Sick of running from driveway to front door in the pouring rain, laden with shopping bags and other gear? It’s time to build a carport! This highly functional structure will keep your precious car dry — and preserve your sanity — in the wetter months.
Question is, can a carport be built single-handedly by a skilled DIYer? Let’s take a look at what’s involved, and then I’ll give you my answer.
Planning your carport
The first step in building a carport is pretty easy. And fun. It’s the planning stage, where you get to decide what the carport will look like and how it will tie in with the rest of the house. Check out Pinterest for some cool carport designs to get the ideas flowing.
If you’re smart, you’ll have a chat to a builder or engineer when you’re finalising the design to make sure that the footings, posts and support beams are strong enough to support the roof.
You should also check out one of my fave websites — Interactive Buildings — to find out whether you need planning approval for your carport. Need to submit a Development Application? The site tells you how and where to lodge it. Too easy.
Preparing the site
This is another step you can probably tackle solo, particularly if your driveway is already set in stone. And, level. Then, it’s a matter of carefully marking out the carport and fixing the footing plates to the existing concrete.
If there’s a slope on your driveway, then you’ll need to concrete the posts into the ground — footing plates only work at a clean 90 degree angle.
Need a concrete slab? That’s a whole new story, which I won’t go into here. Needless to say, unless you’re a super-confident DIYer, then the slab will probably need professional help.
Constructing the carport
Posts. Beams. Rafters. Roof. These are the four basic elements in the average carport. Sounds simple. Yet there are quite complex measurements and building techniques to nail. It’s certainly not beyond a good home builder — as long as you follow the plans.
There are loads of handy how-to videos and guides to building carports on the web, like this comprehensive step-by-step guide. Take a look at a few if you want a refresher on the building process before you get started.
My verdict?
A carport uses some long sticks of timber and hits some impressive heights. With this in mind, I’d argue that it’s not something you’d want to tackle on your own. So get your mates involved, block out a weekend, and get cracking with your carport. With helping hands, you’ll have it built in no time.