New Carport

[DickThomas]

Hey Dick, I live just north of Dallas. I think our carport had a inch of snow on it once. So what do I know about snow load? I certainly don't disagree with your numbers, but it seems to me that your calculations took the total weight of those people and spread it evenly over the entire carport, when in reality each person's weight was concentrated on one square foot or so; i.e., that person's two feet. And then of course, other parts of the carport had no weight on them at all. How would that alter your calculations, if at all?

RE: one inch of snow - Point taken, Bird! Sometimes, snow load isn't a concern - I'll bet you've had more weight in ice loading than in snow loading

RE: Concentrated vs average loading: The concentrated loading of one man on his 2 feet would be be of more concern in figuring penetration - seldom a problem on a roof, but consider if you were standing in the attic on the drywall ceiling (?straddeling a joist ?) instead of standing on the joist.

Averaging the load over then entire roof considers the structure holding everything up. The usual failure mode in snow loading is that one structural member fails when unable to support it's share of the load, which places higher loading on another . . . Dominoes!

DMACE - RE Live vs Dead load - I understood just enough of that in school to be dangerous - I'm a chemical engineer and mostly handle that stuff with the old "a 4x4 seems OK?, Use a 6x6!" approach

DickT

 

[Engine66]

I looked into T-N-T and it seems like a great product. I'm going to do it...period. The rep I spoke to told me that Vermont area gets an extra post (6 vs 5) for the 18wide by 21 deep gable (B) model. I'm going with the heavier gauge steel.

QUESTION to you guys who have them. Did you guys consider the vertical roofing option? Also, does the (B) type come in the same size range as the others? I am going to order the vertical metal roofing which is a $300 option...that keeps the ribs from holding back the snow from sliding down the roof.

Unfortunately, my zoning administrator takes any type of building very seriously and requires a full-blown 5 page permit, inspection, the works. ANY assembly of materials is considered a structure...and must be permitted. Even a pre-fabbed plastic shed requires a permit, fees, inspection with measuring tape, and a "pretty please with sugar on top" attitude to get approval. A neighbor of mine built a garage for $3,000....maybe it's 20x30, simple stick built with T-1 siding and metal roof. He told me it was appraised by lister for $30K for property tax purposes. Ouch... I think this type of carport will help me avoid such a hit and give me the shelter I need.

 

[RollTideRam]

I bought mine from gaport.com They don't list Vermont but you can look at another state to figure options. I got the vertical roof and boxed eave style. I does not cost much more to go taller. I even went 5' longer. JC

 

[BTI]

We have sold a few of these.
If you are worried about snow load, you can ask them if you can buy extra bows for them.
They will pretty much build them any way you want.
They can even put the steel on the roof with the ribs of the steel up and down instead of long ways.
This helps the snow come off much better.


BTI

 

[Bob_Young]

I've been thinking of one of these as a firewood shelter. Getting tired of trying to burn damp wood and the makeshift arrangements for keeping it covered haven't worked that well...in addition to being eyesores. Anyone using theirs for firewood? Stone floor sounds about right with old skids to keep the wood up a little.

I thought of devoting half to two-thirds of it to firewood and then leave one side open so as to back in implements from the side.
Bob

 

[Bird]

Did you guys consider the vertical roofing option?

I can understand that being a worthwhile option some places, but I didn't consider it because I knew we'd never see enough snow to worry about it. In fact, I didn't worry about heavier gauge metal even because I only wanted shade in the summer to keep the interior of the vehicles from being so hot, and protection from rain when getting to and from the vehicles. Of course having a roof over the vehicles also almost entirely stops any dew from forming on the vehicles at night.

 

[Dmace]

QUESTION to you guys who have them. Did you guys consider the vertical roofing option?

If I had seen that option, I probably would have gone with it to help with snow removal. Since the ribs of the roofing run along the roof line, I leveled the ground so that it had about a 5% slope towards the rear of the carport. When it rains, the water flows right down the roof and off the backside.

Today it got another 8" or so of snow on top of the 6" that was already on it. Boy is it nice not to have to clean off the truck before plowing, and the load of sand in the back doesn't get all wet and frozen either.

Pics to following once the sun comes up again.

 

[Northland]

I've been thinking of one of these as a firewood shelter. Getting tired of trying to burn damp wood and the makeshift arrangements for keeping it covered haven't worked that well...in addition to being eyesores. Anyone using theirs for firewood? Stone floor sounds about right with old skids to keep the wood up a little.

I thought of devoting half to two-thirds of it to firewood and then leave one side open so as to back in implements from the side.
Bob

I had this eye-sore, small pole barn made when I had my garage built. It works well for my firewood but now I need a larger one to house my tractor and tent trailer as well as the firewood. So, I am going to dismantle it and rebuild it twice as large and farther away from my house.

 

[Engine66]

Is crushed rock ok for a foundation when there's frost in the ground? I figure the whole enchalada will lift a few inches, but a shed I have that's 12x16 has had no problems in the frost and it sits on crushed stone. I'd like to avoid having to pour a monolithic slab and was thinking a well-compacted bed of 3/4" crushed stone mixed with smalls and fines would form rock hard like my driveway. Any thoughts?

 

[Dmace]

The whole driveway where my carport sits is 1/2" crushed gravel which is also known as "road base". I don't see having just crushed stone as a base being a problem, just as long as the structure has a good base/foundation and is not just a few posts sitting on the ground.