More Than a Backyard Upgrade. A Life Upgrade.
A timber pergola with privacy panels can completely transform how you use your outdoor space. The best living space isn’t always the biggest—it’s the one you actually use. This project shows how a simple slab of concrete became a private, timber-framed retreat. A pergola with lattice panels doesn’t just add shade; it reclaims space that once sat empty, turning it into the most lived-in room of the home.
Designed by Design Manager Chase Bronson, this project demonstrates how heavy timber systems bring strength, scale, and elegance to even compact sites.
Before → After
Before: A plain concrete pad, open on all sides, exposed to neighbors and unused.
After: A 12×13 timber pergola, built with Douglas Fir, Roosevelt Step beams, and classic knee braces. Privacy panels define the edges, blocking unwanted views and enclosing the space with warmth. What was once overlooked now feels exclusive—inviting daily use for dining, relaxing, and gathering.
This wasn’t about adding square footage. It was about reclaiming it.
Project Details
- Structure: Freestanding Pergola
- Series: 4000 Series
- Wood: Douglas Fir, heavy-duty timber
- Stain: Early American
- Size: 12×13 roof (10×12 footprint)
- Beam Profile: Roosevelt Step
- Posts: 6×6
- Hardware: Knife Plates (4)
- Knee Braces: Classic style (4)
- Latticed Privacy Panels
- Foundation: Existing concrete pad
Privacy, Your Way
Privacy doesn’t have to mean isolation—it means control. This project used lattice panels to soften sightlines while still allowing light and airflow. For clients who want more seclusion, we also design with solid timber panels, integrated shutters, or custom screening. Each option can be matched to the timber frame so it feels intentional, not added on. Whether it’s a backyard retreat or a commercial courtyard, privacy elements give outdoor structures the flexibility to be open when you want them to be, and enclosed when you need them to be.
The Dovetail Difference®
The secret to this structure is in its joinery. With dovetail connections, timbers lock together, resisting warping and shifting in ways standard fasteners can’t. It’s stability you can trust—whether reclaiming a small backyard pad or scaling up to a commercial courtyard.
TimberVolt® Power Option
For clients who want full functionality, TimberVolt® power posts integrate electricity inside the timber itself. Lights, fans, and chargers can all be wired in seamlessly—keeping even small spaces clean, organized, and usable from morning to night.
Residential and Commercial Reach
What works here in a backyard also works in larger arenas. Mass timber, once reserved for cathedrals and bridges, is now shaping campuses, restaurants, and civic spaces. For commercial contractors, the same system that creates intimate backyard retreats also scales to public courtyards, office pavilions, and resort gathering halls.
The difference? Scale. The craft remains the same.
Why It Matters
- For homeowners: Privacy and shade turn an underused patio into a private outdoor living room.
- For contractors: A proven dovetail-joined system that adapts to both small and large sites.
The real upgrade isn’t just structural. It’s how the space changes lives: drawing people outside daily, reclaiming what was unused, and making it personal.
This isn’t just a backyard upgrade.
It’s a life upgrade—because even the smallest space deserves permanence.
