New Carport

[Dmace]

Finally, I can leave my tractor resting under a sturdy carport with no worries of snow fall, rain, sun, etc...

I have been using a small (12wx20lx10h) tarp carport that I purchased about 6 years ago for just $300. It has served me well, but was a real pain to clean the snow off of the roof after every storm and constantly finding holes and water leaks in the roof. After the roof split and completely tore in half, I decided to get a real carport and never have to worry about it again.

Luckily I have a nearby reseller that carries the T-N-T Carports Inc. brand and there was one setup to check out. They are incredibly well built with 12 gauge galvinized steel and metal roofing available in 13 different colors.

There are a ton of different sizes available and since I wanted it big enough for two vehicles and high enough to not have to worry about my cab, I went with a 18'wx21'l with 7' sides. The standard is 5' sides but for just $100 more you can get 7' sides and I am glad I did.

The carport all together with the taller sides and evergreen metal roofing was $1200 setup and delivered right at my house. The best deal anywhere around here.

Here are some pictures of the new unit. Now I need to figure out how I want to close in the sides and back.

Click any pictures for larger images.







Old carport...

 

[Ductape]

Looks great ! I've seen theese closed in with the same type metal roofing all around and a roll-up door in the framed in front wall. Great little barn. There is a guy near me selling these...... i need to stop in and look at the ones he sells. I'm scared of how my town would tax something like this though !

 

[canoetrpr]

Very nice!. I should have thought about this for the outdoor covered dog runs I am building. Would have saved me a bundle vs. building a wood building! Doubt the dogs would have cared so long as they are out of the weather when they are outside.

 

[Bird]

Luckily I have a nearby reseller that carries the T-N-T Carports Inc.

Unfortunately, I did not have a local reseller, so I bought one (same brand) on the Internet from a reseller in another state. It was just for a carport in a mobile home park so we stayed with the 5' sides and a 20' x 20' carport and I paid $781.09 on October 21, 2003, for it. Almost a year later, September 24, 2004, I paid $752.34 for another of the same thing for a daughter, but it was only 18' x 20'.

Since my wife's birthday is New Year's Eve, our daughters decorated our carport in December '03 whle we were out somewhere.

 

[Adam23]

Hey Bird,

How difficult was it putting them together? My brother was just looking at getting one. I mentioned to him that we could probably build it ourselves to save him some money. Those are stout units!

 

[Bird]

Hey Bird,

How difficult was it putting them together? My brother was just looking at getting one. I mentioned to him that we could probably build it ourselves to save him some money. Those are stout units!

Adam, I'm sure there's a little more to it than it looks like watching the experienced people do it, but yes, it looks like a pretty easy thing to do. And I understand some companies will sell you the material and you can put it up, but when I talked to T-N-T, they would not do that. It's been awhile so it's possible they've changed some policies, but if not, they only price and sell them "installed" so they can guarantee them. They have special trailers designed to carry all the material for several of those carports plus their tools, ladders, and equipment, have 2 man crews that travel in crewcab dually, 4 x 4 Ford trucks. So when they showed up, they were finished and ready to leave in 2 hours.

 

[Dmace]

Yeah, I had 3 guys show up to install the carport and they had a special trailer since the roof trusses are one piece and pretty long. The whole thing is put together with large self tapping sheet metal screws and all the pieces fit together easily. Since it comes with a 20-yr warranty, I have no problem letting them install it. They were here and gone within 1-1/2 hrs.

 

[Oleozz]

Hi Dmace--Very nice carport, I'm looking for one to stick my tractor in. I'm guessing you did all the site prep, leveling, stones, etc., before they arrived?

 

[Northland]

Dmace-thanks for posting this.

I need something like that for my tractor and tent trailer. I was going to build a small pole barn but what you have is better and probably about the same cost.

 

[IXLR8]

There is a guy near me selling these...... i need to stop in and look at the ones he sells. I'm scared of how my town would tax something like this though !

I put up a 'carport' similar to Dmace's old one when I was living in Taxachusetts. The town did not consider it a permanent structure and therefore did not tax it. Seems to be same situation where I live here in Maine now.

 

[Bird]

Hi Dmace--Very nice carport, I'm looking for one to stick my tractor in. I'm guessing you did all the site prep, leveling, stones, etc., before they arrived?

The below is copied from the FAQ in the link he provided:

• Question: Where's the best location for my carport, garage, or storage building?

Answer: The key to the success of the installation of any of our products is to make sure that our product is installed on a flat, square surface. In order to provide you with affordable products with quick installation, site preparation, as well as building permits, are the responsibility of the customer.

 

[Dmace]

Yeah, I brought in about 8 cubic yards of 1/2" crushed gravel to level off my driveway where it would sit and the boxblade came in handy.

Since the carport is sitting on the ground and not on concrete, it is referred to as a temporary structure and does not increase taxes or need to be within the required setbacks from my property line.

