VEIKOU 13x10ft Pergola, Aluminum Pergola w/Thicker Post & Upgraded Retractable Pergola Canopy, Metal Pergolas and Gazebos Heavy-Duty Outdoor Shelter for Porch Yard, Gray

Update: I made some improvements to the Pergola to make it handle weather conditions here in Kansas better.The design of the shade as sent has the edge and center hangers at exactly the same height from the ground. So it does not slope from center to sides so that rain water can drain away. As a result, the rain collected on the shade between ends and center and could overload the shade covering.To resolve I had to buy eight 3" mending braces, some 1/4 bolt hardware, and some paint to color match - to make the ends 3" lower than the middle so the water would drain.Third photo shows my brace modification.- - - - -I reinforced the center rail that supports the center of the sun screen with a 1/8 x 1 x 48 inch aluminum angle iron, painted to color match, mounted centered at the center rail joint so that it does not deflect from weight of rain water when open. I won’t intend to leave it open in rain but sometimes rain is unexpected.- - - - -Original review:The strap with magnetic closure pulls away with even slight breeze. I am using 3 ratcheting hand clamps to hold the sun shade open in addition to the original strap.= = = = =Arrived in very good condition - delivered by FedEx ground. This 10 x 13 Pergonla is skillfully packed to just fit in the maximum size and weight package that FedEx does residential delivery for. Slightly under 80 lbs. No hardware or pieces missing.One piece of the roof track pieces the cover rides in was slightly malformed on one end, was able to straigten myself in 5 minutes. One roof piece had not been fully spray painted on one end, just a square inch or two so I addressed myself with a sharpie marker.The spray paint finish is very thin and is not powercoat - be very careful when assembling, don't lay pieces right on concrete.There are several pieces that MUST be oriented exactly as shown in the instruction drawings when you put them together to make the roof beams, for the pergola to be sucessfully assembled. I put one beam together wrong and it was challenging to get the pieces separated so I could reassemble correctly,There is a nice amount of over-size on mounting holes so assembly is easy. But it also allows the corners not to be 90 degree square unless you use a large framing square to align during assembly when tightening.It took me about 10 hours labor to construct and install the Pergola including bolting to my concrete patio. Having a 2nd person to help erect it might have saved an hour or two. It can be done with one one person but it is difficult, it would be much better to get help for the final couple of steps erecting and installling the nylon cover.After erecting, even with cover stored it moved around pretty good in 40 mph wind gusts. So, I spent another $ 20 and an extra 1 hour labor to use corner brackets to secure the Pergola to my home and to put 12" diagonal braces on the unsecured end of the pergola away from the house. Made it more stable.The strap with magnet that keeps the cover in the open position does not hold even with a slight wind, so bought some plastic 5" clamps and I use 3 one in center and one one each end. I also secured the fixed side of the cover on both ends with a couple of cable ties I bought.Tools and supplies I used besides what came with the pergola: Pliers (to straighten bent end of a roof rail), Framing square, Hammer Drill, Carbide drill bit, Concrete screws, Spray paint, 1" stanless screws, screwdriver, and drill bit for the diagonal braces and corner brackets I added.

For the price point this is a great pergola. I’m a 43 year old mom and me and my kids put this together in an afternoon. Because we have a paver patio and I didn’t want to pour anything permanent for this to be attached to I decided on weighting it in pots with rock and dirt. We recently had a microburst storm come through that toppled several trees in our yard and completely crumpled our trampoline, but the pergola didn’t move one bit. I secure it closed with two bungee cords on either side and use a carabiner to secure the strap to the frame/lights. When open it I secure the shade top by wrapping the pull string around the frame and attaching it back to itself with the same carabiner since the magnet isn’t very strong. I love that I can pull back the roof when we want to have a fire going and pull it out when we want to sit outside during the day. The one thing that could make it better would be some grommet holes to let water out of the fabric when it rains.

I got this to put over my hot tub to protect against the brutal southern Arizona sun. It works fine but you have to be careful how you set it up, keeping the prevailing wind direction in mind so it doesn't become a giant kite. With that in mind, this is easy to assemble (takes two people and a ladder), and very nice looking. It provides a lot of shade. I hope the fabric holds up for a couple years under this sun. It is nice that you can easily collapse the shade during windy days. ( I also wrap a couple bunji cords around the collapsed shade for windy days to keep it from opening up and flying away.)

I purchased this item and had it assembled. The very first summer thunderstorm came thru and even though the canopy was not open, this was ripped out of the ground and thrown across my patio. I only had this up for 15 days when this occurred and thankfully no one was under it or near it when this happened as they couldve been seriously injured. This item comes with stakes that are to be used to secure it, we not only used them, but we also added cinder blocks on the foot supports for added weight. I am so upset with the quality of this item and not being heavy enough to withstand a simple storm. Dont recommend at all- dont waste your time or money on this!!!

I was worried about putting this together but it took my son and I about 4 hrs to get it assembled . We had the help of another friend when it was time to actually erect it. Definitely is better to have 3 people when you get to this step to keep the posts from falling over as you attach the top pieces. The video attached to this product was helpful. The hardest part to assemble was the plastic collar around the posts, it’s meant to be tight to protect the seam between the top and bottom of the post by it’s a pain to get the top piece to sit in it right, a small flathead screwdriver and muscle power to push the top part of the post down finally worked. Otherwise this was pretty easy to assemble. I do keep it closed when not in use along with a bungee cord to keep the canopy from blowing open. The magnet to keep the canopy from rolling back holds pretty well in a steady breeze. Make sure you follow directions and ensure there’s no gaps when screwing together the top rails that hold the rollers. It rolls open and closed very smoothly if you do this properly. Over-all I’m very happy with this pergola and it makes our deck much more usable due to the shade it provides. Hopefully I’ll be able to order a new canopy for this pergola when this one eventually needs to be replaced, we get full sun on that side of our house so umbrella and my gazebo canopy needs to be replaced almost every other year due to UV damage.

I was happy with this purchase. Directions were ok, but it came with a lot of pieces. Was not difficult to assemble. One of the columns did get dinged up in transport, so it not completely straight, but we put the base in planters, so we were able to fix it. Really like the system for the cover. It seems really stable. Thanks!