A canopy is useful for protecting a car, boat or any other motor vehicle. If you usually park outside, investing money in a protective structure where to keep the vehicles can extend the life of the vehicles and also increase the value of your home if you build the project according to law. Learning to prepare the ground, design the right structure and build it from scratch is easier than you can imagine. Read on to find out how.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Preparing the Ground
Step 1. Obtain the necessary permissions
Check with the relevant offices in your city to see if your project is up to standard. Additions and constructions on residential properties can significantly change the value of a home, making it important that these works are approved. To obtain the necessary permits you will surely need:
- Deed of ownership
- Permits issued by the competent authorities
- Project drawings
Step 2. Purchase the necessary materials
A canopy can be constructed of wood or metal, depending on the type of rainfall you want to protect the vehicle from. Depending on the climate in which you live, there may be more or less appropriate materials. Feel free to modify the base design and use any available or inexpensive materials for the type of shelter you want to build. It is a good opportunity to experiment.
- Timber treated in an autoclave it may be more suitable for drier climates, but it will also be more durable and can be modified over time regardless of the climate. A well-built wooden structure will be more durable than others. If you want a place to keep the car that will last a long time, then go for wood.
- The structures in galvanized metal they are cheaper and easier to assemble, although less resistant in the long run. If you need a quick and inexpensive solution then this is a good option.
Step 3. Measure the terrain
Enough space for a medium-sized car corresponds to a rectangle of about 5 meters by 3, 5. Point to the rectangle on the ground. A canopy will need six supports, four at the corners and two more in the middle of the long side.
If you have a larger vehicle or need space for multiple vehicles, make the necessary changes to the structure you want
Step 4. Level the ground if necessary
Remove each layer of grass with a shovel, raking the layer below with a metal rake and flattening it using your feet and the same rake. It doesn't have to be a perfect job, but you may want to measure the slope to make sure the ground is as flat as possible.
It is perfectly fine to build on a concrete area or at the end of the driveway. Measure the dimensions of the cemented area to design the canopy according to the available space. You can also build the structure with poles on each side of this area, securing them directly to the ground
Step 5. If necessary, put a cover on the ground
Plain earth is fine, but consider putting a layer of gravel to avoid carrying dirt into the house and ruining the soil around the shed over time. If you don't want to use gravel, consider laying a layer that can prevent grass and weeds from re-growing.
The best idea is to pour concrete or build on an area already covered with concrete. This will give the canopy more strength and will last longer
Step 6. Consider using a prefab
Materials and time can make building a canopy quite a challenging job, meaning a pre-made kit may be more appropriate given your needs and skills.
Metal ones are usually cheaper than wooden prefabs, complete with instructions. They can be assembled more or less in a day
Part 2 of 4: Building the Beams
Step 1. Dig the holes for the rafters
Make holes evenly spaced around the perimeter of the shed, then use post drivers to dig. These holes must be at least 40 cm deep, deeper for greater stability if you live in a very windy area or subject to heavy snow.
Step 2. Prepare the six poles
For the simplest structure use 4 "x 4" poles, at least 2.7 meters high on one side and 3.3 meters on the other, so as to give a certain slope to the canopy to allow it to free itself from the rain. The tallest poles should be planted on the side of the house, in order to draw water away from the foundation.
Pour 10 cm of concrete into the holes, then push the post until it rests on the bottom. Add more cement until the hole is filled. Flatten and make adjustments as the concrete hardens to make sure the beam is perfectly vertical. Let the concrete dry and harden for a full day before nailing the rafters
Step 3. Attach the front and rear beams first
To fix the walls of the shed, you need to build a rectangle about 5 meters long, 3 meters wide and about 2 meters high fixed to the posts.
Secure the two 3-meter poles by nailing them horizontally to the top of the shorter corner poles and extend them to the highest corners, approximately 40cm from their top. Then nail them to the tallest posts using T-shaped hooks found in every hardware store. Before nailing the rafters through the hooks, make sure they are level
Step 4. Secure the side beams
Nail two 5-meter poles on top of the three poles. The beam on the lower side should be on top of the front and back beams that have already been nailed to the top of the corner posts. Using a 2 "x 4" post make a shim to join them, nailing on top of the middle post on the lower side and making the beam level on all three posts.
