A New Year, a New Range: Deponti Arrives at Roma Verandas

Every business that sells outdoor structures has to answer one question before any other: whose engineering are you putting your name to? We spent a long time on that question, and on 16 January we gave our answer. The Deponti range of aluminium verandas, pergolas and carports is now the backbone of what we do.

This is the first of our news posts, so it seems right to begin with the decision everything else has followed from. Here is who Deponti are, what the range covers, and what it means if you are planning a covered space this year.

Who Deponti Are

Deponti is a Dutch manufacturer, and the Dutch have been building glass-roofed verandas onto the backs of their houses for a good deal longer than we have. The weather is the same as ours, the gardens are a similar size, and the expectation is that the thing will be used in October as well as July. That shows in the product. The systems are extruded aluminium, powder coated, with glass or polycarbonate roofs set to a fixed nine degree pitch so that water leaves the roof and does not sit on it.

Just as important to us is that the stock is held in the UK. A veranda that has to be manufactured to order abroad is a perfectly good veranda, but a system that is already in a British warehouse reaches you sooner and is far easier to support if a part is ever needed.

What the Range Covers

The verandas run from the Bosco, a straightforward sloping-roof veranda that suits most patios, through to wide-span models such as the Pigato, which carries seven metres on two posts with an extra-large gutter doing the structural work. The Trebbiano takes a different line altogether, with a flat glass roof and a squarer, more architectural frame.

Then there are the pergolas. The Pinela family has a roof of aluminium louvres that rotate at the press of a button, so the same structure gives you open sky, dappled shade or a closed, rainproof roof depending on the afternoon. Alongside the roofs sits a full set of side elements: frameless glass sliding doors, fixed glass and polycarbonate walls, louvred panels and motorised screens.

Why Modular Matters to You

The detail that sold us is that these systems are modular and interlinkable. Each one joins to the next across its width, which means the structure is sized to your house and not the other way round. It also means you do not have to buy everything at once. Plenty of people start with a roof, live with it for a summer, then add glass doors along the front once they know how they use the space. A run of LED strip lighting in the roof beams is another favourite second step, because it is the thing that keeps you out there after dark.

That is how most good outdoor rooms come about. Shelter first, then sides, then lighting and heating, each step turning a patio into somewhere you sit for longer.

What Happens Next

Deponti is our starting point and not the whole plan. Over the course of this year we intend to build a range that covers every stage of outdoor living, from simple shade over a seating area, to proper shelter, to a glazed room you can use all year. We will report on each addition here as it happens.

In the meantime, if you would like to know which of these models suits your house, send us a couple of photos and the rough width of the wall. That is usually enough for us to narrow it down to two or three.