Pergola Materials, Lumber & Hardware

Build your pergola from the ground up with structural-grade timber, not a one-size kit. Wasatch Timber Products stocks everything the frame needs — posts, beams, rafters, shade slats, and the heavy-duty hardware that ties them together — in a range of stock lengths and shipped fast across the country.

For most pergolas, Douglas Fir is the wood to beat. It carries the highest strength-to-weight ratio of the common pergola species, spans further with less deflection, and costs less than redwood while being far easier to source. Our #1 FOHC (Free of Heart Center) and S4S surfaced timbers give you clean, stable posts and beams in everything from 6x6 up to a 16x16 boxed-heart showpiece. Prefer natural rot resistance for a fully exposed or high-humidity site? Our Inland (Incense) Cedar brings the aroma, the weather resistance, and the warm tone many homeowners want — no treatment required.

Top the frame with Douglas Fir Select or #2 boards for rafters and shade slats, or use surfaced cedar (S1S2E) where a smooth, finished face shows. Then lock the whole structure together with Starborn structural screws — the F19 and H19 are engineered for exactly this kind of wood-to-wood timber connection, and the H23 ledger screw handles pergolas attached to a house or deck.

Brackets or structural screws?

Wondering if you need metal pergola brackets? For most timber pergolas, you don’t. A properly sized structural screw makes a stronger, cleaner wood-to-wood connection than a decorative bracket, with nothing bolted to the outside of your posts. Our Starborn F19 and H19 screws are engineered for these heavy framing connections, and the H23 ledger screw ties a pergola to a house or deck. Brackets are mainly an aesthetic choice — the structure itself only needs the right timber and the right screws, both of which you can order here.

What you’ll need to build it

Whether you’re a homeowner building your first backyard shade structure or a contractor sourcing bulk pergola timber, everything on this page is true-dimensional and structural. Have these on hand before your timber arrives:

• A cordless drill or impact driver.
• The right bit for your fasteners — a T-40 star bit for the flat-head F19 and H23 screws, and a 5/16" or 3/8" nut driver for the hex-head H19. (Our screws drive without pre-drilling.)
• A circular or miter saw for trimming, plus a speed square, tape measure, and a 4-foot level.
• A few bar clamps to hold beams while you fasten.
• For in-ground posts: a post-hole digger or auger and bagged concrete; for surface mounts: post bases and a masonry bit.
• An exterior wood stain and a brush or roller to protect the timber for decades.

Pick your species, choose your lengths, add your fasteners, and finish with one of our exterior timber stains. Questions on sizing or spans? Call us before you order — we can help you size it and build your materials list.