Owning a boat is a great way to have fun exploring local waters with family and friends – but it can be a lot of work to store and maintain. If you don’t have a good plan for how you are going to store the boat you plan to purchase, consider buying a carport for your boat.
With a carport on your property that is specifically intended to serve as a home for your boat, you’ll always have a covered place to park the vessel when it is not in use. Read on for five careful considerations before making your purchase! Or, if you’re ready to start customizing the perfect home base for your boat, explore our free Build & Price tool today.
#1 – Choose a Location
Choosing a location for your carport is the most important part of your project. You need to figure out where on your property this new home base will live and how you’ll get your boat in and out of the carport. Remember, you’ll have to be able to drive right up to the carport to drop off the boat along with enough room to maneuver your boat while it’s on the trailer. Only move forward with the project once you have figured out exactly where the carport will be constructed.
#2 – Consider Legal Issues
You may have to deal with some administrative steps before you can build a carport. For people who live way out in the country with no neighbors for miles, this likely won’t be an issue; regulations are minimal in such areas, but it’s smart to double-check anyway. On the other hand, if you live in a city or a neighborhood with an HOA, there will be plenty of rules to consider. Get this information sorted out from the start before you place an order and schedule a date for construction. The last thing you want to do is take your new carport down because it wasn’t allowed to be there in the first place.
#3 – Get the Sizing Right
If the point of this new carport is to serve as a home for your boat, make sure that it’s big enough to fit your boat along with a few accessories. Remember, you’ll need to back your boat into the carport while it’s on a trailer, so give yourself a little margin for error to be safe. If the carport is barely wider than the boat trailer, you’ll spend a lot of time trying to get perfectly lined up for each approach.
In addition to the width of the carport also consider the length and height of the boat. It’s not only the height of the boat itself that matters but also its height when trailered. Check all these dimensions and allow some margin on all sides to be safe.
#4 – More Than One Purpose?
While you are building a new carport, you may also want to think about designing this structure such that it can do more than just serve as boat parking. For instance, you could create an enclosed space in the back of the carport for indoor storage, or you could make it wide enough to park both your boat and perhaps a jet ski or kayak. The marginal cost of making your carport bigger may be worth it in the end.
#5 – Foundation Decisions
If possible, a concrete foundation is ideal for your new carport. The weight of your boat and the process of moving it in and out is far easier with a concrete pad in place as opposed to loose gravel. Putting the concrete in place as soon as possible will set the stage for a smooth carport installation process.
Design Your Custom Carport
Choosing or designing the right carport for your boat is easy enough when you consider the basic points outlined above. You can be left with a durable, attractive structure that will protect your boat for many years to come.
If you are still interested in buying a carport for your boat, remember to explore our free Build & Price tool.
Have you ever dreamed of creating a man shed that can serve as a place to call your own? Or maybe you’d like to surprise your significant other with this type of space as an unforgettable gift? Whatever the case, it can be hard to think of the perfect idea for a man shed space that will be used day after day for years to come. Read on to discover six of the best man-shed ideas!
If you’d like to use a metal shed for this project, remember to turn to American Carports, Inc. for that piece of the puzzle. Our metal buildings are durable, affordable, and easy to customize thanks to our free Build & Price tool. Start building today!
#1 – A Project Space
When you first think of a man shed, you might think about somewhere that you’ll be able to simply sit down, relax, and enjoy some of your favorite passive activities. And, to be sure, that is a great option for this type of space – and there will be some of those types of ideas listed below.
But that’s not the only kind of man-shed idea that is worthy of your consideration. As an alternative, you could build a project space that will serve as a dedicated location for you to take part in your preferred hobby. For example, if you enjoy woodworking, or would like to learn woodworking as a hobby, you could dedicate your man shed to that endeavor. That’s just one of many possibilities, however, as you could use your shed to make room for nearly any kind of building, crafting, or repairing endeavor.
One thing to keep in mind when thinking about developing a project space is that you’ll need to have the right utilities available in the shed to work successfully. If you need electricity, for example, keep that in mind and plan for it as part of the budget for the shed project. You may also need a water supply, depending on what you’ll be doing. These kinds of requirements aren’t deal-breakers for an idea, but remember to consider all elements before diving in and getting started.
#2 – Build a Collection
Do you love to collect items from a specific brand, or within a general category? If you consider yourself a collector, there is nothing better than having an ideal space to gather up all of those things and display them to be enjoyed by yourself and others. It’s often difficult to fit a collection in your home, and others in your house might not share the same enthusiasm for these items. By making your man shed space for the collection, you get to keep the things you love without impacting others in the house negatively.
As you plan out your shed, keep in mind the needs of your collectibles so you can make sure the space is suitable for their display. Some items will be sensitive to dramatic weather changes, for instance, so insulation might be necessary to keep the items in good condition. Also, do what you can to design the shed in such a way that you’ll be able to still get inside and enjoy the collection once inside. If it is so packed that you can hardly walk around, it will be tricky to use it as a relaxing space, and you won’t be able to show anyone else what you’ve accumulated.
#3 – Get Fit
A man shed is a great place to assemble some workout equipment with the goal of getting or staying fit. Whether you have long loved to work out regularly, or if you are hoping to make this a new hobby to improve your physical conditioning, having a space that is used specifically for this purpose will make your fitness goals a little easier to achieve.
The floor is a key component in a workout area, so be sure that yours is ready to handle the punishment that it might take. Even if you aren’t going to be lifting – and dropping – heavy weights inside the gym, there will still be the weight of workout equipment to support, as well as you running or jumping up and down. To make it more likely that you’ll use the shed for as many workouts as possible, consider including some creature comforts like a means of entertainment or some insulation to regulate the temperature.
