Pergolas and pavilions next to the pool

A pergola is posts and beams with an open top of rafters or slats. It casts broken shade, frames the space and gives you somewhere to hang lights or grow a vine. Rain goes straight through it. Some pergolas get louvered aluminum tops that close, which puts them somewhere between the two.

A pavilion has a real roof: shingles, metal or another solid covering over rafters or trusses. It keeps you dry and gives full shade, and it can hold a ceiling fan, a TV, an outdoor kitchen and lights. It is also a building in the eyes of the code, with the snow and wind loads that come with that.

Around a pool, most people use them for different jobs. The pergola marks the lounging area and takes the edge off the midday sun. The pavilion is where the kitchen, dining table or bar goes, so food and electronics stay out of the rain.

Beside the pool, not over it. You want the water in full sun, because in Northeast Ohio the sun is your cheapest pool heater. A roof or thick pergola shading the pool at 2 in the afternoon will cost you degrees you then pay the heater to put back.

For the seating area, afternoon shade is what people want. Put the structure on the west or southwest side of the seating so it blocks the low, hot sun late in the day, and leave the pool open to the south. On each lot we check the house, trees and neighbors' garages, because they cast their own shadows and can change the best spot.

Think about what falls off it. A pergola covered in wisteria or grapevine looks great and drops leaves, petals and bugs. If it sits right on the coping, all of that ends up in your skimmer. A few feet of deck between the structure and the water keeps the mess out and leaves a walking path around the pool.

Also look at the pool fence. Most towns here require a barrier around the pool, and a pergola, a pavilion roof or its railings should not give a child a way to climb over it. We lay out structures and fences together for that reason.

This is the rule people are most surprised by. Under the National Electrical Code, in an outdoor pool area, light fixtures, lighting outlets and ceiling fans installed over the pool or within 5 feet horizontally of the inside wall of the pool have to be at least 12 feet above the maximum water level. The 2026 edition spells out that festoon or string lights count too, and that every part of the string, including the sag in the middle, has to meet that height.

Receptacles have their own spacing. The code requires at least one general-purpose outlet between 6 and 20 feet from the inside wall of the pool, and other receptacles have to be at least 6 feet away. A pavilion post right at the pool edge is not the place for a TV outlet.

The simple fix is the same one that works for shade: keep the structure a few feet back from the water. Then a normal 8 or 9 ft ceiling with a fan and recessed lights is fine, and the electrician is not fighting the layout.

Under Section 102.10 of the Residential Code of Ohio, a one-story detached accessory structure with a floor area of 200 sq ft or less is exempt from building approval. That covers a lot of freestanding pergolas. A 12x16 is 192 sq ft. A 14x16 is 224 sq ft and is not exempt.

Exempt from the building code does not mean exempt from everything. The Portage County Building Department's own handout says that accessory structures of 200 sq ft or less are exempt from plan review and permits, but that zoning approval and a permit are still required. Setbacks from property lines, height limits and lot coverage come from zoning. The Ohio Board of Building Standards also notes that exempt work still has to be done safely and comply with local ordinances, and a code bulletin from the City of Mayfield Heights points out that exempt accessory structures still have to meet foundation requirements.

Things that usually push a project into a full permit: a structure over 200 sq ft, one attached to the house with a ledger, a roof that ties into the house roof, or any wiring, gas or plumbing in it. A pavilion over an outdoor kitchen typically hits several of those. We handle the permits for work we build, and we check your town's zoning before the design is final, because a pavilion that has to move 5 feet for a setback is easier to fix on screen than in concrete.

If you live in a subdivision with a homeowners association, check its rules too. Many have architectural review for anything with a roof, and some set colors, materials or how far a structure can sit from the rear lot line. HOA approval is separate from the city or township, and it can take a few weeks, so we like to send drawings early.

Snow is the load that matters for a pavilion roof here. The National Weather Service in Cleveland says normal seasonal snowfall in the snowbelt counties east of Cleveland is typically 70 to over 100 inches, and totals across the rest of northern Ohio are lower but still enough to pile up on a flat or low-slope roof. A pavilion in Chardon or Bainbridge sees a very different winter from one in Canton.

The Residential Code of Ohio does not set one statewide ground snow load or frost depth. Each jurisdiction fills in its own values in the code's climatic design table, and structures are designed to those numbers. We build to what your building department publishes, and for larger or unusual roofs we have the framing engineered.

Frost matters for every post, roof or not. Northeast Ohio clay holds water, and when it freezes it lifts anything sitting on shallow footings. A pergola post on a shallow pad can rise and drop a little every winter until the beams rack and the joints open. Footings below the local frost line stop that.

If the pergola sits on an existing patio, do not just bolt the posts to the slab. A 4 in slab is not a footing. We either set proper footings and pour the patio around them, or cut in footings through an existing slab.

Cedar and other wood. Warm, easy to customize and the classic look. It needs stain or sealer every few years, and end grain that sits in water will rot. Posts should sit on metal bases above the concrete, not buried in it.

Pressure-treated pine. Cheaper and durable against rot, but it moves and checks as it dries. It is usually painted or stained, and it looks best when it is framed out or clad.

Aluminum. Powder-coated aluminum does not rot or need staining, and it handles pool splash and chlorine well. Louvered roofs are almost always aluminum. The trade is a less traditional look and a higher price for the good systems.

Masonry columns. Stone or brick piers under a wood or aluminum top tie the structure to a stone fireplace or a veneered kitchen island. They need solid footings and good flashing at the top so water does not get into the core and freeze.

For fabric shade on a pergola, pick something you can pull down in the fall. A retractable canopy left out under a snowbelt winter will not last.

On a pool project, the structure goes into the 3D design with the pool, the decking and the fence, so you can see the afternoon shade line and the walk from the kitchen before anyone digs. It is also the best time to run conduit and gas for a pavilion, because the trenches are open anyway and the patio has not been poured.

We also build pergolas and pavilions as stand-alone outdoor living projects, and those start from about $15,000. Size, roof type, footings, electrical and the patio underneath are what move the number, and we work with lenders if financing makes more sense for you.

Bring a sense of how you use the yard at 4 in the afternoon on a hot Saturday. Where do people sit, where does the sun come from, where does the grill go? That tells us where the structure belongs.