Motorized Louvered Pergola

Welcome to my pergola Instructable!

In the summertime, our deck gets hammered with direct sunlight all day, and the table umbrella was not cutting it. So we needed a better shade solution. Also, at nighttime, I like to be able to look up at the unobstructed sky. I considered triangular or rectangular sail shades, but they would block the night sky. A traditional pergola simply wouldn't provide enough shade. So I landed on the idea to have a pergola with louvers that can be shut when very sunny, and open when not. They also can be angled towards the sun if extra heat is desired during the cold months.

2x8 and 6x6 lumber

Lag bolts

2x8 and 6x6 vinyl sleeves and arbor ends

PVC boards for the louvers

OZCO decorative hardware (post to beam, joist hangars, rafter clips): https://ozcobp.com/product-category/post-to-beam/

Aluminum channel: https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/aluminum/1-x-...

Aluminum bar for drive arm

Linear actuators: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NM8H5UA/ref=...

ESP8266, relays, power supply

Screws, nuts, bolts

The design for the structure involved me adding a ledger board to the house, and extending the railing posts around the deck.

I first added the ledger board using a 2x8 PT board that I attached to the house with 5" ledger board lag bolts, arranged per the bolt manufacturer's instructions. I also used ledger spacers between the house and the board to allow for water drainage. Once attached, I installed the vinyl sleeve on top of the wood. In order to slide it on, I cut the back off of the sleeve, leaving behind a "C" shaped profile. This easily went on around the board. I added silicone to the joint to prevent water from pooling inside of the sleeve. I then attached the joist hangers, which secured the sleeve to the board.

Then onto the posts. The deck railing is made from 6x6 posts secured to the deck framing, with post sleeve covering the lumber. I unscrewed the railing brackets, and removed the old post sleeves. I then cut a half lap joint into the 6x6 post, and another half lap into a new 6x6. I lag bolted these 2 posts together, end to end, to create 1 long post. I then covered the entire post with a new long post sleeve.

Finally, I added the 2 new beams to the posts using the post to beam hangars.

Now comes the daunting task of building each louver bracket. My design plan called for 3 rows of 24 louvers per row each with 2 brackets, so 144 brackets. Each louver is 3/4" thick, and 7.25" wide. So I cut, from 5' aluminum channel, 7.25" brackets, with my mitre saw.

Once cut, I then drilled the holes for the various hardware. The center hole is countersunk for a wood screw, which will act as an axle on which the louver will pivot. One side of the bracket has 2 holes, which will allow screws to hold the louver in place. The final hole is where the drive arm hardware attaches (also countersunk into the bracket). A bolt goes into this hole, and is tightened using a weld nut. The drive arm sits on this weld nut, which serves as an axle. Then the remaining threading is used by a nylon lock nut to secure the drive arm.

The drive arm is made from multiple 1/8" thick pieces of aluminum bar, screwed together to make a 1/4" thick bar.

Once all of the brackets were attached to the joists, I lifted them into place. I used the OZCO black brackets for all of the framing hardware.

Then once the joists were hung, I added each louver.

To control the movement of the system, I attached a linear actuator. The picture above shows where the linear actuator attaches to the system. Each row of louvers has its own actuator, so 3 total.

To control the actuator, I added an ESP8266 to my HomeAssistant setup. The ESP is attached to 2 relays, which control the + and - DC input.