#4 – Home Base for a Hobby
Our first idea was to use your shed as a workspace where you can engage in a favorite hobby. This time, we are going to focus again on a hobby, but this time it takes place outside of the shed and likely off of your property. So, you’ll be using the shed as something of a storage area where you can keep all of the things that you use for this activity, and while maybe reserving some space to do basic maintenance or cleaning so you are ready to go each time you head out for a new adventure.
Fishing is a great example of the type of hobby that could be served well by such a space. If you love to fish, you already know that there is a lot of gear associated with that activity. You’ll have fishing poles, lines, lures, weights, and much more. You might even have a small personal watercraft like a kayak to get out onto local lakes. With a carefully-designed shed, you can make a home for all of your fishing gear and you’ll always know where it is and be able to access it promptly.
#5 – It’s Game Time
Do you love to play games? A man shed is a wonderful place to make a game space that can be shared with family and friends. The types of games you choose to put into the shed will depend on what you like to play, of course, as well as how much room you have available. A sizeable shed could serve as a nice home to a pool table, while a smaller space can accommodate something like a dart board or a pinball machine.
In addition to the games, you’ll want to design your game shed such that it is a comfortable place to relax and hang out. Some soft chairs and a small fridge, for example, would go a long way toward encouraging you and your friends to use this space as often as possible. Don’t forget to include some decorations to give it a personal touch.
#6 – Slow It Down
In a world that seems to only move faster and faster, finding a place to slow down and relax is not always easy. By dedicating your man shed to a slower way of life, you’ll always have a place to go when you want to cut off the noise of the outside world and take a deep breath. Whether you want to use this space to read some interesting books or just to be alone with your thoughts, intentionally minimal design will help you make this man shed one of your favorite places in the world.
What it means to slow down and find a moment of peace will mean something different to you than everyone else. Think about what it is you would like to do when you have some time to escape to your man shed and how you would like that time to be different from the rest of your day. It would make sense to include a comfortable chair and a small table – but you might not choose to put much else in the shed. You’ll even want to keep the decorations on the minimal side to avoid creating too many modern distractions that will pull your mind away from the relaxed state that you are seeking.
Start Building Your Shed with American Carports
We hope you enjoyed this guide to the best man shed ideas. By now, we bet your wheels are turning in overdrive with all of the possibilities for this new space. Take some time to sort through your favorite ideas until you develop a finished vision that you just can’t wait to bring to life. For a metal shed that will serve as the home for your new man space, reach out to American Carports, Inc. today! Explore our free Build & Price tool to get started.
For most people, owning a car means parking it outside. If you don’t have a garage – or enough available space in your garage for a vehicle to park – you’ll be leaving it out in the elements day after day. That can work out okay, but some issues may come up over the years, especially in rough climates. One of the most serious issues you can face due to weather conditions is rust. Read on for a guide on how to protect your car from rust.
As a great starting point, consider investing in a carport for your property so you can park under a roof and keep the vehicle dry when not in use. Explore our free Build & Price tool to get started!
Protect the Paint
If you want to protect your car from rust, the first thing you need to do is protect the paint on your vehicle. Why is the paint so important? Simple – it’s the paint, and the clear coat over the paint, that is doing the job of protecting the underlying metal from rust. If holes develop in that protecting coating, moisture will have the opening it needs to get in and start to oxidize the metal.
So, fighting against rust is really a matter of making sure the exterior of your car remains in good condition. For starters, if you see any damage to your paint job, don’t just ignore it and think it’s only a cosmetic issue. Even if you don’t mind the fact that the paint looks damaged, you’d be wise to have this spot fixed because it will restore the protective layer that your vehicle uses to keep rust at bay. Every once in a while, walk around your car or truck slowly to look for signs of damage to the paint and have repairs performed if you notice any problems.
Car Washes Are Important
It might be surprising to find out that getting your car wet can help prevent it from rusting, but that’s exactly the case. When you wash your vehicle regularly, you remove dirt and small bits of debris that could gradually damage the paint – and lead to the issues we were talking about above. With consistent washing, the exterior stays free from build-up and you’ll be less likely to run into problems with your paint and clear coat as the years go by.
On the topic of car washing, consider doing it by hand if at all possible. Yes, driving through a local commercial car wash is convenient, but it’s also a harsh way to wash the vehicle and you might wind up damaging the exterior slightly as a result. It doesn’t take particularly long to wash a car or truck by hand, and the supplies to do so are relatively affordable. Collect a small kit of car washing supplies and get into the habit of performing this task regularly.
Refresh the Protective Layer
When a vehicle drives off the dealership lot, it has a clear coat over the paint that protects the paint job and the metal beneath. Over time, however, that clear coat is going to diminish, and the protection will be reduced. You can build back up this protective layer by waxing your vehicle’s exterior. That’s right – waxing your car is about more than just making it look great, although it will do that, as well. By waxing the car once or twice a year by hand, you’ll restore some protection and help stave off rust for as long as possible.
Park Under a Roof
We hope you enjoyed this helpful guide on how to protect your car from rust! We mentioned this point in the introduction, but it’s worth reiterating here – parking in a protected spot will go a long way toward caring for the condition of your vehicle over the coming years. Parking in a garage is a great idea, but parking under a carport will do largely the same thing at a fraction of the cost.
If you’re ready to protect your vehicle, explore our free Build & Price tool to get started!
