Deciding To Build An Aluminum Carport

The decision to build our new aluminum carport wasn't easy but it has turned out to be the best improvement we have made to our home in over 20 years.  It has turned out to be much more useful than we had anticipated and it is worth every penny of the cost.  At first we had considered a few different options, from an attached garage, to a wooden carport, but we decided on an aluminum carport in the end.

A few years ago, our part of the country had a very rainy year. As my partner and I made the mad dash to the car dozens of times over many months we started to covet our neighbor's underground garage. The idea of keeping dry was very appealing. Throughout that rainy year we began to discuss the possibility of adding a carport to our existing home. Shortly we were convinced and committed to a carport and started to plan in earnest.

We started doing some online internet searches for carports to educate ourselves about the various options. Initially we both assumed that we would construct a wooden carport that blended in with the façade of our home. We saw some handsome models online and decided to get some quotes from local contractors. We soon realized that the cost was going to be prohibitive and we went back to the drawing board.

We had come across some sites that offered aluminum carport kits. The manufacturers also included delivery within five days. The cost of these kits was almost too good to be true as it was approximately 20-30% of the cost quoted by the contractors for a wooden carport. After a bit of online research we found a manufacturer in our area that happily gave us the names of people in our area that had purchased from their company. We visited the various pre-constructed models and were very impressed by the quality and workmanship.

We hired a local guy to assemble the kit when it arrived but in hindsight we could have easily assembled the carport with a few friends. From the time the carport arrived until it was totally assembled took only 2 days. I should mention that we hired a local company to pour the cement slab 2 weeks before our carport kit was delivered. The company that we chose our carport from offered a range of anodized colors and we chose a color that perfectly complimented our siding.

I couldn't be happier with our new aluminum carport. The carport is sturdy, attractive and was very reasonably priced. I have added some locking cupboards at the back and they make a perfect and secure place to store items we used to have to lug to the basement such as golf clubs. I would heartily recommend aluminum carports kits to anyone who might be interested in adding a carport to their existing home ... even if you don't even have a car yet! (this cute site is blogging about getting a new Porsche, but before getting the Porsche they are researching aluminum carports)