There is nothing more frustrating to Calgary homeowners than having to defrost your car throughout winter, or having to dig it out of the snow after the latest big storm. Not only does this take up a lot of time, but unless you’re willing to invest in an automatic car starter or go outside half an hour before you need to leave to start the engine, you’re also putting your car at risk by driving on cold oil. It makes sense, therefore, to find a way to cover your car and keep it warm during the long Calgary winter, and there are a few options.
It’s Time For a Carport
You might be one of the lucky few with attached garages on your property, but for many this is an expensive option and one that can be hard to put through the local planning laws. A carport is a cheap way to get your car the coverage it needs. They are free standing post and beam structures that go on top of your driveway and keep the worst of the winter weather away from your vehicles. They can be built to any size, and have a quick installation time as they only require the post, beams and roof to be complete.
Top Carport Designs
The typical carport design is a simple rectangle that covers all your vehicles. Any carport should be somewhat bigger than the footprint of your car so that you have space to get in and out, as well as reducing the overall space that you need to shovel during the winter to keep you and your family on the go all season long. There’s plenty of options to make it match the needs of your home:
- Attach it to your house – a carport has to fit into the aesthetic of your house if it’s to add any value to your selling price. For most Calgary carport owners, this means attaching the carport to your home. Not only will this allow you to blend the structure into your home, but it also means that you can save construction costs as you’ll only need to dig two posts. Make sure that you match the shingles on your roof to the design of your carport roof.
- Add solar panels – speaking of roofing for your carport, you can make it a much more eco-friendly design by covering it in solar panels. Incorporating solar panels into your carport design is the perfect time to generate your own power as all the wiring and connections to your home’s electrical system can be done during the install process. It might also be the right time to consider adding solar panels to the rest of the roof to boost your electricity earning potential.
- Install additional storage – finally, a carport can resemble more of a traditional garage with only a little bit of extra planning. You’ll need to work out which way the wind blows on your carport site, and then find some solid outdoor storage options that will face away from the wind. This will give you a place to keep your snow shovelling gear as well as any power tools that you need for your yard work.
Surviving the Calgary Winter
Most Calgary homeowners will choose to build their new carport during the warmer months when it’s easier to spend time outside and the ground is more compliant for anchors and digging. However, your carport really comes into its own during the seemingly endless Calgary winters. You will need to make a few edits to your carport tent design to help your new structure withstand the snow and ice.
Roof Pitch
One of the common mistakes in many DIY carport tent designs is to build your carport with a flat roof as it’s easier to install. However, snow and ice are always surprisingly heavy, and will quickly cause problems for the integrity of a flat (or studio) carport roof especially during a period of multiple back-to-back snowstorms. To help keep your carport standing all winter long, you’ll need to pitch the roof enough so that the majority of snow and ice falls off. If your carport is attached to your home, you need to make sure the roof is sloped in one direction away from your home. If it’s free standing on your driveway, it should have an A frame look so that the snow slides off on both sides to avoid massive snowbanks and ice packs that will take forever to melt.
Reinforced Frame
Even with a sloped roof, there’s no escaping some of the heavier snow storms that will cause a build of snow and ice no matter the pitch of your carport roof. The weight of the snow over the course of a day or two can be enough to put severe pressure on the internal structure of your carport which in turn can lead to long term damage of your posts. To counteract this, you should invest in a reinforced frame as you’re creating your carport tent design. This can involve choosing a more sturdy material for your posts, or creating thicker posts with two separate structures to distribute any sudden additional weight.
Side Panels
Finally, as any Calgary homeowner knows, snow doesn’t just drift lazily down from the sky. The combination of heavy snowfall and Calgary’s infamous winds means that it can sometimes come in sideways, so you need to design your carport to be ready for this. Full scale walls would be the ideal option, but these drive up the cost and complexity of carport tent designs, so flexible side panels are the way forward. These can be made from vinyl, plastic or tarpaulin depending on your budget and aesthetic preferences. Attaching them to your carport is easy, and you can use staples, bungees or even cable ties to make sure that they stand up to the worst of the winter weather while being quick and easy to remove once springs rolls round.
