Pergola Return on Investment: Will a Pergola Add Value To My Home?

Sometimes you undertake work on your house because it needs doing.  Other times it is simply a project you want to complete. But if you are looking to add value to your home, then you need to consider each project from a different viewpoint – what kind of return on investment might I see?  Let’s take the pergola as an example to see if it can add value to the home.

Why a pergola?

Adding a oak Pergola is an attractive way to create a back garden gateway, a little oasis of calm to relax, entertain guests and enjoy at night as well as during the day.  Pergolas create living space outdoors and there are many different styles. You can have them with solid roofs that mean you can use them it rains and even some solid sides.

Pergolas tend to be one of the less expensive hardscape additions to the garden.  But if you are looking at it from the viewpoint of adding value to your home, then you need to consider things a little differently.

Basic costs of the pergola

How much the pergola costs will vary by a number of factors.  But one of the big ones is the material that you use. Traditional woods such as oak or cedar offer great value for money, can be DIY options if you want them to be to cut on labour costs and you can get bespoke designs.  Fancier woods such as teak might add around two thirds to the cost of the basic materials and around 25-50% to the cost of the labour if you don’t DIY them.

You can also go for fibreglass or aluminium framed pergolas.  These don’t have the design aesthetic of real wood but can be practical.  Costs vary from being less expensive than oak to being more expensive than teak, depending on the size and design options.  And labour costs are variable.

Extra costs to consider

As well as the basic cost of the building material and labour, you also want to consider extra costs.  For example, if you want to have the pergola located on a firm surface, which is common, you will need something like paving stones or even concrete added.  This means foundations, material costs and labour costs to prepare the spot for your new pergola.

If you plan to run electricity to the pergola to use lights or other features, then you also need to consider the cost of this and how it can be done.  You can go high in the air or under the ground with the former being less expensive but more visual.

Will a pergola appeal?

If you are considering the return on investment when you sell your property, you might want to consider if a pergola will appeal based on your geographic location.  For example, if you live in a particularly exposed area prone to high winds, then a buyer might be less inclined to pay more for a pergola, being concerned it wouldn’t get much use or might even be damaged.

In many areas of the country, homes have natural shelter from other homes and natural features such as trees.  This means the garden can be used from early spring until later autumn and if people are inclined to use their outdoor spaces, then a pergola will doubtless appeal.

Improving home value

A cost-effective material such as oak combined with paving slabs can make for a good way to add a pergola that will see a return on investment when you sell the house.  If yours is a larger house, this will definitely help as people are often prepared to pay a little more for extras. But if the value is your main concern, definitely do some research before you start.