. We were able to clean our cushions with this pressure washer, but beware!

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If you seal the wood it won’t be a problem. Otherwise I would recommend washing the wood once or twice with a pressure washer (at a safe distance) before putting the furniture down.

Of course we added some nice patio furniture too! I love our outdoor area and how cozy the seating area is! Our exact one is no longer available but this exterior from Wayfair is! Or these large outdoor units look like a great option too!

I am so happy with how the pergola and privacy fence turned out in our yard! This pergola adds so much to the look and feel of our small backyard!

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It gives us lots of shade and privacy! I love how our concrete patio space now feels like an extension of our home and an outdoor room. We use it all the time. It’s even better in the winter because it keeps some snow off the yard!

Hope these DIY pergola plans will help you if you are planning to build your own pergola in the backyard! I highly recommend this project because it saved us a lot of money and it really wasn’t that hard! As long as you have some people to help you

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