Don't worry about the name, the terms overlap and people use them loosely. Most describe the same idea: a frame with a roof over your patio. What really differs is the roof. Ours come three ways: rotating louvres that tilt from open to closed at the turn of a switch (what people usually mean by a bioclimatic or louvred-roof pergola), a retractable louvred roof that slides fully away, or a retractable waterproof fabric roof. Tell us what you want to achieve and we'll name the right product for your space, which is exactly what the recommendation tool above is for.

Many pergolas fall within permitted development limits, but height, placement, listed status, conservation areas and attachment to the property can all change the position, and glass rooms and verandas attached to the house have their own rules. We flag likely considerations at survey stage for every project, and where permission looks necessary we tell you before you spend a penny. Your local planning authority remains the definitive source.

Because a £3k pergola and a £15k pergola are different products wearing the same name. We'll always give you a from-and-to based on your size and spec, and if a simpler route does the job, we'll say so. Ready-to-install starts around £1k–£5k (Gozo Living); professionally installed pergolas roughly £5k–£12k; fully bespoke from £12k.

Survey to installation typically runs a few weeks depending on product and season, bespoke fabrication is made to your measurements, not pulled off a shelf. We'll give honest lead times when we quote, and our own teams install: most residential projects are fitted in days.

Yes, honestly. Our Gozo Living range covers set-size pergolas and garden pods at £1k–£5k, delivered and optionally installed. We'd rather guide you to the right thing than upsell you the wrong one; plenty of bespoke customers started as Gozo customers.

We're based in Dereham, Norfolk, and East Anglia is home, but we install right across the UK, from ready-to-install pergolas to fully bespoke builds. Recent projects run from Essex to Scotland. Tell us where you are and we'll be straight about it.

Yes. A glass pergola pairs an aluminium pergola frame with a glass roof, and often glass sides, the light and shelter of a glass room with the clean lines of a pergola. Our Cubo and Prime glass rooms and the retractable sunroom all sit in this space. Which is right for you depends on how much of the year you want to use it and whether you want the roof to open; we'll talk you through the honest trade-offs at survey.

Regularly. Recent London projects include the Lanesborough Hotel, Hyline HY40 slim sliding doors and a retractable roof in East London; in Essex we built a Lusso bioclimatic pergola with room to breathe. East Anglia is home, but London and Essex are well-travelled ground for us. Tell us your postcode and we'll be straight about coverage and access.

Yes, we completed a luxury glazing project in Guernsey, handling the export paperwork, VAT-free island invoicing and freight from Portsmouth alongside our island partners. We quote for both Guernsey and Jersey; given the logistics, island projects typically start from around £30,000.

Yes, it's rather our speciality. Laser surveys, CAD drawings and factory-cut components mean slopes, steps, trees and rooftops are engineering questions, not problems. Ask to see the Essex pergola built around a living tree.

Yes, and directly with homeowners too. On new builds and larger renovations we work from the architect's drawings, integrate the glazing or structure into the design, handle the survey and CAD ourselves, and coordinate with the main contractor and other trades on site. However the project reaches us, the survey, engineering and installation are the same.

A well-designed, professionally installed outdoor living space extends your usable living area, and outdoor rooms are commonly promoted as features when homes are sold. What definitely doesn't add value: a badly fitted kit fighting a sloping patio. If resale matters, invest in the design and the installation quality, not just the structure.

The ones we're called in to fix: bolting to an unprepared or un-level base, ignoring the wind rating for an exposed garden, cutting legs down on site because the patio falls away, positioning that blocks light or breaches permitted development height, and buying a size that almost fits. Every one of them is avoidable with a proper survey, which is why ours starts with a rotating laser, not a tape measure.

In our experience: frame gauge and louvre profile (full box-section louvres are typically more rigid and quieter in rain than semi-skin profiles), motor and warranty terms, wind rating, powder-coat quality, and the installation, which matters as much as the product. We work with these systems every week and will tell you straight which is best for your space and budget, including when the cheaper one is enough. For the full spec comparison, read our aluminium pergola buyer's guide.