With the many living spaces that can be constructed in the garden or as the main house extension, homeowners may be lost for choice on which structure to attach. This article will talk about pergolas, patios, and alfresco. Keep reading.

The ultimate dream for most people is to own a home. However, once this happens, the zeal does not stop there. Once you become a homeowner, you begin to think about many adjustments to add to your house, backyard, or garden. At this point, you want to add value to your home by adding relaxation areas such as patios, gazebos, alfresco, pavilions, pergolas, and many others.

So, what are pergolas, patios, and alfresco? On the surface, these are additional structures, which you can construct either in the garden or as an extension of the main house. Although they are different, they mostly serve a common purpose as a relaxation area.

This article will explain more about these three structures, highlighting their differences, and other related questions. Keep reading for deeper insight.

Pergola

A pergola is an outdoor structure usually made of metal that could be attached to the house, garden wall, or otherwise standing on its own. It could be rectangular, octagonal, square, hexagonal, or even circular. It has a specialized roofing, which is not covered in its entirety, but it can provide shade.

Today, most people are using pergolas as an outdoor style accessory for patios, decks, and backyards. It can complement your outdoor space, create a focal point, and make a perfect space for entertainment and relaxation. It is a transitional space that adds privacy and shade, while still maintaining openness and a clear view of the sky.

Some benefits of a pergola include:

• If you were to sell your home, a pergola is a poignant asset that could add value in the market.
• A pergola is easy to install even on a DIY project. All you will need is the proper tools and you are set.
• They are perfect for outdoor entertainment and relaxation. You do not have to be confined indoors with your guest.
• A pergola allows you to add accessories such as hanging potted plants from its roof. This will create more beauty and contrast in your outdoor space.

Patio

A patio is an outdoor structure meant to expand the usable area of your home into the garden area. It is simply like an additional portion of the house. If you want to build a patio, you simply construct one from the extension of the house without altering with any part of the house. Today, patios offer custom-made space for parties, family gatherings, and relaxation.

Some great benefits of a patio include the following:

• It adds great value to the home, especially if you want to put it on sale; it raises the market price of the home in general.
• Being like an extra outdoor room, the patio makes the home feel more spacious.
• If you want to relax in the outdoor atmosphere, the patio comes in handy, shielding you from harsh weather elements such as rain and the scorching sun.

Alfresco

Alfresco is one of the outdoor structures that you can invest in. However, if you want one, it must be included in the initial plan of the house. It shares the roof with the main house, making it difficult to construct if it wasn’t included in the plan of the house. If anything, then you will have to restructure the entire roofing.

Some benefits of alfresco include the following:

• It offers ample space outdoors to sit for a meal or just for relaxation purposes.
• Given that it has a roof, you will be shielded from such things as rain and heat from the sun.

Comparison between Patio and Alfresco

A patio can be seen to be an outdoor extension of the home, which is attached to the house. You can build it anytime you want because in its construction, no alteration of the house is needed.

An alfresco, on the other hand, extends the home under the same roofing structure. As already said, it has to be part of the initial plan of the house, failure to which you will have to alter the design of the house to construct it.

Both structures are great outdoor entertainment areas.

When narrowing down your choices, you must consider certain factors. For example, if you are building a new house, consider the design so that you can include the alfresco from the beginning. For a patio, you won’t need any initial planning. It is just an extension, which you can add at any time.

Comparison between Patio and Pergola

The major difference between the pergola and patio lies in the purpose. The patio can be used throughout the year, while the pergola is mainly meant for garden aesthetics.

Also, the patio extends from the house, while pergolas are free standing. However, you can still attach a pergola to the wall of your garden or even house, but the idea is that they are meant to stand independently in the garden.

For both structures, you can choose to keep them as open or as enclosed as you wish depending on how much privacy you want.

If you have limited space in your garden, and you still want both of these structures, you can build your pergola right in the patio. The outcome will be a combination of the two, where the patio will house the pergola. However, the patio should be big enough so that it does not look too squeezed after adding the pergola.

Lastly, both are meant for relaxation, and you can just sit there to kill the monotony of the indoor environment.

Comparison between Pergola and Alfresco

Having explained what alfresco and pergola is, the difference is clearly visible. While the pergola can be built at any convenient space in the garden, the alfresco is an outdoor extension that shares the roof with the house.

Secondly, you can build a pergola at any time after completing the construction of your house. In fact, it has nothing to do with the house in terms of construction. Alfresco, on the other hand, has to be built together with the house because it needs to be incorporated in the building plan.

All the same, they both serve a similar purpose, that of outdoor entertainment and relaxation.

Related Questions

Can you fix alfresco to an already completed house?

Alfresco is an extension of the house, sharing the same roof. For this reason, its plan is incorporated in the initial plan of the house. If the house did not have an alfresco in the plan, it might be difficult to fix one because then you would need to renovate the house, especially the roofing system to accommodate the new structure.

What is a porch?

A porch is almost similar to a veranda, the difference being that it is low to the ground and it does not necessarily stretch wide from corner to corner. Mostly, it covers the small area at the entrance of the house.

See Also:
Gazebo Vs. Cabana -What’s The Difference
Veranda VS Gazebo (Here’s The Difference)
3 Best Patio Furniture For Snow
8 Best Electric Fireplace For Different Purposes