A gazebo is a roofed structure open on the sides, usually smaller and often round or many-sided. In our terms, a small pavilion.

Does a pergola keep the rain off?

A standard pergola doesn’t. A louvered-roof pergola can, with its slats closed.

Do I need a permit for a pergola?

It depends. How an open pergola is treated depends on the town. Roofed and over about 108 sq ft (10 m²), it usually needs one.

Arbour, pergola, pavilion or cabana?

They differ by roof and walls, which decides what each one is for. An arbour and a pergola are open on top. A pavilion has a solid roof and open sides. A cabana has a solid roof, walls and a door.

Checked October 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and we confirm them for your property before we design.

Even the dictionary blurs them (Merriam-Webster’s first definition of “pergola” is “arbor, trellis”), so these are our working definitions.

Escape Plan, in rural Flamborough, has all four in one yard: an arbour walk, a pavilion, a pool cabana, and a timber pergola beside the cabana.

Douglas fir pavilion with lounge furniture at the edge of a pool — The Back Bar’s pavilion at the edge of the pool. Photography: Koru Creative.

How to choose

Want a way in or a frame for plants: arbour.
Want filtered shade and light over a patio: pergola.
Want an outdoor room that works in the rain: pavilion.
Want walls, a door, changing or a washroom: cabana.

Then we size and place it with the permit rules in mind, from the first meeting.

Arbour

A small open frame, usually over a path, gate or bench, often grown over with plants. It marks a way in.

At Escape Plan, a timber arbour path leads about 200 feet from the house to the pavilion.

View from inside the pavilion back up the timber arbour walk to the house — From the pavilion, looking back toward the arbour walk at Escape Plan. Photography: Koru Creative.

Pergola

Posts and beams with an open top of rafters or slats. Filtered shade, a frame for climbing plants and lights, but no shelter from rain. It can be freestanding or attached to the house.

At Nothing to Dig, in Toronto, a timber pergola with lighting shelters half the patio. At Escape Plan, the pool cabana has its own timber pergola beside it.

We’ve also installed aluminium louvered-roof pergolas. The roof slats open and close, so it can shed rain.

Dining area under the timber pergola — Under the pergola at Nothing to Dig. Photography: Jeff McNeill, McNeill Photography.

Pavilion

Freestanding, with a solid roof and open sides. Shade and rain shelter, so it can hold a kitchen, a bar, ceiling fans, lights or a TV.

The Back Bar, in Oakville, is Douglas fir on helical piles, with a cedar tongue-and-groove ceiling and black metal roof.

Escape Plan’s is stone and cedar, with an outdoor kitchen, bar and wood-fired pizza oven.

Pavilion with lounge seating beside the pool — The pavilion at The Back Bar. Photography: Koru Creative.

Finished timber pavilion with stone veneer and cedar ceiling — The finished pavilion at Escape Plan. Photography: Koru Creative.

Cabana

A small building by the pool with walls and a door, for changing, storage or a bar, sometimes with a washroom. It’s also called a pool house.

Escape Plan’s pool cabana has a change room and washroom.

Pool cabana across the pool, with a timber pergola beside it — The pool cabana at Escape Plan. Photography: Koru Creative; Furniture: Casual Life.

Side by side

	Roof	Sides	Keeps rain off	Typical use
Arbour	Roof: Open	Sides: Open	Keeps rain off: No	Typical use: Entry, path, gate, bench, climbing plants
Pergola	Roof: Open slats or rafters (louvered: slats open and close)	Sides: Open	Keeps rain off: Standard: no. Louvered: yes, slats closed.	Typical use: Filtered shade over a patio, plants, lights
Pavilion	Roof: Solid	Sides: Open	Keeps rain off: Yes	Typical use: Outdoor kitchen, bar, lounge, dining
Cabana	Roof: Solid	Sides: Walls and a door	Keeps rain off: Yes	Typical use: Changing, storage, bar, sometimes a washroom

How we build them

See our pavilions and structures service

Wood: We usually build in Douglas fir and cedar.
Footings: Usually helical piles, chosen for the size and the structure.
Extras: Ceiling fans, heaters, lighting, TVs, privacy screens and curtains are all common. Electrical and gas go through licensed trades we manage.
Who builds: We build some cabanas with our own crew, and work with trusted carpenters on timber frames and other carpentry.

Permits

Read our permit guide

Roofed and over 10 m² / about 108 sq ft, attached to the house, or with plumbing: a building permit is generally needed. A cabana with a washroom has plumbing, so it needs one whatever its size.
The 15 m² / 161 sq ft no-permit rule is for storage-only sheds, not cabanas or pavilions.
Open arbours and pergolas: how they’re treated depends on the town.
Zoning still applies (lot line distance, height, lot coverage), and conservation authority or Niagara Escarpment rules can apply too.
Fans, lights, TVs and heaters: line-voltage electrical work is done by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, who files with ESA. Gas heaters and kitchens: licensed gas fitters we bring in.
The Back Bar’s pavilion was sized to go up without waiting on a permit.

Common questions

What about a gazebo?: A gazebo is a roofed structure open on the sides, usually smaller and often round or many-sided. In our terms, a small pavilion.
Does a pergola keep the rain off?: A standard pergola doesn’t. A louvered-roof pergola can, with its slats closed.
Do I need a permit for a pergola?: It depends. How an open pergola is treated depends on the town. Roofed and over about 108 sq ft (10 m²), it usually needs one.