Dio-Met designed and made a one-off steel garden pergola for a family in Sheffield who wanted a shaded, all-weather space for the children to play and for the whole family to gather. What made it special was the brief: it had to be built around a large existing tree, and pack in a list of custom features you simply cannot get off the shelf.
Project overview
- Client type: Residential (family garden)
- Location: Sheffield
- Structure: Bespoke steel pergola designed to fit around an existing tree
- Steel frame: 100mm square section posts carrying a 150 x 100mm RHS primary ring beam
- Material / finish: Chunky galvanised and powder-coated anthracite grey steel, with iroko timber detailing
- Roof: Polycarbonate roofing for a waterproof, shaded area
- Built-in features: Cast-iron pizza oven with chimney through the roof, tiled BBQ workbench, hammock/chair beam, integrated washing line, and drilled-and-tapped hanging points
- Scope: Design, manufacture and installation
The brief
The family wanted to turn part of their garden into a proper outdoor room: somewhere shaded from the summer sun (important with young children), usable in the rain, and built for real family life, cooking, eating, relaxing and play. The catch was a large tree they wanted to keep, right where the structure needed to go. Rather than lose the tree, they wanted the pergola designed around it.
Design and fabrication
Dio-Met designed the pergola in chunky galvanised steel, with 100mm square section posts carrying a 150 x 100mm RHS primary ring beam, powder-coated anthracite grey and finished with iroko timber detailing to warm up the steel. It was set out to fit neatly around the existing tree, with polycarbonate roofing to keep the space dry while still letting light through. Because we design and fabricate everything ourselves, the structure could be engineered for exactly what the family wanted to hang off it: the front beam was made to take garden chairs and hammocks, something off-the-shelf pergolas can't do, and multiple drilled-and-tapped points were built in so lights, blinds, chairs and hanging baskets can all be added and moved over time.
Built-in features
This is where the project really earns its keep. For the cooking and dining area, Dio-Met built a tiled workbench and integrated a cast-iron pizza oven, running its chimney up through the roof so it draws properly and the area stays smoke-free. Under the cantilevered section, an integrated washing line lets the family dry clothes out of the rain. Every feature was designed around the family's young children, making a space that is safe, practical and genuinely fun to use.
Expert insight
"An off-the-shelf pergola is a box of standard parts. Because we design and make ours from scratch, we can build it around a tree, hang a hammock off the front, run a pizza-oven flue through the roof and tuck a washing line underneath, all in one structure. That is the difference a fabricator makes."
Frequently asked questions
Can you build a pergola around a tree or other obstacle? Yes. Because every pergola is designed and made to order, we can set it out around an existing tree, wall, drain or change in level, rather than forcing a standard kit to fit.
What are your pergolas made from? Chunky galvanised steel, powder-coated in the colour of your choice (anthracite grey on this project), often with timber detailing such as iroko. This frame used 100mm square posts and a 150 x 100mm RHS primary ring beam. Galvanising and powder-coating give a strong, low-maintenance structure that lasts outdoors.
Can you integrate features like a pizza oven, lighting or a hammock beam? Yes, that is the whole point of bespoke. On this project we built in a cast-iron pizza oven with a chimney through the roof, a tiled BBQ workbench, a hammock and chair beam, a washing line and drilled-and-tapped points for lights, blinds and baskets.
Do you cover Sheffield and beyond? Yes. This pergola is in Sheffield, where we are based, and we design, manufacture and install bespoke steelwork across the UK.
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Got a bespoke pergola in mind?
Thinking about a one-off steel pergola for your garden, built around a tree, around your space and around how you actually want to use it? We'd love to help. Call us on 0114 243 9009 or email sales@diometonline.co.uk, or request a quote online.
Tags: bespoke pergola, steel pergola, metal pergola, garden pergola Sheffield, pergola around tree, pergola with pizza oven, polycarbonate roof pergola, galvanised steel pergola, iroko timber pergola, custom pergola
