He Built A Covered Deck w/Attached Pergola Kit

A DIY Covered Deck, Built Off the Back of the House

Jared Allred wanted a deck he could use on the bright afternoons and the rainy evenings alike. So he built one: a raised covered deck with an attached timber roof, put together from a pre-cut Western Timber Frame kit. He sent us the photos when it was finished — and it’s beautifully done. Designing for that kind of everyday use is what Western Timber Frame has earned 28 Best of State awards for.

A covered deck does something an open deck can’t: it turns good weather and bad weather into the same thing — time you can spend outside.

Shade and cover, rain or shine

The timber roof is solid, so the deck stays usable whatever the sky is doing. On a hot day it’s full, comfortable shade; when it rains, the space underneath stays dry. A ceiling fan mounted under the roof keeps the air moving on still summer evenings. It’s the difference between a deck you use when the weather cooperates and one you use all season. Solid timber roofs are familiar work here: Western Timber Frame has been cutting them in Payson, Utah since 2008.

The details, top to bottom

Look up and the craftsmanship shows: decorative rafter tails run along the front edge, corbel braces carry each post, and the whole frame wears a deep, dark walnut-brown stain. The deck itself is low-maintenance composite decking, framed by a clean black aluminum railing and raised off the ground, with a staircase down to the patio and rock bed below.

Why a timber roof feels better than metal

Wood has far lower thermal conductivity than aluminum or steel, so a timber roof and its beams don’t soak up the sun and radiate heat back down onto the deck. The cover stays comfortable overhead, and the space underneath stays a place you actually want to sit — not a hot box.

An outdoor room, a few steps from the kitchen

Because it attaches to the house and opens through the French doors, the covered deck works like an extra room — one with a rail, a view of the yard, and a roof over it. Furniture stays out, and meals move outside. A DIY kit like this goes together from pre-cut, pre-drilled timbers, so a homeowner can raise it without a contractor — though we’re glad to install it for anyone who’d rather we did.

Western Timber Frame has built more than 7,000 timber structures since 2008, engineered to code in all 50 states — but the ones a homeowner builds themselves, like Jared’s, are especially satisfying to see.