FAQs

Are louvre roof pergolas totally waterproof?

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Bethany Atkins

The straight answer is no, Many brands claim to be, but very few outdoor pergola systems are 100% waterproof.

The biggest area for failure with a louvre blade pergola system is the rainwater guttering system used. The rainwater is meant to run off the slightly sloped angle of the aluminium blades when closed and into an internal rainwater guttering system around the perimeter of the roof structure on all 4 sides. The guttering is internal and if the rainfall is ever so heavy that it overwhelms the gutters, then the rainwater will spill over and out inside the pergola.

Different pergolas have different size guttering and this is usually a price level scaling, with commercial systems having the largest guttering.

Many cheap louvre pergolas, many of which have flooded the UK market since Covid hit the UK, are quite flimsy in their profiles and would struggle in both high winds or heavy rainfall to provide weather protection and also remain stable.

Quite simply the more you pay for a louvre pergola the more material content you will get and the heavier duty the system will be, along with larger rainwater guttering too.
A good judge of the quality can also be if the pergola is built with the ability to take additional sliding glass doors or other side infills either at the time of purchase or further down the line..

All louvre pergolas are built as outdoor living rooms and as such you should not expect to ever be 100% rain protected in reality..

Any brands claiming 100% waterproof are certainly very brave…

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