A carport is a structure which offers protection to your vehicles from the elements. It can either be free standing or attached to the walls and doesn’t necessarily have to be surrounded by four walls. It is more of a structure which provides protection as well as ventilation.
While building a carport might seem simple in there are certain things which you should keep in mind before installing one in your homes. Do keep the following things in mind when building a carport:
Check out the local council regulations
Each area has its own council which develops regulations in regards to construction and building in a residential area. This would help you from making any mistakes regarding construction and breaking the law. It is crucial that all your paperwork is in order. Any plan which you have for building and construction within your residential area should be approved. Permission for everything needs to be sought before hand.
Preparation for building
You need to buy all the materials before you start working on the carport. A carport is usually made from wood or metal and it can be customized and designed according to your personal preference. No matter which material you use, you should make sure that it is the best quality. For example buying pressure treated lumber for wooden carports and galvanized metal for metal carports. You would also need to get measurements so that the carport can offer the right kind of protection. If you want to place more than one vehicle under the car port you may need extra material to do so.
Digging the ground for a carport
You would also need to prepare the ground to receive the post of the carport. The holes need to be placed equally around the perimeter of the measured area. Care should be taken that the holes are dug at least two feet under the ground. For a more stable structure you might aim at holes which are dug under four feet.
Make use of heavy duty posts
Despite the fact that a carport is a pretty simple building structure, you need to make sure that you use only heavy duty posts for it. The post need to be at least 9 feet in height from one side and 11 feet from the other. This helps create a slanting roof which can easily allow the rainwater to drain of.
Make sure that the roof of the carport is stable
A lot of consideration should be given to the roof of the carport. It is necessary to fasten the rafters to the side beams. The rafters would provide the much-needed support for the ceiling. Once the rafters are in place you would need to install plywood boards to strengthen the structure.
Once the Roof is completed the final touches should be given to the carport. The plywood roof should be caulked. This would make the surface waterproof. The carport can then also be customized. Which can be painted upon. However care should be taken that the particular paint should be used for either wood or metal.