Coolaroo Constantine Pergola 9ft x 9ft Smoke

Put this puppy together all by myself. Big sigh. It was somewhat daunting, but not undoable. BTW, I am a woman in my 60's, so not some strong young thing. After wrapping the bottom of each post with heavy plastic, I poured cement in the posts about 1/3 the way up for ballast. After that dried, I found a couple of bags of sand I had hanging around and divided that equally amongst the posts also. I did find the instructions to be lacking and at one point found it necessary to turn the contraption around before completion. During this procedure, ended up putting a dent in one of the posts. You do have to be uber careful because the metal is quite thin. I also took a reviewer's recommendation about the assembly that pulls the fabric and just tied the string to the end to pull it manually back and forth. Since the string doesn't seem to hold up, wanted something simpler to replace in the future.After using it for over a month, here are my pros and cons.PROSAttractive price point compared to other pergolas. I researched brick and mortar stores as well as the internet.Size was perfect for the space on part of my patio.Makes the summer heat much more tolerable.The color I ordered was perfect for me.It is possible to construct this with one person. Just takes longer.Looks attractive. Adds to environment instead of appearing clunky, which some were.Clean lines.Love having the ability to use the shade cloth when necessary, or pulling it back and tying. Fixed roofs don't allow that option.CONS:Metal is very thin. Easily dented and/or damaged.Important to secure to the ground or add plenty of cement down the posts for stability. Especially in windy conditions.Instructions leave out important tips. I haven't been the only one that had to redo parts do to the incomplete instructions.Top ends are plastic, which will degrade quickly in our hot weather.

This looks fabulous, and was super easy to put together! We had no problems with directions - everything was labeled with little stickers so we knew exactly what went where LOL. We are using it on our deck, and intend to use wood screws in the anchor plates to anchor it to the deck. However, one could use sandbag weights instead, so that it could be moved to alternate locations depending on the need (it would take 4 people to lift and move, but it could be done) The only reason I can't give 5 stars is that the box arrived with one end all 'chewed up' and open. Our local freight delivery carrier said it arrived at their location (from AZ) in that condition, and had already noted it on their shipping statement. Upon opening the box, we were pleased to note that none of the pieces were damaged, but later realized we were missing 5 essential screws! All the parts had been adhered to a cardboard piece with molded plastic over, all labeled carefully, but that had all broken open and (of course, wouldn't you know it!) was at the end of the box that was damaged, so are gone. I'm headed to the local hardware store with hopes of finding identical screws, as I can't find anywhere on Amazon to contact the manufacturer or seller. That's very annoying, but other than that, we are LOVING this thing!!

We were looking for an alternative to adding a roof to our deck, so after researching different products, we purchased this. We are very happy with the way it looks. It does a great job on providing shade to the back side of the house. Our only problem with this product was that it was missing 6 of the screws that secure the cross beams that hold the shade. We had to stop everything to make a trip to Lowes to get screws ( that were silver instead of the black ones that were missing). Otherwise, it would have been less that 2 hours for both of us to install it. We will secure it to the deck with other screws that we purchased.

The package arrived in a box that was about 9 feet long. When I opened it, almost all of the pillars were dented, even though the box was intact. Assembly was easy but I can't see this thing lasting very long. I bolted it to my patio, but there are no covers for the bolts sticking out of the ground, so now I have to fabricate something. You can get something way nicer from your local big box home goods store for the same price. If I could return it, I would.

The shade is a good size and seemed to work very well for the first summer. However, after being outside for a winter, the plastic clips and string that support/move the shade have broken. The string frayed with harsh winter weather and the clips eventually just snapped off because they became so brittle from weathering. We now have no way to hang our shade and are just left with aluminum frame. We attempted to protect the hanging shade piece by removing it each winter and storing out of the elements, but the other parts of the pergola couldn't stand up to weathering (string and plastic clips are not removable). I looked on Amazon and on the vendor's website, but have been unable to find replacement parts. I will try calling next, but without replacement parts the pergola is now useless to us.

So far happy. Looks like the photo, not high end but price is right and takes care of the sun. Agree we will have to figure out a side curtain for afternoon sun. Easy to put together, instructions fair but directed us a little wrong so that the tie down is on the wrong end. We will have to redo the ends. One clip on the end for the shade was broken upon arrival, trying to figure out how to get a new one and how that one will be installed? More later...I did call and customer service was excellent and is sending me the part I need. Changing my stars to 5

The pergola is sturdy and the coolaroo shade color looks great with our stone pool deck. I would have appreciated top and end caps that are metal instead of black plastic that is provided. It was difficult to put together in a limited space, as we had to assemble it within a pool cage. Instructions were poor. But we like the results. It is a good price for an aluminum structure. We bought a wing nut to use with the bolt that secures the coolaroo shade shut, as it will not stay fully shaded without the bolt, but we wanted to be able to open it when needed.

Easy to install and all the parts were there. Overall good product and good quality. Would recommend. If installing on deck or cement patio stones hardware will have to be purchased separately.

Not strong at all. High wind will blend it.