Carport Plan

All carport projects start with a carport plan.  Your house needed a plan to get built so why wouldn't your carport?  You may think that this construction is not a complex or large as a house, but do not be fooled, you still need to build it to construction standards that meet the needs of your local building authority.

There are many ways to create your carport plan, and here are the most common:

Carport Kit

If you decide to build a carport that comes pre made in a box, you may receive a set of plans for free.  It will depend on your local building authority if these are good enough.  There is no way of telling this in advance other than to contact them and see what they have to say.

Engineer

If you are designing something custom made to your needs you can engage an architect to create them for you.  This will mean top marks for originality in design, but like anything customized to your tastes it will be the most expensive.

Builder

If you are lucky, the builder of your carport will drawing up the plans at no extra cost.  This is a bit of a lucky dip because it may range from him or his wife drawing them up (with or without any formal training), through to a professinal he may employ to do this on his behalf.  If you choose this route always ask the question who and ask for examples of the designs before committing to any agreement.

Owner Builder

If you intend to build the carport yourself, and you are handy with a pencil and paper, then you may want to think about drafting up your own carport plan.  I have done this successfully myself, so it can be done, but please make sure you check with you local building authority first to make sure you cover all the issues they require.

It is clear that you ahev quite a few options to design your carport plan.  Some may cost you a few dollars, and other may be cheaper but cost you some time.  Whichever method you choose make sure that you get the carport you are looking for because once it is built it is too late.  Having built several carports in different ways I recommend starting with the professionals. A good start is to get some free quotes.