Start with a standard pergola if a listed configuration fits your usable space, post positions and intended activities. Investigate custom design when a specific constraint remains unresolved, such as the footprint, height, post arrangement or coordination of side accessories. Customisation is useful when it solves a defined problem, not simply because the patio is important to you.
Test the standard option first
Choose a candidate from the Australian range and compare its exact drawing with your site. Include door movement, furniture, the route to the garden and the supporting surface. A nominal product size is a shopping category; the drawing is what you need to discuss actual positioning.
Write down the first constraint that prevents the standard option from working. “The post conflicts with the door route” is a useful brief. “I would like something more bespoke” gives the designer much less to solve.
Decide what needs to change
| Your situation | Useful next step |
|---|---|
| A listed size fits and circulation works | Confirm the standard configuration and site requirements. |
| The footprint fits but furniture does not | Test a different furniture orientation before changing the structure. |
| A fixed site constraint blocks the standard layout | Prepare measurements and photographs for a custom review. |
| You want an irregular roof shape | Check feasibility before paying for related site work. |
| You want several connected zones | Review module joins, posts and drainage in the proposed design. |
Understand what the custom process covers
The Australian custom page describes a sequence from request and concept review to final design, CAD drawings, production and delivery. It also states that irregular non-rectangular roofs are not currently supported, while some larger layouts use connected rectangular modules. A custom enquiry therefore does not mean every shape or unsupported span can be built.
Connected sections need their own review. The same page notes drainage limitations at overlapping areas. If your design depends on a dry junction between two zones, make that a specific question during drawing review rather than assuming the join behaves like an uninterrupted roof.
Prepare a focused brief
- Overall site dimensions, measured consistently in metres or millimetres.
- Photographs showing doors, steps, eaves and other fixed obstacles.
- The activity you want in each part of the pergola.
- The constraint that the standard kit cannot solve.
- Desired side accessories and the side where each belongs.
- Known site preparation and installation arrangements.
Review the final drawing as a whole
Check dimensions, posts, roof sections, side accessories and service positions together. A change to one can affect another. The custom page advises confirming the main frame and post layout before shipment because these are not generally changes to make after installation.
Keep an approved drawing revision with the written quote and order. Use the agreed project schedule rather than a general stock-product delivery estimate. If the standard option already meets the brief, it remains a valid choice; the purpose of this comparison is to identify the right configuration, not to make customisation the default.