Before I made my purchase decision, I did get a quote from a local, highly-regarded pergola constructor. Baldwin's price was lower, and from what I've seen, I think the quality is higher. In summary, I'm pleased with how the pergola came out, and satisfied that I choose Baldwin as my supplier.

MAX!!!! You are unfriggin believable!  This thing went together so easy I still can't believe it. Especially when I went to measure down 28 inches on the posts to set the gussets and found that you had already put lines there.....Your attention to detail was great.  This whole thing slid together. I didn't have to touch one piece with anything but my hands. The most labor intensive part was screwing down all the purlins at the end.

Hi Chris, We love the pergola and all our neighbors think it is great. The Baims next door are seriously considering doing one next year. Thanks so much for all your help. Pat

Max and All the Folks at Baldwin, My wife tells me you fixed the boot on our pergola and even left some extra stain for us. That is excellent service and the reason we purchased it from you. Please accept our sincere thanks, we are loyal customers and your best advertisement.

Max, I wanted to drop you a line on the pergola. I have received nothing but rave reviews on this "magnificent structure". All of our expectations have been meet and exceeded - your shop has done a great job. We are celebrating an engagement and it will get a lot of usage during that party. Thanks again for your commitment on getting it here as you promised. We will look forward to many years of enjoyment.

The construction went flawlessly. Everything fit together perfectly, we didn't have to "tap" one purlin or rafter into place, they just seemed to fit. Thank you for all the help and instruction. We absolutely love, love, love it. It seems to fit perfectly on our patio and I know that we will enjoy it for many years to come. We would do this again in a heartbeat! I'm sending you pictures of the process and the finished product.

It was such a beautiful day on Sunday I had my coffee under the pergola and Sunday night we ate dinner under it. We never spent any time out on the patio in the past.

I set this up by myself in two days (using sawhorses to brace the uprights) and although I'm reasonably handy, I'm no carpenter! All in all it was an excellent experience and my hat's off to you for being able to construct and ship such a good kit. Even considering the shipping costs, there is no way we could have purchased lumber and paid people to construct something like this for the same money. We're considering doing another identical unit in the opposite corner of our courtyard. Well done. And good luck in this economy!

As a cabinetmaker and woodworker, I send you kudos on your system, the communication that we've had, the quality of the product. It's a pretty simple kit that arrived and it installs just about as easily as your website suggests. On a personal level, it's really cool to make connections with other people that have the same sense of pride in their work. This stuff is as much about service as it is product.