If you want to sit outside in the rain or the August sun, you want a solid roof: a freestanding pavilion or an attached cover. If you want dappled shade and the look of timber and do not mind getting wet, you want a pergola. A gazebo is a pavilion with railings and usually eight sides. In Kansas City the choice is sharpened by weather — 40 to 60 thunderstorm days a year, hail, ice storms, a 115-mph design wind — and by permit rules that treat an open lattice differently from a roof. We build pavilions; this page is here so you choose the right structure, even if it is not ours.
The decision matrix
| Pavilion (freestanding, solid roof) | Pergola (open lattice) | Gazebo | Attached patio cover / porch roof | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain protection | Full | None (louvered pergolas close, at pavilion prices) | Full | Full |
| Shade | Full | Partial, moving with the sun | Full | Full |
| Hail and ice | Shingles or metal take it; no roof surface to catch ice on an open structure | Ice loads the slats; no hail protection below | Same as pavilion | Same as pavilion; ice at the house connection matters |
| Wind | Roof develops uplift; needs real footings | Less uplift; lighter footings | Same as pavilion | Shares the house's structure |
| Footings | 36-in piers (or a city's small-structure relief) | Often shallow piers | 36-in piers | Piers plus a ledger to the house |
| Permit | Building permit above 120 or 200 sq ft by city; zoning always | Overland Park exempts an open pergola at any size if ≥50% open with members ≤2 in that cannot hold snow; other cities treat it as an accessory structure by size | Same as pavilion; Overland Park names gazebos exempt ≤200 sq ft | Always a permit (Lenexa: "any structure attached to the house, regardless of size"); the house's setbacks apply |
| Height caps | KCMO 10 ft; Lee's Summit 15 ft; Overland Park 20 ft; Olathe/Lenexa 25 ft | Same rules where it is an accessory structure | Same as pavilion | House rules |
| Daylight into the house | Unaffected if set back from the house | Little effect | Unaffected | Darkens the room behind it |
| Typical Kansas City price band | $30,000–$60,000 (our range); from ~$15,000 | Kansas City builders publish roughly $5,000–$15,000 for wood, $10,000–$25,000 vinyl, $15,000–$30,000+ louvered aluminum | Kits $2,000–$7,000; custom like a pavilion | Kansas City builders publish roughly $40,000–$55,000 for a covered composite deck and $55,000–$80,000 for a screened porch; porches from the mid-$30,000s |
Price bands other than ours are planning context from Kansas City builders' published ranges, read September 30, 2026, not quotes. Permit facts from the permit matrix.
Kansas City weather, specifically
The metro sees "about 40–60 thunderstorm days per year"; a storm is severe at ¾-inch hail or 58-mph winds, and straight-line winds can exceed 100 mph (PrepareMetroKC, accessed 2026-09-30). Olathe's and Kansas City, Missouri's code tables set the design wind at 115 mph and the ground snow load at 20 psf; Olathe requires an ice-barrier underlayment. The 2002 ice storm put up to two inches of ice on everything in the metro. Three consequences for the choice:
- A pergola will not keep you dry and will carry ice. Its slats do nothing in rain and everything in an ice storm. If rain protection is the goal, a pergola is the wrong purchase at any price.
- A pavilion's roof is a sail. Uplift is why a pavilion needs real footings and why a kit's "100-mph" rating is tested on a concrete base, not a lawn.
- A metal roof over an open ceiling is loud and drips. Shingles or standing seam over sheathing with a tongue-and-groove ceiling is the quiet, dry version — which is how we build.
Attached or detached?
The most common regret in the forums is not the structure type but the placement: a cover built straight off the family room that made the room dark. One homeowner set a 14×14 pavilion about 12 feet back from the house and reported "plenty of daylight." An attached cover keeps you dry from the back door, matches the house roofline, and costs more in flashing and ledger work; it is also permitted and set back as part of the house. A detached pavilion a dozen feet out keeps the light, keeps the smoke from the grill off the siding, and is permitted as an accessory structure — with Lee's Summit's rule that anything within 10 feet of the house takes the house's setbacks, and KCMO's, Olathe's, Parkville's and Liberty's 10-foot separation rules deciding the minimum gap.
When each one is the right answer
- Pavilion: you want to use the space in rain and heat, you have room to set it back from the house, and you want a structure that will still be standing after the hail season. What we build — see custom pavilions.
- Pergola: the goal is the look and some shade over a patio you will not use in rain; budget is a third of a pavilion's; you want the simplest permit path (Overland Park exempts a true open pergola outright).
- Gazebo: a pavilion footprint with railings, often an octagon; kits are inexpensive but need the same base and permit as a pavilion.
- Attached cover or porch: shelter from the back door is the priority and you accept a darker room and the house's setback rules; that is a different trade, and we will say so.
Pavilion
Pergola
Gazebo
Attached cover
Schematic silhouettes, not to scale. Footing size, depth and connections depend on the structure and the site.
- Pavilion: solid roof; open sides; post footings.
- Pergola: open lattice; open sides; post footings.
- Gazebo: solid roof; railings; post footings.
- Attached cover: solid roof; open sides / house; house + post footings.
Frequently asked questions
Is a louvered pergola waterproof? When the louvers are closed it sheds rain; it is a motorized aluminum product priced like a pavilion, and in an ice storm the louvers carry the ice. It is a reasonable choice if you want sun on demand; it is not a cheaper pavilion.
Which needs a permit in Overland Park? A pavilion over 200 square feet. A true open pergola — at least 50 percent open with members 2 inches or narrower that cannot hold snow — is exempt at any size; put a roof on it and it is a pavilion.
Can I turn a pergola into a pavilion later? Rarely well. A pergola's posts and piers are sized for lattice, not a roof's weight and uplift, and the permit changes. Build the pavilion.
Does a pavilion count as "impervious coverage"? In Lee's Summit, yes — the roof counts toward the 60 percent residential cap. Check your city.
Last updated: September 30, 2026. Next: how big should it be? · what it costs · the complete guide.