Metal carport kits are one of the most durable of carports. Anything metal tends to have a longer life span than does a vinyl or poly car canopy material. Carport kits typically come fully ready to assemble. This would mean that all the drilling and cutting is done ahead of time. This is a huge time saver.
Carport Kits
The purpose of purchasing a carport kit is to make it easier for the do-it-yourselfer homeowner to be able to assemble the carport with only a few tools and perhaps a little help from a neighbor. Carport kits should come with instructions, but I have heard a few times that no instructions were included. So be sure to ask the manufacturer or place where you are purchasing it if your model does indeed come with instructions. Just because they have carports for sale does not mean that that is the best place to purchase one.
Metal Carport Kits
Metal Carport kits
When choosing which of many metal carports might be right for you, be sure to check construction specifics against things such as snow load, wind, and required local building codes for your city, town, and even subdivision. Some subdivisions may not allow a portable carport, but they may allow a steel or aluminum carport that is cemented permanently into the ground and has at least four inch thick cement pad for parking. If parking heavier vehicles such as a crew cab diesel truck, you may want to make the pad six inches thick. Heavy vehicles can require more cement to keep it from cracking under the larger weight load.
Metal carports kits can be like the one pictured on the left from Amazon, with open sides. Or the homeowner can add sides panels. If this is done, the homeowner must be sure that the metal carport is property affixed to the foundation. Solid sides means that the wind must go over and around the structure instead of through it.
Snow load is another topic that I do want to spend a minute addressing. Even in areas that do not receive much snow, it is a good idea to be sure that the carport can withstand whatever nature can throw at it. It would be terrible to awake one morning to a heavy snow fall and find the carport collapsed on top of the car.
If carports- metal kits- are purchased they should be erected as soon as they arrive on the job site. This prevents them from being damaged on site. Sometimes metal siding or frame can be bent or even backed over by a car if someone is not paying attention. This is heart breaking and budget wrecking for anyone.
Some thrifty homeowner like to research purchasing metal carports used. This after market idea may work, but these structures are not meant to be taken down and moved. Any damage that the carport has already sustained from use the first time around will be problems that the new owners inherit. In the case that you can purchase one that someone never erected, that is a different situation all together. Carport kits of metal are some of the strongest on the market.
Traditional Carports
Carports can have a very temporary sound to them, but they are in fact found in various styles even on expensive homes. Sometimes people refer to them as a covered entry. What makes it a carport instead of a covered entry is the size of it. A covered entry might only be a few feet deep, but a carport is one under which a car can drive and park. Recently we designed a 4,000 square foot log home for a couple that wanted a carport on the front side. This way when it was raining the couple could pull in under it and unload. So a carport is not always just a small, inexpensive addition to park a car under. It can in fact be built as an integral part of the home. Garage plans can also be found with carports built onto one side.
Tags: car canopy, carport kits, carport kits metal, carports for sale, do-it-yourselfer carport, metal carport kit, metal carport kits, metal carport kits used, metal carports kits, steel or aluminum carport, traditional carports