An Overview of Steel Carports

 

If you need a protective shelter for your automobile, check out steel carports. Instead of adding a carport or garage to your home in the traditional method, steel carports can provide a place for your car or truck without the labor, mess, and expense. Steel carports go up quickly, too, so in just an hour or so, you can have your own carport.

 

What are steel carports?

 

Steel carports are metal structures with open sides. Basically, it’s a roof on legs. The roof might be pitched to a point or rounded, and it might have boxed eaves. Steel carports have a steel frame and a roof made of steel panels. Consumers have a choice of gauges. Available gauges most often come in 12 and 14-gauge steel frames, with 29-gauge roof panels.

 

Steel carports can be installed on wood decks, concrete, asphalt, or on bare ground. To anchor a steel carport to wooden structures, lag bolts are used. On a concrete surface or slab, wedge anchors are used to secure the base rail. For asphalt and the bare ground, long anchors are inserted through the base rail. The anchors are then driven into the ground to provide a stable structure.

 

Advantages of steel carports

 

Steel carports have numerous advantages. For one thing, they provide an inexpensive shelter for your car, truck, boat, or RV. They’re available in many different sizes and in numerous colors. If you can’t find the exact size you need, you can have a steel carport custom made. Later, if you find that you want an enclosed garage instead of a carport, you can add side panels to the carport.

 

Once you find the steel carport you want, order it. It will be delivered right to your home, and an installation crew will arrive with the materials. Depending on the type of carport you select, along with the type of surface on which it will be placed, assembly might take as little as an hour. Of course, some steel carports take longer to erect – as much as eight hours.

 

For homeowners who wish to purchase a steel carport to fit on an inclined driveway, there are special models just for this purpose. Also, if you live in area with frequent strong winds or heavy snows, you’ll need to take that into consideration. Many manufacturers of steel carports have an engineer on staff who can help you with this aspect, making sure you understand the load-bearing ability of your carport’s roof.

 

Another great thing about steel carports is that they’re fairly portable. The carport can be moved if you ever decide to place it somewhere else or to do away with it altogether.

 

Where to buy steel carports

 

Steel carports aren’t something you can run to Walmart and buy. They’re big, so they take up a lot of room. Most stores simply can’t afford the space required to display carports.

 

Online stores and manufacturers, however, don’t have to deal with display space. They can do it all on your computer screen. To see a wide variety of steel carports, use your keypad!