You know those projects that aren’t necessarily needed, but once you finish them you wonder why you didn’t do them years ago? This DIY garage pergola was definitely one of those.
I’ve been slowly working on the front of our house and adding more character and curb appeal without doing anything too crazy or expensive. Every time I looked at the garage, though, it just felt a little…plain.
I absolutely love a good outdoor project like the swinging bench I made or the fire pit that made our back deck so cozy. So obviously, I decided it needed another DIY project. 😂 Although this entire project cost me less than $50!
I had been wanting to add a simple pergola over the garage for a while. I loved the idea of adding some architectural detail that would make the garage feel more custom without actually changing the structure of the house.
And honestly, it made a MUCH bigger difference than I expected.
Planning My DIY Garage Pergola
Before I started cutting anything, I spent some time figuring out the overall look I wanted.
I wanted the pergola to span the garage opening without feeling too bulky or overpowering the front of the house. I also wanted it to come out from the house enough that you could really see the detail from the street.
The design itself is actually pretty simple: two corbels, angled supports, and a slatted top.
I performed some math to space everything evenly 😂.
I worked out my design and dimensions ahead of time and made sure I knew how everything would attach to the house before I started building.
Building the Corbels
I started by building the two corbels that would support the pergola.
These are one of my favorite parts of the design because they give the whole thing that custom, built-in look instead of making it feel like a few random boards attached above the garage.
I cut and assembled both corbels in my workshop first so they were completely ready to go before installation.
As with most of my projects, I like to do as much as possible in the workshop before I start attaching things to the house. It’s much easier to make adjustments while everything is still on the workbench!
[PHOTO: Building or assembling the corbels in the workshop]
Installing the Corbels and Angled Supports
Once the back portions of the corbels were built, it was time to get them onto the house.
I attached these portions first, making sure everything was positioned correctly and level. This allowed me to have room needed to drive the 4″ lag screws into place in order to secure the pergola into the house studs.
Next, I added the angled supports underneath.
Since this entire structure is hanging over the garage, making sure it was securely attached to the framing of the house was obviously pretty important! These angle supports gave extra support to the overhang.
At this stage, you could finally start to see the shape of the pergola coming together, but the part that really gives it its character was still being built in the workshop.
Building the Slatted Pergola Top
Then came the repetitive part.
The slats. 😂
There are quite a few of them, and because I wanted them all to look identical, I found it easiest to get the first one exactly how I wanted it and then use that as my template for the rest, using my jigsaw to cut the design out.
This is one of those steps where spending a little extra time getting that first piece right can save you SO much time later.
Once I had my template, I basically went into assembly-line mode.
Mark. Cut. Repeat.
And repeat.
And repeat. 😂
Instead of installing each slat individually over the garage, I decided to build the entire top section in my workshop.
This made it so much easier to get everything lined up and evenly spaced while I could work on a flat surface.
I laid everything out, checked my spacing, and assembled the entire top portion as one piece.
And I’m very glad I did it this way.
Trying to measure, space, and attach every individual slat while working overhead would have made this project WAY more complicated than it needed to be.
Installing the Pergola Top
Once the entire top was assembled, it was time for the moment I had been waiting for.
Getting it up there!
I lifted the finished top section onto the corbels and positioned everything exactly where I wanted it.
Once it was sitting correctly and everything was centered, level, and looking good, I secured the top to the corbels by toe-nailing it into place.
And suddenly, all of those individual pieces I had been staring at in the workshop actually looked like a pergola.
This was definitely the point where I stepped back and thought, Okayyyy…this was a good idea. 😂
The Finished DIY Garage Pergola
I cannot believe how much such a simple addition changed the look of our garage.
It instantly added more character and made this side of the house feel so much more finished. It has that custom look I wanted without requiring a huge exterior renovation.
Basically: big curb appeal, surprisingly simple DIY and those are always my favorite kinds of projects.
I also love that this is a project you can customize to work with the style of your own house. You could change the finish, overall look, or other details depending on your exterior.
For ours, I wanted it to feel like it belonged with the house and wasn’t something we just randomly added later.
Looking back at the before now, the garage looks so bare without it!
Want to Build Your Own Garage Pergola?
If you want to recreate this project, I put together downloadable DIY Garage Pergola Plans with all of the details in one place.
The PDF includes the full materials list, cut list, exact measurements, spacing, and step-by-step build details so you can follow along and build your own.
You can check out the DIY Garage Pergola Plans here.
And if you build one, make sure to tag me @nailgun_nelly because I seriously LOVE seeing you guys recreate my projects!
Now the only problem is that every time I finish one curb appeal project, I find three more things I want to change…so I’m sure this won’t be the last one. 😂
