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Western red cedar is naturally rot and insect resistant. Unlike inland cedars, western red cedar has developed a toughness due to the ocean salt from the west coast. This makes this cedar durable lasting up to 50+ years.

No, you do not have to treat the wood. Western red cedar is naturally rot and insect resistant. If the product is not treated, the wood will silver or gray over the course of a year and could begin to check on you. Checking is where the wood begins to dry out in the elements and the pores of the wood begin to open up. Therefore natural splits may occur in the wood. Although you don’t have to treat the wood, it is recommended that a linseed oil based product be used as soon as the kit is installed to condition the wood and help lessen the checking process. An oil-based product will penetrate the wood deeper and will help protect the wood as opposed to a water-based stain. There are many different colors and varieties available. Recommended: Timber Ox at www.timberox.com

The pergolas weigh anywhere between 200-600 pounds on a skid. Installed, they apply approximately 150 pounds per post. This would mean if your deck can hold 4 people or more, then it can hold the pergola.

Yes. Many people put 2×2 cedar on top approximately 12” on center and that would provide shade. Also, canvas or a mesh material can be attached to the top of the pergola for solid of filtered shade.

It can be installed using 2-3 people with one of those people having a bit of construction knowledge.

There are only custom sizes available in the Indianapolis market due to the lack of instructions provided and installation would have to be provided with a custom kit. If the project is large enough, meaning several kits to install or a custom kit larger than a 30’x30’, Vive Exterior Design could send a crew down to the Nashville market to do the actual installation of the kit. There is installation available for any of the kits in the Indianapolis market.

Yes you can if you support it in the correct way. A 2×8 piece would need to be installed on top of one set of joists and screwed down from the top. Then an “I” bolt can be secured to the center of this piece to hold the swing. What this does is create a down force on the wood and not the bolt. If a lag was screwed into the cedar, it would immediately strip out.

This is actually a very common and legitimate question. The answer can be very vague, however. In a normal high wind situation, no, the structure will not blow over. If the structure has been properly installed per the manufacturers’ instructions and with all of the correct materials provided, there should be no problem. There are, however, natural occurring weather situations, i.e. a tornado, that could damage or blow over the intalled structure.