The Kubota just plays a supporting role in this story, but I thought folks
might be interested just the same. Carport Construction
might be interested just the same. Carport Construction
Pier forms are a good idea. I wish I had known about them before doing the project. A friend had mentioned them to me after the engineering was already done. One lesson I learned from the project is that engineering really messes things up. An engineer makes a profit on small jobs by recycling previous project. So you don't get the best/easiest/strongest/cheapest design for you, but just what was done for the last guy. You can pay a lot for custom engineering but then you've transfered a pot of money from the building cost bucket to the engineering cost bucket. The two best alternatives I think are either find a way to avoid any requirement for engineering, or learn how to do all your own engineering and then take it to a compliant engineering who just checks your calculations and stamps your drawings (usually not practical).
One lesson I learned from the project is that engineering really messes things up. An engineer makes a profit on small jobs by recycling previous project. So you don't get the best/easiest/strongest/cheapest design for you, but just what was done for the last guy. You can pay a lot for custom engineering but then you've transfered a pot of money from the building cost bucket to the engineering cost bucket. The two best alternatives I think are either find a way to avoid any requirement for engineering, or learn how to do all your own engineering and then take it to a compliant engineering who just checks your calculations and stamps your drawings (usually not practical).