Cantilevered ALU FLOAT™ Motorized Louvered Pergola over an Outdoor Kitchen in Corona, CA

This Corona backyard has a full outdoor kitchen: an L-shaped island with a stainless steel grill, a sink, a granite counter and bar seating, built on an open concrete patio. Inland Empire summers are hot and bright, and with no cover the kitchen took direct sun for most of the day. The stone and steel surfaces heated up, glare made cooking uncomfortable, and the family used the kitchen far less than they had planned. Covering an outdoor kitchen is harder than shading a seating area. The cook needs open space around the grill, guests need to reach the bar, and posts in the wrong place get in the way of both. Heat and smoke from the grill also need somewhere to go, so a low solid roof was not the answer. The homeowners wanted a cover that would shade the whole island, let heat escape, work in the evening and stay out of the way. Aluglobus Aluminum Systems supplied a freestanding cantilevered louvered pergola sized to the kitchen.

ALU FLOAT™ cantilevered structure: The pergola is an ALU FLOAT™ architectural cantilever patio system with a motorized louver roof. It stands on its own over the kitchen, independent of the house. Its posts are set in from the corners and the roof extends past them on every side, so the edges of the island and the bar seating sit under the overhang without a post at each corner. The cook and guests move around the island freely. Motorized adjustable louvers: The roof is divided by a center beam into two louver zones. Aluminum louvers rotate with a motor, so the homeowners can open them to let heat and grill smoke rise out, angle them to block the sun, or close them for full shade and rain cover. Integrated ceiling fan: A ceiling fan is mounted in the center beam to keep air moving over the counters on hot afternoons. Because it is built into the structure, there are no dangling fixtures or extension cords. LED lighting: LED lighting runs along the center beam and recessed downlights sit over the work surfaces, giving task light at the grill and sink after dark. An exterior floodlight on the outer frame lights the surrounding patio. Concealed drainage: When the louvers close, rain runs into gutters built into the frame and drains through the structure, keeping the counters and appliances dry. Two-tone gray powder-coated finish: The frame is finished in a light gray powder coat and the louver blades in a darker charcoal gray, a combination that complements the gray stone tile of the island and the pale fence line. Aluminum does not rot or rust and holds up to strong Inland Empire sun.

The outdoor kitchen is now usable from morning to night. On hot afternoons the louvers tilt to shade the grill and bar while the fan keeps air moving; in the evening they open to let the heat out and show the sky. When it rains, the roof closes and the kitchen stays dry. With the posts set back and the roof cantilevered over the counters, the island is open on every side. The cook has room to work, guests can pull up to the bar, and the view across the yard is uninterrupted. After dark, the center-beam lighting and downlights make it easy to cook and serve. The powder-coated aluminum structure needs little upkeep: clearing leaves from the louvers and a rinse with a hose are the main routine tasks.