Composite pergola in Tokai.

The brief

This Tokai home wanted the warm, natural look of a timber pergola over its outdoor living area, but without the sanding, sealing and re-oiling that real timber demands in the Southern Suburbs' damp, leafy setting.

The build

We built a composite pergola using composite-coated beams with a natural wood-grain finish on powder-coated aluminium posts and carriers. It reads as timber but never needs painting, sanding or sealing, and it won't warp, rot or fade in the shade and moisture of the Tokai tree canopy.

The result

A warm, timber-look pergola that suits the leafy Tokai setting and stays looking new with nothing more than the occasional rinse. The look of wood, none of the upkeep.

Under the Tokai tree canopy

Tokai sits right against the forest, and the tree cover that makes the suburb what it is also keeps patios damp for a good part of the year. Real timber overhead in that sort of shade wants sanding one season and re-oiling the next. The composite-coated beams on this pergola give the same wood-grain surface with none of that, because there's no timber in them to rot.

Underneath, the structure is simple: powder-coated aluminium posts and carriers take the load, and the grained beams sit over them to do the visual work. From the garden it reads as a timber pergola in a leafy setting, which is what the owners asked for. The difference only shows years later, when the finish is still even and nothing has warped or greyed.