Pergola Plans: Post Layout, Beam Spans and Sizes to Scale
These pergola plans put the posts where they belong and size the frame around them: a freestanding 10 × 12 ft on four 6 × 6 posts, a 12 × 16 ft attached to the house on a ledger with two posts out in the yard, and a 12 × 14 ft pergola over a dining table on a 16 × 14 patio.
Free: draw, save in your browser, download a watermarked image. Paid: clean to-scale PDF and materials list.
| Size | Posts (6 × 6) | Beams (doubled) | Rafters at 16 in o.c. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 10 ft | 4, 10 ft long | 2 × 8, 12 ft (10 ft span) | 9 × 2 × 6, 12 ft |
| 10 × 12 ft | 4, 10 ft long | 2 × 10, 14 ft (12 ft span) | 10 × 2 × 6, 12 ft |
| 12 × 12 ft | 4, 10 ft long | 2 × 10, 14 ft (12 ft span) | 10 × 2 × 6, 14 ft |
| 12 × 16 ft freestanding | 6, 10 ft long | 2 × 10, 18 ft (two 8 ft spans) | 13 × 2 × 6, 14 ft |
| 12 × 16 ft attached | 2 outside, 10 ft | Ledger 2 × 10, 16 ft; beam 2 × 10, 18 ft | 13 × 2 × 6, 14 ft |
Beams and rafters sized from common span tables for an open pergola with no roof load; snow, a shade cloth or a solid roof change everything. Verify with your local code or an engineer.
Layouts
Pick a layout
Each one opens in the canvas below with its sizes already drawn; change anything.
Freestanding 10 × 12 ft, four posts
Four 6 × 6 posts set about 14 inches in from the corners of a 10 × 12 footprint, a round table for four underneath. The most common size and the easiest to permit.
Attached 12 × 16 ft on a ledger
The house wall carries one side on a ledger board; two posts carry the outer beam 16 ft from the wall. A lounge set and a grill against the house. Watch the door swing and the gutter line.
12 × 14 ft over patio dining
A 16 × 14 ft patio with the pergola over the dining table for six and a 4 ft grill strip outside the posts, so smoke stays clear of the rafters.
A 10 × 12 ft pergola with its four posts and a table for four. Click to move the posts, change the size, swap the deck surface for pavers, or add the furniture that will sit under it.
About
Each opens in the canvas to scale with the post positions and every edge length on the plan, so you can slide the posts to clear a door, a window or the grill and read the beam span straight off the drawing. The table lists the posts, beams and rafters for the common sizes. This is a plan view, a schematic of the footprint, not an engineered design and not an AI picture.
01
Sizes that work
10 × 10 feet covers a table for four with room to pull the chairs out; 10 × 12 covers a table for six; 12 × 16 covers a dining table and a lounge set, or a table and the grill. Keep the posts 12 to 18 inches in from the edge of the patio so the rafters overhang them and the footprint under the rafters, not the post spacing, is what you measure for furniture. Clear height from the patio to the underside of the beams should be 8 to 9 feet: lower feels cramped, higher gives less shade. Plan the whole thing so the rafters run east to west if you want afternoon shade, north to south for shade at midday.
- 10 × 10 ft: table for four.
- 10 × 12 ft: table for six, the common kit size.
- 12 × 16 ft: dining plus seating, or dining plus a grill strip.
- Clear height: 8 to 9 ft under the beam.
02
Posts, beams and rafters
Posts are 6 × 6 for anything over 8 feet tall; 4 × 4 posts are for arbors. Beams are doubled 2 × 8 for spans to about 10 feet and doubled 2 × 10 to about 12 feet; longer than that, add a post so no beam spans more than 12 feet, or go to 2 × 12 and check a span table. Rafters, which carry no load but their own weight and a little wind, are 2 × 6 at 16 to 24 inches on centre; 2 × 8 if the span passes 12 feet or you want a heavier look. The top layer of purlins or slats, if you add one, is 2 × 2 or 1 × 2 at 6 to 12 inches. Use hot-dip galvanized or stainless hardware, and post bases that lift the wood off the concrete.
03
Footings, attached versus freestanding, permits
Each post sits on a concrete footing below the frost line, 12 inches in diameter is typical, 36 to 48 inches deep in the northern states and 12 to 18 where the ground never freezes; the fence post calculator gives the concrete per hole. An attached pergola bolts a ledger to the house framing with lag screws or through-bolts and needs flashing above it, which is why many people build freestanding even against the house: no ledger, no flashing, no roof-line problem. Permits are commonly required for a structure over 100 to 200 square feet, anything attached to the house, or anything inside a setback; the rules are local, so ask before you dig. The plan from this page is a schematic to take to that conversation, not a permit drawing.
04
What the canvas draws
The plan view: the covered footprint with every edge length, the four or six posts at real size, the patio or deck under it, the furniture and the grill, and the door it must not block. Drag a post and read the new beam span off the plan. It does not draw the elevation, the rafter layout or the connections, and nothing here is an engineered design or an AI rendering. Drawing and saving are free; the clean PDF to scale and the materials list are paid.
05
Frequently asked questions
- What size should a pergola be?
- 10 × 10 ft for a table for four, 10 × 12 for six, 12 × 16 for dining plus seating. Keep 8 to 9 ft of clear height under the beams.
- How far apart should pergola posts be?
- Up to 10 ft with doubled 2 × 8 beams, up to 12 ft with doubled 2 × 10. Longer sides get a third post in the middle. Set posts 12 to 18 inches in from the patio edge.
- What size beams and rafters for a 12 × 16 pergola?
- Doubled 2 × 10 beams on six posts so no span exceeds 8 ft, or doubled 2 × 12 on four posts with an engineer's check; 2 × 6 rafters at 16 inches on centre, 13 of them for a 16 ft run.
- How deep do pergola footings need to be?
- Below the local frost line: 36 to 48 inches in cold climates, 12 to 18 inches where the ground does not freeze. A 12 inch diameter hole is typical for a 6 × 6 post on a base bracket.
- Do I need a permit for a pergola?
- Often yes above 100 to 200 sq ft, when it is attached to the house, or when it sits inside a setback. Rules are set by your city or county; check before you build.
Sources
Where the numbers come from
Local amendments apply; check your own jurisdiction.