It shares the heavyweight timber sections, sculpted rafters, pedestal panels and full notched build, and adds a double corner configuration with post section braces. That puts more timber into the joints where beams meet posts, which is where a tall frame takes wind load. Choose it for an exposed garden, a larger footprint, or any build where a polycarbonate roof is going on top.

Five square sizes: 2.4m by 2.4m, 3m by 3m, 3.6m by 3.6m, 4.2m by 4.2m and 4.8m by 4.8m, each in Rustic Brown or Light Green. Prices start from £1048.99 and rise with the footprint and the options you choose, such as a roof kit or privacy screening. Bespoke sizes are made to order when the standard five do not suit the space.

It is built into the product. The decking platform arrives with the frame, sized to the same footprint, so you are not laying a concrete slab or building a separate deck before the pergola can go up. The ground underneath still needs to be firm and reasonably level, but you do not need an existing patio for the posts to stand on.

Not on its own. Pressure treatment protects the redwood against rot and fungal decay from within, but Rustic Brown and Light Green are surface finishes and they fade under sun and rain. Expect the tone to soften over the first couple of seasons and plan a re-treat with a suitable exterior timber stain every two to three years, applied during dry weather.

Either works, and both are worth doing once a roof kit is fitted, because a roofed pergola catches wind. Concreting the posts in gives the most permanent fixing and suits soft ground. Our bolt-down feet suit sites where you would rather not dig, or where the pergola stands on a solid surface. Without a roof, the weight of the frame and base does most of the work.