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Hello everyone 
I recently bought an old weatherboard house with a sleepout at the back. The back of the house receives a lot of afternoon sun and ideally we would like to shade it with a pergola. We also need to provide cover to the back door somehow, given that it gets pelted with rain and sun throughout the year and has warped (we will replace it once we figure out a solution to shielding it from the elements).
The problem is that there is basically no clearance above the doors and windows to be able to attach a pergola. There is about 7cm above the door until it reaches the gutter which is sitting on rafters which have been cut to accommodate it. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions about how to deal with minimal clearance when trying to attach a pergola/awning. Ideally we would have a pergola covering most of the back wall, but would settle for a cover over the door if that is all we can manage. The only solution I can think of is just going without the screen door so that there isn't the issue of it opening outwards and hitting an awning - but there would still be other issues to contend with!
Thank you
Hello @Wrenblue
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about attaching a pergola to your house.
In this particular instance, I suggest building a free-standing pergola with part of the pergolas roof overhanging the top of the gutter. In this manner the door and window are covered from the weather. Plus, this also has the benefit of protecting the entire area the pergola covers. Having a free-standing pergola also means that you won't have to put any stress on the house or roof framing.
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.
I also recommend having g a look at this guide: How to build a pergola.
If you need further assistant, please let us know.
Eric
Good Morning @Wrenblue
Id like to say howdy and welcome the Bunnings Community Its a good place for ideas and solutions for sure just like yours.
@EricL has beaten my to the punch, same idea same reasoning with an axtra reason thrown in.
With a free standing roof/pergolla the door wont need to be changed/taken away. I Like the idea of overlapping by a foot (300mm ish) the roof, that way your are shiled from the sun, rain and you know its fixed solidly. Also means taht your guttering wont have to be moved as thats the only way I could see if you were going to attach the new pergolla to the house. The distances are all below minimal to really make me happy in the connection between house and pergolla)
Look at your pic one last time, if the pergolla is that one foot higher then the edge of the roof then your laundry will also be able to be covered and you will be dry!
A couple of questions so we can come up with ideas on that type of pergolla/awning.
The size length by breadth.
Drainage on the outside of the house (may effect posts you need)
Stormwater points for existing gutters/downpipes
Potential deck outside, wether its a paved area or deck now is the time to factor that in withe the overall height of the roof.
Dave
Dave
