Carport Inspection Questions

[On1Wheel]

I may be getting ahead of myself, here, but any advice will be appreciated. My wife and I are going to look at a home Saturday that we're very interested in. There aren't any photos of the carport online, except via Google street view (see below) and that is pretty old. My idea would be to enclose the carport adding a man door and two single car overhead doors.

My question is what all should I look at while we're there to determine the practicality of doing this? I know I need to verify what material is on the ground (it looks like concrete) and see about existing electricity. I don't think I'd need water, but it would be nice. There's an enclosed storage addition on the west side of the carport, so it may have electricity run to it already.

Also, do you think I'd be better off demolishing the structure and building a proper shop? I definitely want a garage/shop and depending on the neighborhood building restrictions (unknown at this time), I'd eventually build one either as an extension of the carport or a separate structure. If we buy this house, we'll be here for a pretty long while.

Thanks!

 

[pattenp]

I'd demolish. Flat roofs are nothing but trouble.

 

[On1Wheel]

I scared of them, too. The house has been recently remodeled but I don't know if they've touched the out building. I'll find out tomorrow. I will be budgetarily challenged, so a demo and rebuild will be a long way off. Maybe I could partially enclose it to better protect the cars from the weather and save up for the real deal.

 

[kv501]

I wouldn't demolish, I'd keep it and build a garage/shop. Turning a double carport w/ a flat roof into a building is going to cost a big percentage of what a new one would, especially if you could do a lot of the finish work such as insulation/wiring/walls/siding/etc.

If it were me I'd contract the pad, framing, and roofing. After that I'd do the rest myself.

 

[Zeke]

You need a little more post than that center one to have side by side doors. I'd span the opening with a new beam and get one door. Besides, one door is cheaper. One door opener is half.

 

[Old Moparz]

It may not be the ideal choice to keep the carport & enclose it, but you did say money would be tight for a while. I say keep & make the best of it by considering it a long term, temporary measure. Moving into a new home is expensive & there are always unexpected financial issues that go with it. Our closing alone was $3000 more than the $6000 "good faith" estimate we were given.

If you have electric in the enclosed portion & room for tools & a work space, you'll be okay until you can afford to make major changes that will either modify what you have, or tear it down & start over. Even if there isn't electric, it'll be a reasonable cost to run a conduit from the house to install a sub panel with a few breakers so you can have lights & outlets.

Longer term, you could do what a guy near me did if the overall size of the carport & shop space works for you. The house near me had a flat roof that the owner added trusses to, to install a pitched roof over it. Of course you need to make sure the existing frame & footings can support it, but it could be an option.

I patiently waited close to 10 years from the time we bought our house until the time we built the garage. If I had a carport like the one you posted, that 10 years would have felt a lot shorter.

 

[On1Wheel]

It may not be the ideal choice to keep the carport & enclose it, but you did say money would be tight for a while. I say keep & make the best of it by considering it a long term, temporary measure. Moving into a new home is expensive & there are always unexpected financial issues that go with it. Our closing alone was $3000 more than the $6000 "good faith" estimate we were given.

If you have electric in the enclosed portion & room for tools & a work space, you'll be okay until you can afford to make major changes that will either modify what you have, or tear it down & start over. Even if there isn't electric, it'll be a reasonable cost to run a conduit from the house to install a sub panel with a few breakers so you can have lights & outlets.

Longer term, you could do what a guy near me did if the overall size of the carport & shop space works for you. The house near me had a flat roof that the owner added trusses to, to install a pitched roof over it. Of course you need to make sure the existing frame & footings can support it, but it could be an option.

I patiently waited close to 10 years from the time we bought our house until the time we built the garage. If I had a carport like the one you posted, that 10 years would have felt a lot shorter.

This is the most likely thing I'll do. I hope there's electricity, but not counting on it. I can run the electricity out there but the materials aren't exactly cheap.

They seem eager to sell and the house has been on the market for quite a while (just like everything else around here) so hopefully closing costs can be at least shared.

