Pergolas and Pavilions

Save over 40% Off Retail Prices by Buying Direct from the Factory.

A Pergola or a Pavillion is a great way to start your outdoor room project. Not only do these structures provide various degrees of shade and protection from the elements, but they also help define the space of your outdoor space.

From the simple elegance of our Classic Seaside Pergola to the fully roofed Bayside Pavilion, all Baypoint kits are built to order in our Lexington, Kentucky factory, out of premium western red cedar wood using only the highest quality anchors and fasteners to insure that we deliver the highest quality product, at the most economical price.

Our pricing includes FREE SHIPING within the the lower 48 states and for a limited time we are offering FREE DELIVEY & INSTALLATION for those locations within a 200 mile radius of our Lexington Kentucky facility. Some restrictions do apply to this offer. Click HERE or give us a call at 859-948-6026 to learn more.

What Makes Our Pergola and Pavilion Kits Better Than the Competition

Installing a Pergola or pavilion represents a significant investment in both time and money.  Our goal is to provide you with the highest quality product at the most affordable price.  There are any number of pergola and pavilion kits available online and the quality of these kits ranges from excellent to very poor.  Below are some things you should consider when making your purchasing decision. 

Site Built vs Factory Kits

There are many fine builders out there that are more than capable of building you a great pergola or pavilion from scratch. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of people that will take your money and build your pergola or pavilion using questionable construction practices and materials. Our kits are built to order at our Lexington KY plant using state of the art jigs and equipment. Each of our kits are erected here at the plant and then disassembled and packaged for shipment.  The result is more consistent and precise cuts and a better overall fit. 

When our kits arrive onsite, they can normally be assembled in a couple of hours. Considering the cost of labor for a good carpenter and crew our kits represent  a great value.

The Type of Wood Matters   

Many low-end pergola or pavilion kits available online use imported pressure treated wood.  Pressure treatment is a process that forces preservatives into the pine wood to extend its life.  The preservatives are designed to protect the wood from attack by wood ingesting insects; like termites, and wood rot caused by fungal decay. There are two major issues with these types of kits.  First the quality and type of wood is suspected on imported kits.  These kits are typically mass produced in China, and you can never be one hundred percent certain what type of wood you will receive.  The second issue is the pressure treatment process in general.  During this process wood is soaked under pressure in a liquid solution to force preservatives deep into the wood.  This increases the moisture content of the wood dramatically.  You can check this out for yourself by visiting a local lumber yard and picking up both a treated and untreated piece of wood of similar size.  The treated wood will be much heavier.  This is due to the additional moisture content in the wood.  The problem is that this moisture must go somewhere and as it leaves the wood it tends to cause warping and cracking.  This is also why most paint and stain manufacturers recommend that you wait at least six months before painting or staining treated lumber. 

 Our Kits use only premium grade, rough cut red cedar sourced in the USA.  Cedar is stronger than pine or fir, is naturally resistant to insects or rot and is much less likely to crack, split or warp over time.

Split Headers vs Solid Headers

The header is the piece of lumber that connects the posts together.  Typically, headers used in pergola or pavilion construction are 8 inches wide, although on some imported low-end kits you may see 6 inch headers.  There are two methods of attaching the headers to the post.  The first is the split beam method where a 2X8 is simply bolted on to the opposing faces of each post, using either carriage bolts or lag screws.  This was the norm for many years and is still found to today  on low -end or mid-range kits.  While it may seem to be a secure method of attachment, the entire weight of the structure is carried on these bolts.  Should they fail, the structure fails.  Some cities have recently revised their building codes to restrict these types of attachment joints. 

 Our kits use only solid 4X8 headers mounted on top of the posts and secured with a threaded steel rod that runs the entire length of the post and attaches to post base mount.  This provided a much more secure joint with the weight of the structure carried on the posts.

Split Header Construction

Note that the entire weight of the structure is carried by two carriage bolts. Also note the 16 inch on center placement of the purloin beams. This type of constuction is typical of low end kits available online

Post Height

Most pergola or pavilion kits come standard with 8-foot posts. However, for those kits that use split headers this means that you will lose 8 inches in height since the header is bolted directly to the post. This means that you will only have a 7-foot four inches clearance under the header.  If you want a full 8 feet clearance under your header on kits using split header construction, you will have to upgrade to longer posts.  This upgrade usually runs between $60 and $80 per post.   

 Our kits are constructed so that header sets on top of the 8 foot posts so that you have a full 8 feet from the ground to the bottom of the header beam. 

Post Width

Many kits come standard with a 6x6 post.   Our kit comes standard with an 8X8.  The typical upcharge  on competitive sites for upgrading from a 6X6 post to an 8X8 post is $300 per post. 

Post Construction

Most of our competitors use solid posts, where we use a framed post construction with a full-length steel rod that ties the entire structure together and anchors it to the ground It can be argued that the solid posts are stronger. We disagree.  We use the framed post construction because it is much less likely to crack, check or warp over time and we feel that the full-length steel rod provides a stronger connection to the ground than the typical base mounts used on solid posts.  We believe that our framed post construction is just as strong as a solid post construction, provides better overall performance and a more secure ground connection in strong winds. 

Posts Mounts

Here again some of the competitors charge extra if you want post mounts to attach the pergola to your patio or deck. These typically run $60 per post.   Our pergola and pavilion kits  come with all hardware required to install as well as detailed installation manuals and videos.

Purlin Beams

Purlin beams are the cross members that span the headers.  Typically, these are either 2X6 or 2X8 boards that are spaced 16 Inches on center.  This spacing as well as the width of the boards affect how much shade is created.   Many of the low-end kits use 2X6 purlins that are set on top of the headers and are held in place using only screws.  Our pergola kits come standard with 2X8 purlins set at 12 inches on center.  We additional notch each purlin so that it fits snugly over the 4X8 header.  This increases the rigidity and durability of the structure and creates more shade.  Spacing the purlins at 12 inches on center versus 16 inches on center is an upgrade for most kits and typically runs $200 to $600 depending on the size of the pergola.