Would bamboo roll work as screening over a pergola?

llamadrama

We've already got a wooden pergola in the garden. To increase privacy & give a cosier feel I'm wondering about attaching some bamboo roll down one side of the pergola and across the roof. I've seen a photo of this type of thing and it looked great.

Do you think this will work practically? I don't mind if it doesn't last forever as long as it looks OK for a year or two.

Also, if anyone has actually done this and got any tips on the practicality of doing it and whether one brand of bamboo roll is better than another, that would be amazing!

Cloggie

Photos of existing might help

KT53

I don't see any reason it wouldn't work.

Nollie

The thickness of the bamboo is more important than the brand, especially overhead as the really skinny ones sag and disintegrate rapidly. Depending on the size and structure of the pergola, you may have to affix some lengths of timber to span the roof and support the ends of the rolls of bamboo. This also gives you something to staple or tie it to, using wire or cable ties, essential as it will billow up in wind. Instead of timber, you could stretch wires across to fix to, you may need cable tensioners (the kind use to tension wires across a wall to support climbers) as it’s really difficult to avoid sagging wire without them.

I use cheap venetian blinds from a DIY centre to shade two vertical sides of my pergola, they look smart and have the advantage of being able to adjust the angle of the slats to control the amount of light through, or they can be pulled up entirely on dull days.

chicky

My sister did it with her pergola - works really well and has lasted 5 years so far - and hers isn’t bamboo it’s the really thin twiggy stuff (birch?)

BobTheGardener

I used some to screen an ugly garage door and it lasted much longer than expected, well over 5 years before it started to look a bit tatty.  I remember it was definitely made of thin bamboo and was stitched together with thin wire rather than cotton or nylon.

Nollie

You must have better stuff around you folks, I used the thin stuff as a sunshade over my pergola and it lasted a year!

Pianoplayer

I did this and it was a really effective way of getting shade and privacy. The one on the side lasted for a long time, but the ones across the top didn't because my neighbour's 5 cats used it as a sun-bed and their collective weights damaged it  .

llamadrama

Thanks all, this is great information. I have attached a photo now. It’s a good point about cats, it will need to be strong enough so that my cat won’t fall through!  

bertrand-mabel

Split bamboo will last a lot longer that reeds, which are also sold as screening.