A large custom cedar pergola in North Texas cost $17,000 all in on a job we built in Rowlett: $15,900 for the structure, $500 for the permit and the city coordination, and $600 to stain it. It is a freestanding, open-top pergola in Western Red Cedar on nine 6x6 posts, built in about three working days, and the price included tearing out the old pergola. A smaller pergola costs less; a pergola with a solid roof is a different product, a patio cover, priced at $119/SF.
What did the money buy?
- Nine 6x6 Western Red Cedar posts on black decorative steel post bases
- 2x10 beams with profiled end cuts
- A rafter layer, with 2x2 purlins across the top
- Knee braces at every post-to-header connection, with black steel connectors throughout
- Demolition and removal of the existing pergola
- Delivered natural, then stained as its own line
Line by line
| Line | Price | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | $15,900 | The pergola itself, demo of the old one, about three working days |
| Permit and municipal coordination | $500 | The permit, the city's fees and the coordination with the city |
| Stain | $600 | Natural cedar stain applied to the whole structure |
| All in | $17,000 | The Rowlett job, as built |
That is published as what one job cost, not as a rate. Nine posts is a large pergola, and no square footage was written down on the contract, so dividing the price by an area nobody measured would invent a per-foot number. The Rowlett pergola is on the residential projects page.
What makes a pergola cost more or less?
- Post count and footprint: fewer posts and a smaller footprint cost less; nine is a big one
- Freestanding or attached: an attached pergola uses the house for one side but adds a ledger detail and a careful flashing job
- Timber and detailing: cedar costs more than pressure-treated pine; profiled ends, knee braces and a second top layer all add work
- Footings: posts on decorative bases over footings sized for the clay, or set in the ground
- Stain: natural cedar can be left to gray, or stained as its own line
- Demolition and access: an old structure to remove, or a tight side yard to carry timber through
When do you need a roof instead of a pergola?
When you want shade and rain off the furniture. A pergola is open slats: it breaks up the sun and keeps rain off nothing. If you want to sit under it in a storm or keep the summer sun off a grill, you want a patio cover: an engineered cedar frame with a standing seam or shingle roof, priced at $119/SF with a $20,000 minimum, plus $2,200 for design, engineering and permits. A 20 by 10 cover comes to $23,800 for the structure. The patio cover cost page works the totals for common sizes, including the concrete and power.
Kit or custom?
Written Scope
Planning this type of project?
Tell us your space, city, and timeline. We return a written scope with lump-sum pricing, no obligation.
A kit pergola is sized from a catalog, usually in lighter timber, and usually anchored to the slab surface. Some are fine for what they are. A custom pergola is sized to the space and the view, built from heavier cedar, and set on footings sized for the ground, which in expansive North Texas clay is what keeps a tall freestanding structure plumb. The price gap is real, and so is the difference in what is standing in ten years.
Do you need a permit for a pergola?
In most cities around here, yes: a pergola is an accessory structure, and cities set where it can go and how big it can be. In Rockwall the patio cover, deck and carport permit is $100 on the city's fee schedule. Royse City treats a pergola as an accessory structure whether or not it is attached to the house: five feet from the side and rear lot lines, out of easements and the front yard. The Rowlett job carried its own permit line, which is why it is broken out above. We confirm the rule for your address and pull the permit; the Rowlett and Royse City pages carry each city's detail.
How do you get a comparable quote?
- Ask for the post count, post size and species in writing, not just a footprint
- Ask how the posts are anchored and how deep the footings go
- Ask whether the permit and the city's fees are in the price or extra
- Ask whether staining is included, and if not what it costs
- Ask whether demolition of anything existing is included
Get a pergola or patio cover priced from the walk
Tell us the space and how you want to use it. We tell you honestly whether you want a pergola or a roof, and put the number in writing before any deposit. See patio covers and pergolas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this topic from North Texas homeowners.
How much does a custom pergola cost in Dallas?
A large custom cedar pergola we built in Rowlett, east of Dallas, cost $17,000 all in: $15,900 for a nine-post open-top cedar structure, $500 for the permit and city coordination, and $600 to stain it. Smaller pergolas cost less.
Do I need a permit for a pergola?
Usually. Most cities in this area treat a pergola as an accessory structure with setback and size rules, and permit it. We confirm the rule for your address and pull the permit ourselves.
Is a pergola cheaper than a patio cover?
Usually, because there is no roof to engineer, frame and sheet. A roofed cedar patio cover is $119/SF with a $20,000 minimum, plus $2,200 for design, engineering and permits.
Can a roof be added to a pergola later?
Sometimes, but plan for it at the start. A roof adds weight and wind load, so the posts, beams and footings have to be sized for it, and that usually means engineering. A pergola built only for open slats is rarely strong enough for a roof without rework.
How long does it take to build a pergola?
The Rowlett pergola took about three working days on site, including tearing out the old one. Permit review comes before that and depends on the city.
Should a cedar pergola be stained?
It is a choice. Unstained cedar weathers to gray; stain keeps the color and protects the wood. On the Rowlett job stain was its own line at $600.
About the author
Yelp
General contractor, Royse City, TX
Commercial tenant improvement, build-out and renovation, and residential outdoor living, fencing, additions and high-end kitchens and baths across Dallas-Fort Worth and East Texas.