 

[On1Wheel]

You need a little more post than that center one to have side by side doors. I'd span the opening with a new beam and get one door. Besides, one door is cheaper. One door opener is half.

Very valid point. I like the look of two doors, although cost will of course be a factor.

 

[pattenp]

The picture may be misleading but it looks to me that the carport doesn't have the height needed to handle a typical roll up style garage door. A 7' door needs a little over 8' of clearance for the tracks.

 

[On1Wheel]

The picture may be misleading but it looks to me that the carport doesn't have the height needed to handle a typical roll up style garage door. A 7' door needs a little over 8' of clearance for the tracks.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'll take a tape measure with me tomorrow and see.

 

[On1Wheel]

This is the only photo that shows any of the carport. Getting an idea of scale, I'm afraid pattenp may be correct.

 

[Old Moparz]

If height is an issue there's always the sliding door option that you usually see on a barn. You could build the door yourself, too.

 

[On1Wheel]

If height is an issue there's always the sliding door option that you usually see on a barn. You could build the door yourself, too.

I thought about that but don't think the wife would want to get out of her car to open the door. I'm sure there are opener options for that type of door, though. I should look into that.

 

[On1Wheel]

The cheapest opener for carriage style doors (which would look great with that house) are pretty highly priced. Not too terribly much, though. Didn't look too hard for the sliding style because I don't think that design would work for me.

 

[Old Moparz]

Don't let her talk you into hanging curtains there instead of a door.

 

[On1Wheel]

Don't let her talk you into hanging curtains there instead of a door.

 

[DoyleDee]

I suggest have some friends over to help you do what you need... all it takes is a little manpower.
(if you need a hand, just ask-I'm local)

 

[On1Wheel]

I suggest have some friends over to help you do what you need... all it takes is a little manpower.
(if you need a hand, just ask-I'm local)

I really appreciate the offer, man! Might have to take you up on it.

 

[On1Wheel]

So the viewing went well. We really dig the house and property. Time to talk to the bank.

As for the carport, it was better than expected but some assumptions were true. It does have 120 to it and it has a slab foundation. The roof is pretty flat and there's no way to do traditional overhead doors.

If we buy the house there will be a thread for the remodel.

 

[Oldtymeflyr]

I like the sliding door approach. It may make it useable in bad weather.

Good Luck!

Rick

 

[On1Wheel]

We're a few days away from making an offer on the house so I have one little question. Someone mentioned the slab may not be thick enough to support a new, heavier structure. Generally speaking, is there a way to tell without damaging the slab, such as digging beside it to see how thick it is, etc.? I'd like to know before we make the offer. Going for a final viewing Thursday afternoon. Thanks!

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Along with the roof being low, and flat, there is probably NO foundation in the carport area, most likely just a flat 4" slab, so there is nothing to build a suitable building on.

Carports expect you to have no walls so it will be easy to open car doors. If you build walls, there will be no room to open the doors of your car.

I'm in the demolish and rebuild camp.......................

Also the house has a very shallow roof pitch, which leads to problems of its own.

Charles

 

[On1Wheel]

Along with the roof being low, and flat, there is probably NO foundation in the carport area, most likely just a flat 4" slab, so there is nothing to build a suitable building on.

Carports expect you to have no walls so it will be easy to open car doors. If you build walls, there will be no room to open the doors of your car.

I'm in the demolish and rebuild camp.......................

Also the house has a very shallow roof pitch, which leads to problems of its own.

Charles

I am hoping to at least be able to reuse the slab foundation. It wouldn't surprise me if you're correct that it's not very thick. What's your concern about the roof of the house?

 

[wintermute]

There may be decent footings under the posts (at least I would hope so). Realistically, the hard part is already done (the roof!). Building in walls between the posts shouldn't need much of anything for support as they don't carry any load.

You could get a liftmaster or iDrive torsion jackshaft-drive style opener and a low-profile track kit. I still managed an 8' door in my carport.

 

[marc isoni]

ever watch the tv show holmes on homes or holmes inspection with mike holmes? you should see all the stuff that gets missed on inspections...