Asked on Jul 30, 2013

Attach a pergola roof to my metal, corrugated mobile home roof?

Kyle Roberts
by Kyle Roberts
I'm planning to cover my patio area of various style pavers with a pergola. Intending to have about a 4/12 pitch roof coming off the side of my mobile home, I'm not sure how to "tie them in" together. Any ideas? Thanks!
  10 answers
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Jul 30, 2013
    I would stay with two independent systems...the stand alone pergola and the mobile home. If you have rain gutter on the home you could have the pergola be "taller" than the home and have a completely dry transition.
  • Kyle Roberts Kyle Roberts on Jul 30, 2013
    That is essentially what I plan to do. Tying the taller pergola roof to the existing mobile home roof, with a dry seal between the two, is where my question lies. Thanks.
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Jul 30, 2013
    I was thinking having the pergola roof be a foot or so taller than the house...with a bit of an over hang of a foot or so. Then you do not have to deal with any type of roof penetrations
  • Jill Jill on Aug 01, 2013
    If you are going to build a pergola it should not be attached to your mobile home. Mobile homes usually sit on top of pier mountings (pyramid shaped bases made of metal bars), these sit on top of pads made of either cement or rubber. Aluminum awnings can give and bend a bit with the home, that pergolas can't. Because the ground settles or shifts under the mobile home, it recommended that it must be releveled once a year, so you wouldn't want to attach a structure to the home that could pull away and end up falling or worse. Because you don't have an eave on your roof to attach anything to, I recommend for good clearance in the door area building the pergola slightly higher that the mobile home and several inches away for clearance. If you are just putting stringers across the top, then attaching to the roof with a sealant is worthless. It would only leave the water to sit on the roof at that adjoining area causing roof rot damage. If you are trying to create a dry area around the door and patio instead of just stringers you might want to attach corrugated plastic patio roofing, and then adding a rain gutter to the roof's edge. That way any water that runs down the roof will be caught in the rain gutter, or run off the corrugated panels on a slight incline. Either way you will need a building permit, and must abide by their code specifications for footings and everything else, so check out their requirements first.
  • Kelly Miller Kelly Miller on Dec 07, 2013
    Yes I totally agree your pergola should not be attached to your mobile home .An important tip to keep in mind is to select an appropriate design. The size should be well-matched with the property. Placement can also be important .Since yours is a mobile home you will have to consider this also . Any do-it-yourself project, careful planning is vital.Sketch out a design, measure the area, and calculate the right amount of supplies such as wood and screws.
  • CK CK on Aug 17, 2014
    We have a vinyl sided house so we didn't want to attach our pergola either. Take a peek at ours and see how it might work for you too. I would use a four post system though instead of just two. But you can kinda get the idea. (Check out my page)
  • Lee Cunningham Green Lee Cunningham Green on Aug 25, 2014
    I agree it's better to let it stand alone. If your roof doesn't leak now why risk it?
  • Linda Keser Linda Keser on Oct 13, 2016
    As stated before, do not attach to the mobile home. Cement four pillars in the ground just outside the paved area. That's all the support it needs.
  • Jonson Jonson on Jan 10, 2024

    I advise you to seek a professional this looks like a pretty big job. Unfortunately, I have seen people make bigger problems trying something like this themselves. Anyways, Good luck for your task.

  • I would make the pergola free-standing.