You're about to sign your pool contract. Before you do what are you going to do about shade? Are you going with a pergola, a ramada, or a shade sail? Which shade structure is going to best for your swimming pool?
An Arizona, alumawood solid-rood pergolas have become the most popular. It's the one that doesn't leak and holds up to a monsoon.
Our landscape team finds the alumawood pergolas are the best value and aesthetic. We still get some requests for ramadas and some shade sails. Alumawood, solid roof, straight into the ground. Once most homeowner understand the value, it becomes the obvious decision.
Many pool owners confuse what a ramada is. A "pergola" isn't always open-lattice. So, before you sign a contract, here's what separates each shade structure. Next, we share why one of them has become the backyard default.
Table of Contents
- Why Has the Alumawood Solid-Roof Pergola Become the Default in Arizona?
- What's the Difference Between a Pergola, a Ramada, and a Shade Sail?
- Can You Add a TV, Fans, or Lighting to an Alumawood Pergola?
- Which Shade Structure Is Right for Your Pool?
Why Has the Alumawood Solid-Roof Pergola Become the Default in Arizona?
Our landscape team builds more Alumawood solid roof shade structures. We can add strength by connecting them straight into the ground.
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Never needs to be repainted
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Won't leak, even after years in the sun
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Stands up to monsoon winds
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Posts go straight into the ground
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Hollow posts hide electric for lighting a mounted TV
Pergola vs Solid Roof
"Most of them we just do the solid roof because they like Alumawood, there's barely a price gap pushing people toward it either — the open-lattice option just isn't what people want once they understand what Alumawood does for them." says Bruce Shipp, Landscape Expert at Shasta Pools.
Why It Never Needs to Be Repainted
The finish is baked on. The powder coat is factory-applied before it ever reaches your backyard. It's so effective, you'll lose your warranty if you paint it.
How It Holds Up in Monsoon Winds
Solid metal structure. No lattice for wind to catch and no open joints to work loose. You don't have to have posts for it. You can just take it straight into the ground. No footings, no separate support system fighting the wind.
For reference, structures built to Arizona code are engineered for wind loads around 115 mph. Monsoon gusts typically run 50-65 mph, with isolated microbursts pushing past 100.
Why It Won't Leak Like a Traditional Roof
The old-style wood-framed structures with tile roofs are way more expensive to do. You're really building a heavier structure, and then you've got more maintenance on those because then you've got drywall usually inside of it. They leak. It's like a regular roof where these won't leak.
Alumawood skips that entire failure point. No shingles and no flashing to reseal. Unless something happened where they drilled a hole in it or something silly. They're never going to have a leak.
What's the Difference Between a Pergola, a Ramada, and a Shade Sail?
We use the term pergola as a solid-roof Alumawood structure. A ramada is a heavier, framed structure with a tiled roof matching the house. Next, a shade sail is a fabric canopy stretched between posts or the house.
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Pergola (Arizona usage today): solid-roof Alumawood structure
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Ramada (traditional definition): framed, tiled, built like a miniature roofline of the house
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Shade sail: fabric canopy, low demand, referred to a specialty vendor
We used to call the ramadas if it was a solid roof... but now they call it all pergolas.
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Solid-roof Alumawood structures: called pergolas now, regardless of roof style
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Open-lattice structures: also called pergolas
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Heavy, framed, tile-roofed structures matching the house: a true ramada
Ramada vs Pergola
"Ramada really is your kind of framed roof where... you'll have more of a solid roof and then they'll put the tiles on there to match the house, in fact, you never see them built really. Some of the commercial buildings will still be — they'll use those sometimes, like hotels." - Bruce Shipp, Landscape Expert at Shasta Pools
What is a Shade Sail?
A shade sail is fabri stretched taut between posts. Sometimes it's anchored to the house on one side and a metal pole on the other.
We don't get asked for them very much. In fact, we have been asked only once or twice. Once they understand most people want a pergola.
Can You Add a TV, Fans, or Lighting to an Alumawood Pergola?
Yes, alumawood pergolas have hollow posts and beams. These beams allow electric to be run straight through the frame. Now, no exposed conduit and no visible wiring. You can use alumawood pergolas for a mounted TV, ceiling fans, and built-in lighting. Wired invisibly through the structure itself.
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Electric runs through the hollow center post
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Outlets can be built directly into the structure
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Fans and lighting wire through the same posts
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A media wall can be built onto the back of the pergola
Hang Your Tv Outside
"It's got their hollow in the center, so when I'm building and I'm framing, they can run it through the post... there's usually a center post in all of these media walls. You don't really see it. But basically we can run the electric through that, put an outlet, and hang their TV for them." - Bruce Shipp, Landscape Expert at Shasta Pools
Which Shade Structure Is Right for Your Pool?
A solid-roof Alumawood pergola offers the best value and protection for most Arizona backyards. It's the shade structure that holds up to monsoon gusts and relentless sun.
A traditional framed ramada still has a place. They're not common anymore outside commercial properties. Also, the maintenance and leak risk comes with a tiled and framed roof. Ramada's work for a specific architectural look.
A shade sail is fine if that's the aesthetic you want. Homeowners who ask about them tend to go with a pergola once they see one in person.
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Do you want the option for a mounted TV or media wall?
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Does your city require a permit for attached or free standing structures?
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Will your HOA have separate rules on shade structures?
If you're not sure which structure fits your specific yard, our Shasta design team call share options and benefits.
