Carport again

super99 · May 3, 2017

OK, I was wrong, the braces are aluminum, the tube frame is 12 gauge steel. It is a Tri State Carport, 21x24 with screw in anchors. I had 4 longer braces made for the 4 corners. They are fastened with #12 by 3/4 self tappers. A couple of the braces, the holes a worn clear thru from the movement of the building. Now I am thinking about welding steel braces in to keep it tight, tho it would be possible to drill and tap holes, just need something stronger than aluminum for the braces. It faces east and west and sets about 12' from the garage on the south side of the garage. I have thought about covering the sides, but wouldn't that just make a bigger target for the wind?? How heavy of angle or channel should I use if I replaces braces with home made ones? That's all for now, I'm so tired I can barely stay awake to type. Chris

fixerupper · May 3, 2017

Going on down and enclosing the sides will strengthen the structure quite a bit.

Hobo,NC · May 3, 2017

I don't have any braces on mine if the wind blow's it away I will turn it into my home owners insurance.... Six three ft long re bar are all that hold it to the ground Its had 20" of snow on it and went thru a few hurricanes. If you just gotta weld 1/8" X 2" angle iron it be as good as you need to stiffen it up.. Thicker is your call you will just make it stiffer in one place and weaker in another..

Yes closing in the sides will stiffen it up...

Traditional Farmer · May 3, 2017

Strange you've had all that trouble,I have 4 of the more rounded roof type that are 18 X 21 for over 10 years now as goats shelters.They've survived 28" of snow at one time,regular high winds and a
Hurricane and still are fine.

tn terry t · May 3, 2017

If you don't drive thru the back you could x brace it across the back would help a lot. installing metal down the sides would help the back to front movement bunches. it wont do a lot for the side to side movement

kcm.MN · May 3, 2017

Several thoughts here:
1) First of all, those don't look like they would provide adequate structural rigidity even if they were steel. You could replace them with some steel channel of the same dimension, but I would put thru-bolts with lock nuts.

2) I would also make replacement braces a bit longer than original - like maybe 6" to 10" longer in each direction - 12" to 20" overall longer braces.

3) you could take some rebar or other cheap steel and weld up a super stiff brace for each end that would follow the contour of the building. Could make the web about 6". When done, just bolt the bracing trusses to the inside of each end using adequate bolts/nuts, so as to still be able to disassemble if ever needed. This would narrow your opening height by about 4" and the width by about 8", but looks like there's still ample room to get in and out.

I don't know about there, but if we had one of those here, it'd better be anchored securely to the ground, otherwise it'll probably end up in the next county....or Canada!

Geo-TH,In · May 3, 2017

Wow, 28 inches, That's a lot of snow load for something that looks light weight.

big tee · May 3, 2017

Looks the same as the one I had posted, The one I posted was made in Texas but they probably come out of the same factory but have different names. Well good luck to you and I am going to order a 18 x 21 with the 12 ga. option. It will be sitting on a concrete pad so I'm hoping for the best. Thanks---Tee

Northvale PA · May 3, 2017

I would agree the movement fatigued the braces. Just put longer, stronger ones in.

MARK ROBKE · May 3, 2017

My brother recently bought one that looks identical to yours.It was real wobbly the day it was put up.He secured one end to an existing building,which encloses that end.he set 2 posts in that end and braced it 6 ways from Sunday,using long 2x4s.He also anchored it better to the ground.No more wobble.Mark

tractorguy2 · May 3, 2017

Looks like mine. Mine is steel. I put 3/4sides and one end in mine. carports that are completely open are useless in my opinion. They don't block the sun and do very little to keep things dry.

Mike M · May 4, 2017

Looks like the one my mother-in-law has. I even moved it once. Hers may not of seen the wind yours has ?
I hate the way the roof panels are on those as water will leak thru them at the seems.

BarnyardEngineering · May 4, 2017

Through-bolting won't achieve anything, because the tubing will collapse under the bolts. That's why it's screwed.

Nut-serts, machine bolts, and loctite might work better.

Gotta keep in mind that that is not a permanent structure, so it wasn't built to last forever.

dhermesc · May 4, 2017

Looks like they may never have been tight.

I have a 21 X 18 unit just like that. I've moved it once and the wind flipped it over onto its back - I flipped it back over and pinned it to the ground again. I don't have the issues you appear to be having.

BobReeves · May 4, 2017

I closed one like that in on 3 sides, cost about $300 for the metal and it really made it rigid. We also get wind, 40 to 50 MPH is pretty normal during a thunder storm, and days like today 20 MPH sustained with 30MPH gusts.

All I did on the back side was bury a 4x4 treated post couple feet in the ground packed with gravel in the center. I had a couple pieces of metal left over from cutting for the sides so I doubled up on the bottom of the back side just to add a little strength to the unsupported bottom. Hardest part was cutting the metal to fit the top curve on the back side.

Carport again

super99

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fixerupper

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Hobo,NC

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Traditional Farmer

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tn terry t

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kcm.MN

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Geo-TH,In

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big tee

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Northvale PA

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MARK ROBKE

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tractorguy2

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Mike M

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BarnyardEngineering

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dhermesc

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BobReeves

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