The pergola must be fitted on to a solid surface and beneath the finished surface must be something for the pergola to be secured safely such as a concrete pad or if on decking we suggest support joists.
This would need to be completed before our installers arrive as they do not offer any groundworks and a local handyman would be able to assist you.
We can provide a floor plan so that you can see where the floor plates of the pergola will sit based on your chosen size, the floorpan can also be viewed on any product page.
We advise for concrete pads of approx 40x40x40cm beneath any tiles (or similar) also if you have decking then we advise the same or alternatively extra structural joists below the decking and where the footplate of the pergola will sit.
You should then finish your surface completely with the tiles and grout, allowing time to set or decking on top, so that when our installers arrive they can drill through the tile/deck and in to something extra secure below.
It is a good idea to choose your pergola size before doing any groundworks however if you have already laid the patio/deck then we do advise for you to check what is beneath the surface is secure enough, as type1 or sand would not be, also composite decking without something solid below would not be secure enough, however you may already have structural beams underneath where the footplates will sit, which would would be fine along as all footplates are sitting on structural beams wide enough for the footplate to be bolted in to fully.
Porcelain tiles usually have a full solid concrete base below however you should check with whoever laid the surface.
The pergola should never be left unbolted, if you are opting for self install please bear the above in mind.
If you are installing screens or side options please bear in mind that the pergola should be levelled accordingly and the legs should be measured perfectly at the top and bottom, then bolted down and then the side options can be fitted.
Please see the Ground Fixing Sheet explanatory document for detail.