Louvre roof installer based in Christchurch. Opening louvre systems, custom timber pergolas and covered patios - on new builds, over existing decks, or standalone over pavers or a concrete pad. Outdoor rooms across Canterbury that you actually use year-round.
Opening louvre, timber pergola, polycarbonate covered patio. Whatever keeps the sun off and the rain out of your outdoor space - we install it. Over a deck, over pavers, over a concrete pad, or standalone in the garden.
When the deck is going in at the same time, we design the louvre in from day one - posts land in the right places, drainage fall runs where it should, and wiring for the motor, lights, heater and fan is roughed in before the boards go down. Cleanest build when the timing lines up.
Aluminium blades that open to a pergola on a sunny day and close to a solid, waterproof roof when the shower rolls in. Motorised or manual, with optional rain sensor that closes the roof for you. The premium outdoor-room solution.
Heavy-post timber framing with open rafters, or polycarbonate sheeting over the top. The right answer when the look matters more than the weather-proofing - and usually the cheapest way to define an outdoor room.
The single biggest decision on a louvre job isn't us - it's which system actually fits how you want to use the space. Here's how they compare on the things that matter.
Budget bands are indicative - site size, integrations and attached-vs-freestanding move every number. We'll give you real figures at the site visit.
Louvre roofs fail for predictable reasons. Undersized framing that sags over a big span. Cheap aluminium blades that warp in the Canterbury sun. Drainage that leaks into the decking a year in. Motors under-specced for the blade count. Here's what we do differently.
Steel beams or heavy hardwood posts sized to the blade count and the wind load - not a one-size-fits-all kit. Large spans and nor'wester gusts handled without the roof flexing or sagging.
We install Living Culture louvre systems, plus Bunnings and Trade Tested options - quality blades with factory warranties intact.
Louvre frames designed to drain Canterbury rainfall properly. Gutter sized for the roof area, fall calculated, downpipes run to an appropriate outfall. No leaks into the decking.
We install Living Culture systems plus Bunnings and Trade Tested options - so you get the louvre that fits your site, your use and your budget.
Six stages from first phone call to the day the ten-year structural guarantee kicks in. No surprises on the invoice.
We come to you, walk the space, measure the proposed area. Talk through how you want to use it - entertaining, afternoon sun, winter shelter, year-round. We'll also check what you've got underneath (deck, paving, lawn, nothing yet) and whether the louvre will attach to the house or sit free.
Recommend a system based on use and budget - Living Culture for opening louvres, or Bunnings and Trade Tested options, timber pergola or polycarbonate if those fit better. Written quote through within the week, itemised so you can see where each line lands.
Attached-to-house louvres almost always need a building consent; free-standing louvres usually don't unless they breach Schedule 1 floor-area limits or boundary setbacks. We work out which side of the line your build sits on, lodge the consent if needed, and order the louvre system direct from the NZ manufacturer so there's no third-party markup.
Posts set on structural piles or engineered concrete pad footings, depending on the build. Steel or hardwood beams rolled in for the span. Electrical rough-in for motor, lights, fan or heater done before the roof goes on.
Frame lifted into place. Blades installed and levelled. Gutters fitted, downpipes run to an appropriate outfall. Integrated LED strips and fan mounts finished before the blades are commissioned.
Motor commissioned and tuned. Remote and app (where the system supports it) paired and tested. Rain sensor calibrated if fitted. Manufacturer warranty documents, remote, and a walk-through handed over the day the job's done.
Every louvre install is quoted individually after a site visit. There's no flat per-square-metre rate because these variables move the number around - and the difference between a fixed pergola and a motorised opening louvre is significant.
Opening louvre (Living Culture, or Bunnings/Trade Tested options) is the top of the range; timber pergola is the mid option; polycarbonate is the budget pick. The three systems are completely different price bands, not variations of the same thing.
Area drives cost directly. Spans over about 5m without a mid-post need heavier framing - engineered steel beams instead of timber - which bumps the number up sharply.
