Frequently Asked Questions

Patio Roof Risers are patented, structural pieces of hardware, designed to elevate your patio or deck cover / pergola and eliminate the plethora of issues that come with traditional house-attachment methods.

You can buy Patio Roof Risers direct from our website shop or you can check out our map of local retailers. We incentivize supporting local hardware stores and lumber yards, therefore it will always be a better deal to buy in-store.

Post Mount • More flexible because the height is dependent on the length of the 4x4 and not limited by the hardware • Perfect for decks where you might need more headroom • Allows for a greater pitch for water run-off while maintaining headroom • Double beam style (traditional pergola look) LO-PRO • Less technical installation. • Beam sits directly in the 'bucket' • Lower profile is typically better for patios • Perfect for shade pergolas that don't need to be pitched • Single beam style More Styles Coming Soon...

The Simple Answer Our hardware is engineered to be installed 4' on center with an allowable cantilever on each end of 2'. This means all you have to do is take your beam length and divide it by four and you will have the number of Patio Roof Risers that you need. You will typically install the Roof Risers in every other rafter tail, or install blocking between every other rafter. If you are unfamiliar with any of these terms, please read through our install instructions first! Why It's Not a Simple Answer Every job will have individual site-specific factors that we cannot account for. Our engineering and recommendations do not take into account the condition of your existing structure. If you have any concerns about loads, you can take your drawings and our engineering documents to a local engineer.

Any roofing material that gives you a semi-flat surface directly above your rafter tails or blocking installed between your rafter tails. The two main roof styles that Patio Roof Risers are installed on are composition shingles and metal roofing (corrugated metal roofs will not work without modification to the roof and additional flashing). Concrete / Tile roofs are currently our arch nemesis, being one of the only roofs that our product cannot readily be installed on without removing tiles and adding additional flashing.

Patio Roof Risers install outside the building envelope of the house, and attach directly to rafter tails or blocking installed between rafter tails with two 3/8" x 4" lags. This installation method is engineered and GREATLY reduces liability.

ABSOLUTELY NOT! Patio Roof Risers are designed to reduce liability and install entirely outside of the building envelope of your home while still creating an engineered and structural connection.

Patio Roof Risers come with pre-installed 50-year butyl on the bottom of each Riser. Once the lags have been tightened down, it creates 1800 lbs. of compressive force, ensuring no water ever finds its way through. On top of this, our hardware is designed to be installed outside of the building envelope of your home, so even if there was a leak, it would be into your eave or soffit. There has never been a single leak reported from any of our customers and even if there was, it wouldn't leak into the home.

Blocking is a 4x8 section of lumber that gets installed between your rafter tails in your soffit space. It allows for a little more flexibility in mounting your Patio Roof Risers as you don't have to go directly into a rafter tail. We have engineering reports for blocking installation that illustrate a few different ways for it to be installed, but the most common is three structural lag screws on each side that go through the rafter and into the end of the blocking. If you have open soffits, this installation is trivial, however, if you have closed soffits that you cannot remove temporarily, you will have to use the other installation method, which is to go directly into the rafter tails.

This can be tricky, but we have a few tricks. The first thing you'll want to do is carefully lift the roofing material near the edge of the roof. Lift it just enough to expose the underlying plywood or sheathing. Carefully examine the exposed plywood and look for the seams or joints between sheets. These joints are where the rafters are typically located. Mark this joint with a pencil or chalk and transfer the line on top of the roofing material. You can then measure over the distance of your rafter spacing (typically 16" or 24") to locate the rafters you need. Once you have determined exactly where your Roof Risers are going to be located, you can fine tune your measurements to make sure your lags hit the dead-center of your rafters. To do this, you can use a micro drill bit to probe for the edges of the rafter tail. When you attach your Patio Roof Risers, the butyl will seal all of these micro holes. Read through our install instructions for more information.

It's easier than you might think. First, you will need to properly brace your pergola. Then remove the base from each Roof Riser one at a time and replace the roofing material under the Riser. Now, replace the base with new butyl on the bottom. We even provide the butyl free of charge when it comes time for you to re-roof. That's it!

Our engineering documents are officially certified in California and Oregon. They can be used in other states too, as many customers have successfully obtained approvals by presenting them to local inspectors or engineers alongside their plans. The underlying principles of our engineering remain consistent, irrespective of geographic location, providing a reliable foundation for your project. It's also worth noting that California has some of the strictest engineering requirements which further supports the robustness and reliability of our engineering documentation.

Each Patio Roof Riser has an uplift rating of around 1,500 - 2,000 pounds (this varies based on material and roof pitch). This is a substantial amount and we have had many builds approved in hurricane zones. HOWEVER, the wind rating of a structure depends more on the build as a whole, so we will always recommend you take your plans, along with our engineering documents to a local building professional / engineer for approval. For the full report with more exact numbers, please check out our engineering page.

This number varies greatly based on roof pitch and material type, but the average is around one metric ton (2,200 pounds) per Patio Roof Riser. HOWEVER, this does not take into account the condition of the existing structural members that are being attached to, so this number is heavily reliant on site-specific factors. If you are questioning any of your loads please take your plans along with our engineering to a local building professional, and/or have them come out to verify the integrity of the structure you're attaching to. We commonly have fully sheathed and shingled roofs built on top of Patio Roof Risers that have been engineered and approved locally. For the full report with more exact numbers, please check out our engineering page.

The lateral support of your patio cover or pergola is achieved through a combination of the Patio Roof Risers, the existing structure, and the patio cover / pergola itself. While the engineering of each Patio Roof Riser primarily addresses vertical loads and uplift, the combination of multiple Risers across the span of the structure creates a distributed lateral support system. This means that when properly installed at recommended intervals (4' on center), the Roof Risers work together to provide the lateral stability required for the patio cover or pergola. If you have any questions or concerns about the lateral loads of your structure, take your plans, along with our engineering, to a local building professional / engineer for approval.

The code and permit requirements differ across jurisdictions. In most cases, a permit is not going to be required, however, we always recommend checking with a local building professional who is familiar with all codes and regulations in the area. For example, here in Oregon, if a Patio Cover is 200 sq ft or less, and no more than 12 ft in mean height, it does not require a permit (ORSC R105.2 #6). Even for structures exempt from permits based on size, it is still advisable to follow sound engineering design principles. This helps ensure the safety and stability of the patio cover or pergola. Using engineered plans or consulting with an engineer can be beneficial.