It's important to make your facility as secure as possible, especially if you live in snowy, windy, or other severe climates. As for the specifics of the weight that the structure must withstand, you must inform yourself about the local regulations. There is no universal way to do this, so always refer to your local guidelines
Part 3 of 4: Building the Roof
Step 1. Attach the joists to the side beams
The six 2”x 4” x 10 'joists that will support the roof can be attached to the base structure in one or two ways: with a notch or a hook. In any case, the front and rear joists must be fixed flush with the front and rear beams. The remaining four should be placed at equal distances along the 5 meter long beam, approximately every one and a half meters.
- The notch method consists in placing the joists on the edge of the beams. Put the front joist in place and mark with a pencil where it contacts the side beam. At that point, use a circular saw to make a notch of about 2 cm, so that when finished, it sinks into the beam. Once you are satisfied with how this first joist sits on the main beam, use this system as a template for the other five. When fastening the joists, angle the nails through the side of the joist and into the beam below.
- To hook them, buy some metal hooks at a hardware store. There are different types and metals that are used to fix the 2”x 4” woods to other structural elements at various angles. The angle in this structure, the one between the joists and the beams, is approximately 25 °. These metal hooks can bend to accommodate small variations, so don't worry if you don't find the right ones. Unlike the notch method, using hooks the joists stay on top of the rafters. The nails will go through the hook into the joist and then into the beam.
Step 2. Attach the roof plywood boards to the joists
Arrange the plywood sheets so that they produce an excess of 6 inches on the front and back of the canopy. This way, the canopy will have a uniform appearance.
- Buy the largest plywood sheets you can find. Typically, the sheets are 1250 x 2500 mm, but sizes vary. The entire surface to be covered is approximately 15 square meters. Cut with the circular saw to produce as few joints as possible. The fewer joints there are, the lower the risks of water infiltration.
- The basic structure of the canopy is 2.7 meters wide and the joists are 3 meters long. It means that once the roof parts are in place, you will need enough plywood for another 6 inches on each side of the canopy. If you want it to be longer, you will need to buy more plywood accordingly.
- Plywood is sold in different thicknesses. You can use ½ inch plywood for this project. If you are afraid it will bend, use the ¾ one.
Step 3. Check that the structure is stable
Now that the roof is in place, the structure should be solid enough. Nothing you do from now on will improve the overall stability of the canopy, so if there is excessive movement you will need to add some supports to the outer structure to reinforce it.
Part 4 of 4: Finishing the Job
Step 1. Insulate the seams of the plywood roof
To protect the structure from the elements, it is good to close all the spaces between the plywood sheets with putty and create a surface as waterproof as possible before covering it with tiles. There is no point in making a canopy to keep the car out of the rain if there are any leaks.
Would it be wiser to isolate the entire structure? Probably, but it would affect costs. Remember, you are building a simple structure to protect your car from dirt
Step 2. Secure the shingles on the plywood pieces of the roof.
Go to the hardware store and purchase enough shingles to put the plywood on top and finish the surface of the canopy. Attaching a waterproof sheet over the plywood before shingling can be a good idea to add a protective layer.
Alternatively, if you don't want to put the shingles, you can skip all the plywood passage and install a metal roof. A sloped aluminum roof is common outdoors and it won't take long to finish it. This can be a good idea if you can handle the look and noise of rain falling on metal
Step 3. Reinforce the joints with metal plates
For greater stability where the parts of the structure join, a good idea is to put metal reinforcements. Hardware stores sell different types of metal plates that can be nailed to different joints, especially where the posts join the beams, where the beams join the joists and other places.
Step 4. Paint the wooden parts
Since you've done all the work, it's a good idea to treat the exposed wooden parts with protective varnish. This will increase the life of the wood so you don't have to redo everything after a few years.