If you look at the close up photos, you can see that I laid out some 2"x10" PT boards 21' long so that the carport would sit on pressure treated wood as opposed to the ground. Even though the frame is galvenized steel, it will still rust after enough years of sitting on moist ground. They normally drive three 4ft long pieces of rebar through pre-drilled holes in the bottom frame to anchor it to the ground. Since I had the wood down, they drilled holes through the wood and then drove the rebars right through the frame and wood for a real strong anchor.

I couldn't be happier with this carport, it is well worth the money.

 

[PA hayseed]

I have thought about buying one of these, but I am worried about snow loads and I have alot of high wind. Wonder if this would wind up in kansas, or maybe NJ, if we got some more 60-70 mph gusts.

Anyone who has had one of these can you enlighten me on their wind resistance? I know I can anchor it, but wind is wind, and I am not sure how tough these things are.

I'd love to have a wind turbine up here, but they are too cost prohibitive.

I live in the mountains in PA, and I catch alot of wind especially in winter.

 

[Bird]

I have thought about buying one of these, but I am worried about snow loads and I have alot of high wind. Wonder if this would wind up in kansas, or maybe NJ, if we got some more 60-70 mph gusts.

Anyone who has had one of these can you enlighten me on their wind resistance? I know I can anchor it, but wind is wind, and I am not sure how tough these things are.

I'd love to have a wind turbine up here, but they are too cost prohibitive.

I live in the mountains in PA, and I catch alot of wind especially in winter.

As for snow load, let's see if this link will take you directly to the right photo. They can handle the load. Incidentally, when the sheet metal is installed, they put the ridge panel on first and work out both directions from there. Now I expected them to work just from ladders, but the older (and bigger) of the two guys got on top as soon as they laid that first panel and finished working from up there; walking back and forth the length of it, putting in those self tapping screws with rubber washers.

As for wind, I don't really know, but we've had some pretty stout winds that never bothered them. As Dmace said, they anchored his to the ground through treated lumber. In my case, they drilled holes through the concrete slab, then drove their 4' rods through that and into the ground. Between the weight of the carport and the anchors on each side, it's going to take a pretty tough wind to move one.

 

[PA hayseed]

As for snow load, let's see if this link will take you directly to the right photo. They can handle the load. Incidentally, when the sheet metal is installed, they put the ridge panel on first and work out both directions from there. Now I expected them to work just from ladders, but the older (and bigger) of the two guys got on top as soon as they laid that first panel and finished working from up there; walking back and forth the length of it, putting in those self tapping screws with rubber washers.

As for wind, I don't really know, but we've had some pretty stout winds that never bothered them. As Dmace said, they anchored his to the ground through treated lumber. In my case, they drilled holes through the concrete slab, then drove their 4' rods through that and into the ground. Between the weight of the carport and the anchors on each side, it's going to take a pretty tough wind to move one.

Thanks Bird.

I was actually looking at possibly putting it on some 6x6's so I can get my tractor ROPS underneath of it. I want it as a place to keep all the attachments out of the weather. It's either one of these or build a run in barn/pole building. Gotta be able to back right up to the attachment. I'm sure you all understand how fun it is to try to wiggle a 6 or 7' foot mower, rear blade, etc into position for the 3 pt.

 

[tinkertoys]

We have two of these one carport 18X21 cost about $1400with closed end and 1 side. The second is 20X31 with 8 ft sides awalk in door and a 10X8 rollup (like in a storage unit) to the tune of $4500. The first is on road base, we park cars in it. The second I put on concrete we park the travel trailer in it. we really like them. ours are made by carolina carports.

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

Hey Bird,

How difficult was it putting them together? My brother was just looking at getting one. I mentioned to him that we could probably build it ourselves to save him some money. Those are stout units!

We bought one recently from TNT and are very pleased. I inquired about putting it together myself to save a bit of money. Most of the companies that sell them are resistant to that or just won't sell it to you unless you let them install it. I found one company that would have sold it to me, but I would have only reduced my price by about $50-$75. I prepared the site using crushed stone as someone else mentioned (easy to level and when it gets wet a few times it packs hard like concrete). It took two gentlemen about 90 minutes or less to install it.

 

[RollTideRam]

The one I have is a Carolina Carports brand. I bought over the internet from Georgia Carports and it was installed by Carports of Mississippi. There are lots of options available, but the price goes up quick. Mine is 18x26x9' high. I also went with 12 gauge metal, 14 guage was standard. I got the boxed eave version and went with a vertical roof and gable ends. Mine cost about $2100 and they told me I could add side sheds in the future. I should have priced the side sheds at the time, Because they want $1500 for each 12x26x6' side. JC

 

[Champy]

Mine is fully enclosed with rollup door; window; and walk in door. Base size is 20x26(?) with an 8'x10' door opening to get my JD990 inside. In addition to the rebar I also added the big screw in mobile home anchors along each side. This Fall I reinforced the roofline where it meets the side wall because of high winds hitting the building sideways caused the roof to constantly chatter.

 

[Bird]

Now that's really nice, Champy, having a fully enclosed garage instead of just a carport.