Monkey Brackets are built in Orlando Florida. We take aluminum tubing and we cut it down to size. All brackets are hand assembled and hand welded. The brackets then go off to get powder coated inside and out, to prevent corrosion.

Because modern pressure treated wood uses copper, it reacts badly with most metals. Monkey Brackets are thouroughly powder coated inside and out to prevent aluminum to wood contact. However, we recommend you use regular non pressure treated wood that you stain/seal, or use a wood naturally resistant to the elements, such as Cypress or Cedar.

Because of the height of the pergola, and the build weight, we recommend using 4 people with 3 ladders.

After the necessary preparations, it should take 4 people about 2 hours to build a pergola structure.

Because of the weight and size of the structure, we don't recommend it.

The strength of your structure depends on how secure your base plates are to the footing. We recommend bolting your structure down onto concrete, or if it's on a deck, to a solid wood base. If you're installing directly over a deck, be sure you reinforce the area underneath the planks your mounting to.

If the base plates are properly secured, a base structure with no 2x4 brackets should be about as strong as a regular pergola. Please be aware that because 4x4s do have play, they may experience some wobble if force is applied. To make your structure as strong as possible, install 2x4 bracing until structure is fully sound.

Monkey Brackets uses aluminum simply because it doesn't rust. Pound for pound, aluminum is as strong as steel. The 4x4 braces use 3/16" thick aluminum which is about as strong as 1/16" steel. This is thicker than the steel used in most competitors products.