Pergola thinking

So we're thinking of a pergola.  Or two.  Or none.  Not sure!  It's one of those things that definitely needs to wait till we live in it for a while so why oh why do I have to think about it.  And research it.  And think about it some more!?

We have a couple of areas we are thinking about covering.  The courtyard/alfresco area which we'll want to use in the evenings and in winter and the western deck area.

The courtyard / alfresco area in the display is open to the elements and looks great.

This is a photosphere of the decked alfresco or courtyard area

And will be fantastic in winter as it has a nice northern aspect.

It's likely all our outdoor entertaining will be done here unless we're having a lunch 'do' where we'll use the western side.  The western side has a great aspect/view of some trees and filtered view of the water and we were originally thinking of providing a shelter here.  But I wonder how often we'll go out there when we need a shelter!  And at what cost.  It maybe something that we push 'in the future'! 

If we did do one on the western deck we're thinking of a flyover style where the highest point is to the west.  We're not worried about sun getting in as much as a covering (for rain) and we don't want to limit the light coming in.  So we figured hot air rises and can rise to the west ;)  and that way we can have a clear one if we wanted.  One of the pergola companies we saw had a 'flat' type membrane which we like more than the corrugated stuff.  

Here's a photo from their site:

The courtyard though needs to be uncovered in winter to allow for solar gain.  So we'll need something flexible.  At this stage of the budget I'm thinking we'll just use our pop up tent thing and later down the track we'll think of putting up a pergola where we can add some extra sheets of clear plastic for shelter and something like shade cloth in summer.  All future problems!

The issue is that we think we want it.  It's nice to have a spot to go outside if it's raining.  But will we use it?  And we have these 3 stacker doors which we can open up so it's almost like we're outside anyway.  Well sort of.  So won't that do it.  And why can't I just be patient and wait till I'm in the house before we make these decision.  Especially given we have all these other things to do!