Need help boarding up car port

[magic_garage]

Hi All,

We are in the process of a home remodel and need temporary space to store our junks. We want to use our car port and temporarily wall up half (~16 ft) the car port opening, just to block the wind and rain. We live in a very rainy and windy area and the car port opening faces directly into the wind and rain. I have two links showing the side view of the car port. The lower hanging section is an I-beam encased with 2x wood and drywall. The bottom of the encasement to the floor is 7 feet. I need suggestions on the easiest and cheapest way to board just the front opening. We already have a solution for the the side opening by the black car, straight ahead in the picture. We plan to setup shelves in that section to maximize space. Again, this is temporary (~6-8 mo) but the opening does get lots of direct wind and rain. Help plz!

Btw, I'm in Hawaii.

Thanks!!

Photo #1:



Photo #2:

 

[bad_idea]

Looks like some plywood and 3" screws to me. Throw a coat of paint over it to make it look decent from a distance and to keep the wood from rotting too. When you are done w/ the carport storage, cut up the plywood for shelves in the garage.

 

[wintermute]

Just convert it to a garage!
See the link in my signature for reference.

 

[Cardboard Man]

I think it would be easy enough to build a wall right in that opening. Since it will be temporary it doesn't need to be anything heavy duty, just a bottom and top plate with studs maybe 24" on center. Screw this wall to the existing wall with a few long screws, then just add plywood sheathing on the outside. Caulk if you feel it's necessary. All that can removed and recycled when you're finished. Should be quick and low cost.

 

[wintermute]

Cardboard's got the right idea, basic 2x4 stud wall: top and bottom plates, studs on 2' centers to reduce materials a bit and some OSB plywood sheathing on the outside. No real need to use pressure-treated lumber as it's going to be temporary. I'm not sure what the OSB would do with consistent rain exposure though.

 

[magic_garage]

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. But i'm barely a weekend warrior so pardon my ignorance.

I figured a 2x stud wall would be one of the solutions, but exactly where would you attach the top plate to? The overhanging joist section or to the encasement? Also, our driveway transitions from an asphalt/tar type surface to concrete slab in the car port. So if you're on the outside of the encasement in photo #2 and come directly down, it's the asphalt/tar section of the driveway. So anchor the bottom plate to that? Will that be solid enough to anchor to?

Also, should I put anything under the bottom plate to prevent water intrusion or at least prevent some from seeping under?

Hawaii is very expensive. I should post some prices of wood. I was thinking of using the corrugated PVC roofing panels (Palram-Palruf) to keep cost down.

 

[bad_idea]

Keep in mind if you use the wood for other projects, it is money saved not wasted. Will you have another use for the roofing panels? I wouldn't want to anchor a temporary wall into my driveway. Perhaps attach a 2x4 at a 90 degree angle to the base plate and pile sand bags on that. Kind of like temporary chain link fences at a construction site.

 

[magic_garage]

Hi. Sorry to drag this thread on but I jus need to know where to attach the top and bottom plate to? If u can see in the pic, top are either floor joist or encasement. Bottom is the asphalt/tar (see previous post). Would weighting it down somehow work too?

Thanks!!

 

[bimmer1980]

I would suggest taking a couple of screws and a cordless drill and drive a couple of screws into the lower part of the beam portion. You want to check and see what that material is. By driving in a couple of test screws, you'll be able to tell if it is a solid wood or if it is wood on steel or just some plywood. You need to be able to hit something fairly solid to hold up the wall.

You might consider building your wall with a slight gap at the bottom. Then hold the wall up and drive some shims under it to snug it up to the bottom of your existing beam. Then drive the screws through your top plate of your new wall and into the solid sections of the beam.

Make sure there is a shim every two to four feet on the bottom. Right next to the shim, you can drive a long screw right into the pavement. Ideally, you would then drill a hold in the wood about 5/16" or 3/8" and then use a masonry bit to bore a hole into the pavement. This should drill pretty easily as compared to concrete. Then you could drive in a large nail (think 5/16" in diameter and 8 to 10" long). This would anchor the bottom of the wall from being blown out. Spacing on this should be about 4 to 6'.

Then you could stuff some foam weather stripping in the gap. This method will keep the wood off the ground and keep it from wicking up the water.

OSB will last awhile exposed to the weather, but painting it would really help. The plastic panels may also work.

best of luck....

 

[rsanter]

How about you do not attach the temp wall
Gt some thin shims like used for installing and squaring door jams
Install the shims opposite of one another from each side and firml tap them in. They will hold like crazy and you have made no perminate holes in your house

Bob