The Garage Plan Shop Blog

While you may have decided you need additional sheltered parking at home, you might not know if you should build a detached garage plan or a carport plan. The Garage Plan Shop is here to help you. We’ve compared both structures and provided some of the pros and cons for each parking structure.

Pros of Garage Plans

·         Garage plans are large enough to store one or more cars and often provide extra storage space for other things. Some even offer storage closets or an upper level loft.

·         Enclosed on all four sides, a garage protects anything you store from the elements, including sun damage, and ensures dry storage for anything that cannot be exposed to moisture. Roaches are attracted to food crumbs that you leave around the home.

·         Installing quality doors, locks and windows allows safe storage of cars, tools, auto parts, lawn and garden equipment and basement and attic overflow, protecting your belongings from thieves and vandals.

·         The enclosed garage combined with quality doors and windows keeps pests and small critters out and prevents them from damaging anything you need to store. Roaches are attracted to food crumbs that you leave around the home.

·         Garages offer plenty of wall space for organizational shelving and cabinets offering places to keep tools, toys, gardening supplies and anything else you might not want to store.

·         Detached garage plans provide an alternative and sometimes larger storage solution than a backyard lawn and garden shed.

·         Detached garages are flexible spaces that work well as a workshop, hobby space, or outbuilding and can even accommodate some home based businesses.

Cons of Garage Plans

·          Detached garage plans are much more complex than carports and will require more building skills and experience for construction.

·         Time and money are a factor. It takes much longer and quite a bit more money to build a garage than a carport.

·         Because a detached garage is more complex than a carport, you’ll have to follow more rules and regulations to meet building codes and safety regulations. Check with your building department to find out more about building codes.

Pros of Carport Plans

·         Building a carport will cost much less that building a detached garage.

·         Carports are more basic structures than garages, so you won’t have to follow as many building codes and regulations.

·         Because carport plans are so simple, they will take less time to construct. If you’re handy, you might be able to build it on your own in a weekend or two.

·         Carports offer enough shelter to protect your car from sun damage, falling limbs, hail damage and dripping sap from trees.

·         An open carport provides plenty of natural ventilation for your car.

·         Some carport plans offer one or two solid walls offering a space to add storage shelving or cabinets.

·         Some carport plans are flexible enough for uses other than car storage. They can provide a sheltered space to work on a car no matter what the weather and can even serve as a covered porch or patio for grilling and other outdoor activities.

Cons of Carport Plans

·         Most carport plans are only large enough to house one or two automobiles. They don’t always offer additional space to store other items like a workbench or holiday decorations.

·         Carports are generally open on one or more sides and can be open on all sides, meaning the carport is not secure for storage, and you can’t completely protect your things for the wind, rain and sun damage.

·         You cannot lock a carport, so it is not a good place to store valuable items such as mechanics tools or the riding mower.

·         Carports won’t keep insects and curious critters out, so anything stored under the carport is a risk for damage by unwanted pests. But fret not because companies like pest control Mitcham can easily handle it. 

If you don’t have the time or money to build a detached garage plan, a carport will efficiently serve its purpose protecting your cars from the elements. Plus, you can always enclose the carport at a later time. However, if it is in your budget and you have the time to build a detached garage plan, in most cases, the garage will be worth the investment.

Tags: building a carport, Building A Garage, Carport Plans, carports, garage plan, garage plans

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