Most people who ask us for a wood pergola are not committed to timber. They picture a pergola and the picture is wooden, because that is what a pergola has looked like for a hundred years. So this page answers the actual question: what happens to wood in South Florida, what aluminum costs you in exchange, and how to get the look of timber without the problems of it.
We are a licensed Florida general contractor and we build in aluminum, so read this knowing that. We have also taken down enough failed wood structures to describe the failure honestly, and wood has real advantages that we will not pretend away.
What wood actually gets right
- It costs less up front. Usually meaningfully less. If you are selling the house in three years, that may be the whole argument.
- It looks and feels like timber, because it is. Nothing else is quite the same up close.
- It is easy to change. A carpenter can modify it on site with ordinary tools. An engineered aluminum system cannot be cut about after the fact.
What South Florida does to it
Three things work on timber here at once: humidity that rarely drops, eight months of hard UV, and rain that soaks end grain and then bakes it dry. Rot starts where water sits and cannot escape — post bases, the tops of beams, and every joint where two pieces meet. The structures we are called out to replace are usually failing at the post base while the timber you can see still looks fine.
Then there are termites. Florida has native subterranean termites and the Formosan subterranean termite, and an untreated post near grade is the kind of target they find. Treated lumber and a proper standoff base help a great deal. They do not make the question go away.
And there is the upkeep. A wood pergola here wants cleaning, sanding and resealing on a cycle measured in a year or two, not a decade. Skip it and cedar goes silver and then soft. That cycle is the cost people forget to put in the comparison.
What aluminum costs you in exchange
More up front, and a different material in the hand. Aluminum cannot rot because there is nothing in it to rot, and it cannot be eaten. It does not rust either — rust is iron oxide and aluminum contains no iron. What ages is the powder coat on it: years of Florida UV will slowly flatten any colour, and a deep scratch within sight of open water can bloom chalky white at the edge. Neither spreads the way rot spreads. A rinse with fresh water every few months is the whole maintenance programme.
The other thing you gain is the roof. A timber pergola gives dappled shade that moves through the day and stops no rain whatsoever. An aluminum louvered roof rotates closed, which is a different product rather than a better version of the same one.
On rain, the honest answer rather than the sales one: no motorized louvered roof system is one hundred per cent waterproof. Ours, with overlapping louvers closing onto integrated gaskets and a built-in gutter and downspout system, is the most watertight motorized louvered roof available — and in everyday rain the space stays dry. In the heaviest downpours or wind-driven rain you may see misting, splashing or the occasional drip, and keeping the gutters and downspouts clear is most of what prevents it.
The part most people do not know exists
You can have the wood look without the wood. We build aluminum pergolas with wood-look louvers, and the outdoor cabinetry we carry comes in twelve wood-look finishes — cherry, walnut, knotty pine, aged oak and white oak among them — applied with a process that originated in Italy. From a few feet away it reads as grain. It cannot rot, cannot be eaten and never needs resealing.
This is also the answer when an architectural review board requires a timber appearance. We have taken wood-look aluminum through boards that would not approve bare metal, and the submission is easier when the engineering is already sealed.
Hurricane engineering, which decides it for some people
Every structure we build is engineered to the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), using the ASD design method to ASCE 7-16 or ASCE 7-22, wind exposure Category C, risk category II. Our system carries a general structural evaluation up to 170 mph and your address gets its own sealed engineering. Getting a timber structure through the same calculation is possible, but it means larger members, heavier connections and a lot more hardware — and that hardware corrodes in salt air, which is a second maintenance cycle layered on the first.
So which should you build?
- Selling within a few years, sheltered inland lot, budget is the constraint. Wood is a defensible choice and we will tell you so.
- Staying in the house, or anywhere near salt water. Aluminum, and it is not close.
- You want the timber look. Wood-look louvers on an aluminum frame — the appearance without the failure mode.
- You want shade you can change, or a roof that closes. A motorized louvered roof. Nobody builds those from timber.
Common questions
Do wood pergolas rot in South Florida?
Yes, and faster than most people expect. The combination that does it is humidity that rarely drops, eight months of hard UV, and rain that soaks end grain and then bakes it. Rot starts where water sits and cannot dry – the post bases, the tops of beams, and any joint where two pieces meet. Pressure-treated lumber resists it longer than cedar and neither is immune. The structures we are called out to replace are usually failing at the post base while the visible timber still looks sound.
Will termites eat a wood pergola in Florida?
They can. Florida has both native subterranean termites and the Formosan subterranean termite, and an untreated or improperly detailed wood post in ground contact is exactly the kind of target they find. Treated lumber and a proper standoff base help a great deal. Aluminum removes the question entirely, which is the honest reason a lot of our clients stop considering wood once they have had an infestation anywhere on the property.
Is a wood pergola cheaper than aluminum?
Up front, usually yes, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Over fifteen years the comparison changes, because wood needs cleaning, sanding and resealing on a cycle and aluminum does not, and because a wood structure that fails gets replaced rather than repaired. Which way it lands for you depends on how long you plan to be in the house. If you are selling in three years, wood may genuinely be the right financial answer.
Can I get a pergola that looks like wood but is not?
Yes, and it is what most people who came to us wanting timber end up choosing. We build aluminum pergolas with wood-look louvers, and the cabinetry line we carry offers twelve wood-look finishes applied with a process that originated in Italy. From a few feet away it reads as timber grain. It cannot rot, cannot be eaten, and never needs resealing. It is also the answer when an architectural review board requires a wood appearance.
Which holds up better in a hurricane?
Aluminum, and the gap is in the engineering rather than the material alone. An engineered aluminum system carries a general structural evaluation up to 170 mph and gets sealed engineering for your specific address. Getting a timber structure through the same calculation is possible but means larger members, heavier connections and more hardware – and that hardware corrodes in salt air, which is a second maintenance cycle on top of the first.
Does a wood pergola give you shade or rain cover?
Shade, partially. A fixed timber pergola gives dappled shade that moves through the day and does not block much sun when it is highest, and it does not stop rain at all. That is not a defect, it is what the structure is. If you want shade you can change through the day and a roof that closes when the weather turns, that needs a motorized louvered roof, and no one builds those from timber.
Talk it through on site
We will come and look at the space, and we will tell you if wood is the right answer for your situation — it sometimes is. We hold Florida licences CGC1530171 and EC13012123 and we handle design, engineering, permitting, build and the electrical in house. Call (561) 826-9200 or request a consultation.
- Motorized louvered pergolas — how the roof actually works
- Aluminum pergolas — the material in detail
- Does a pergola add value to your home? — the honest answer
- Project gallery — structures we have built across South Florida
- Pergola FAQ — cost, permits and wind ratings