Manual is cheapest; basic motor with remote is mid-range; full smart-home integration with rain sensor, app control and scheduled open/close is the top end. The motor spec also scales with blade count - bigger roofs need stronger motors.
Lights, heaters, fans and drop-down screens each add to the quote. All far cheaper to rough in at build time than retrofit a year later.
Attached louvres need wall flashing, load calculations on the existing structure and usually a building consent. Free-standing louvres need heavier footings for stability but often avoid the consent - different cost profile, different paperwork.
A louvre designed in from scratch is the cleanest build - posts land where they should and wiring runs where it needs to. Retrofit over an existing deck needs a structural assessment and often extra framing to handle the louvre load.
Straight answers to the things homeowners ask us most often. If your question isn't here, call John - he'll give you a straight answer, not a sales line.
Every louvre install is quoted after a site visit - cost moves with roof type, size, motorisation, integrations and whether it attaches to the house. A timber pergola is our most affordable option. A full opening louvre roof with motor, rain sensor, LED lights and drop-down screens over a 5m × 8m span is our highest. See the Pricing section above for the variables.
The comparison table higher up the page covers this in detail - sun, rain, wind and budget compared side by side. Short version: opening louvre for full year-round control, timber pergola when aesthetics beat weather-proofing, polycarbonate when the budget's tight. We'll walk through tradeoffs on the site visit rather than push you up the spec sheet.
Louvres attached to the house usually need a building consent. Free-standing louvres under the height threshold and outside certain boundary distances don't. We'll tell you on the site visit - and if a consent is needed, we handle the drawings, submission and inspections rather than leave it with you.
Usually yes. We'll survey the deck structure, check pile size and spacing, and work out whether the existing framing can carry the louvre load. Sometimes we add posts, sometimes we rebuild corners, sometimes the deck is ready as-is. Specialist work that a lot of louvre-only installers won't touch.
Most louvre installs run two to four weeks on site once the system arrives from the manufacturer. Manufacturer lead times are usually three to six weeks from order. Integrated builds (louvre designed into a new deck from day one) run four to eight weeks total.
We install across the Christchurch urban area and wider Canterbury - Halswell, Fendalton, Merivale, Redwood, Rolleston, Papanui, St Albans, Prestons, Marshlands, Rangiora, Ravenswood, Casebrook, Harewood, Redcliffs, Sumner, Kaiapoi, Ohoka, Cust, Yaldhurst, West Melton and everywhere in between. We also travel further across Canterbury and the wider South Island.
We install Living Culture louvres as our main system, plus Bunnings and Trade Tested options for different budgets. We'll recommend the system that fits your site, your use and what you want to spend - and explain why at the site visit.
Technically yes, practically no - you want them in from day one. Integrated lighting runs inside the louvre frame and looks clean; retrofit lighting means surface-mounted strips that always look like an afterthought. If there's any chance you'll want any of these in the next five years, we rough in the wiring during the build.
Manufacturer warranties on the louvre system itself (typically 10-15 years on the structural components, shorter on motors). Our ten-year structural guarantee covers everything we built underneath and around it. Annual maintenance - running the motor, clearing gutters, touching up stain - takes about an hour.
Yes - that's often how we prefer to do it. Same crew, coordinated timeline, and the joins between deck, louvre, fence and retaining actually align because the same team set them out. See our deck building, fence builder and timber retaining wall pages for the rest.
Free on-site visits across the Christchurch urban area. For the right job we'll travel further across Canterbury and the wider South Island.
Most of our work runs across Christchurch urban - Halswell, Fendalton, Merivale, Redwood, Papanui, St Albans, Prestons, Marshlands, Casebrook, Harewood, Redcliffs, Sumner, Yaldhurst - plus wider Canterbury including Rolleston, Rangiora, Ravenswood, Kaiapoi, Ohoka, Cust and West Melton. For the right build we'll travel anywhere in the South Island, from Queenstown up to Nelson.
Not sure if we cover your street? Ask →Free on-site quote. We come to you, walk the site, and send a written quote through within the week. No pressure, no hard sell, no follow-up spam.