Building Types
Metal Carport
Written by Gary Thompson · Steel Building Research EditorSteel Building Research EditorReviewed by Find Steel Buildings Editorial Team
Overview
Quick Overview
Category
Vehicle & RV Storage — grouped with the buildings planned the same way.
Common uses
Uses vary by project; the planning sections below cover the common ones.
Common footprints
Footprints vary widely; the sizes below are common starting points rather than limits.
Sizes
Sizes Commonly Considered for a Metal Carport
Useful starting points based on how this building is normally laid out — not a limit on what can be built.
Use
What Can a Metal Carport Be Used For?
Height clearance
Interior height and door height are the deciding dimensions for tall vehicles.
Drive-through
Doors at both ends avoid reversing a trailer or coach.
Service space
Extra length beyond the vehicle allows for work and walk-around clearance.
Enclosed vs open
Open covers and enclosed buildings suit different climates and contents.
Planning
Planning Decisions
Footprint
Width and length are chosen together: width is usually fixed by what has to fit side by side, length by how many bays are needed.
Height
Eave height is commonly the governing dimension here, because clearance for the tallest item sets the door and the wall.
Access
Where vehicles and people enter changes the whole interior layout, so access is settled before anything else.
Doors and openings
Opening width, height and position are specified with the supplier; they affect the frame and the wall bracing.
Site
Slope, drainage, access for delivery and erection, and the foundation are confirmed for the actual property.
Expansion
Extending along the length is usually simpler than changing the width later, which is worth deciding up front.
Gallery
Explore Example Configurations
Example configuration — for planning purposes only.
Related
Related Building Types
State guides
Metal Carport Guides by State
State-specific planning guides for this building type, written from each state's own conditions.
- Carport in Alabama
An open-sided carport in Alabama has no walls to help carry lateral load, which puts anchoring and siting at the center of the decision in a state NOAA describes as humid subtro...
- Carport in Alaska
An open-sided carport has less structure to absorb a bad winter than an enclosed building, so in Alaska two things get decided before a size or color: roof geometry and what the...
- Carport in Arizona
A carport in Arizona spends most of the year doing a simple job — keeping a windshield out of direct sun — and a few weeks a year doing a harder one, because the National Weathe...
- Carport in Arkansas
Arkansas is really two landscapes stitched into one state, and that matters more to a carport buyer than any single weather figure does.
- Carport in California
A carport is mostly open air, which is exactly why California's regional climate split matters so much for one.
- Carport in Colorado
Colorado is not one climate zone for a carport — it is two, joined by a very tall gradient in between.
- Carport in Connecticut
Connecticut is the third-smallest state by land area — 4,842.4 square miles at the 2010 Census — and that single fact governs most carport projects here.
- Carport in Delaware
A carport's open sides mean weather has a more direct path to whatever is parked underneath than it would with an enclosed garage, which makes Delaware's geography and climate r...
- Carport in Florida
An open-sided carport puts more of the wind-load question on the posts and their footings than an enclosed building does, because there are no walls sharing the load.
- Carport in Georgia
A carport is a simple, open-sided structure, but where it sits in Georgia changes the real planning questions.
- Carport in Hawaii
An open-sided carport has no wall system to help it shed lateral load, and in Hawaii that structural fact meets ground that is, without exception, volcanic in origin.
- Carport in Idaho
A carport in Idaho is easy to draw and harder to site correctly, because the state's 82,643 square miles cover three genuinely different landscapes: the volcanic Snake River Pla...
- Carport in Illinois
Illinois asks two different questions of a carport depending on where you're standing.
- Carport in Indiana
Indiana calls itself the Crossroads of America for a reason: its transportation and warehousing sector alone counts 171,310 jobs, about 6% of total state employment, and it has...
- Carport in Iowa
A carport in Iowa is a critical defense against the state's extreme weather, but it must be more than just a roof on four posts.
- Carport in Kansas
In Kansas, a carport is a specialized shield against a landscape defined by extreme weather.
- Carport in Kentucky
For the owner of one of Kentucky's 69,425 farms, a carport is a vital tool for protecting equipment from the state's 45.2 inches of annual precipitation.
- Carport in Louisiana
A carport is a simple structure, but a Louisiana carport sits in a climate NOAA describes as being struck by a hurricane on average once every three years, inside a subtropical,...
- Carport in Maine
An open-sided carport in Maine spends its winter doing the one job a garage's walls don't have to worry about as directly: shedding snow off an unsupported roof.
- Carport in Maryland
A Maryland carport's first siting question depends on which of the Maryland Geological Survey's three named physiographic provinces the lot sits in — Coastal Plain, Piedmont, or...
- Carport in Massachusetts
A carport in Massachusetts has to do more work than keep rain off a windshield.
- Carport in Michigan
In Michigan, a carport isn't just for shade; it's a critical defense against lake-effect snow and the ice storms that define Great Lakes winters.
- Carport in Minnesota
A Minnesota carport project starts from one of the more demanding winter climates in the country.
- Carport in Mississippi
A Mississippi carport spends most of the year shedding rain rather than snow, so the design conversation that matters most is drainage, ventilation and anchoring against documen...
- Carport in Missouri
A carport is a small structure, but in Missouri it still runs into the state's core planning quirk: there is no single statewide mandatory building code, and county commissions...
- Carport in Montana
Montana's 147,040 square miles are cut in two by the Continental Divide, with the Rocky Mountains rising through the west and rolling high-plains grassland running east toward t...
- Carport in Nebraska
A carport in Nebraska has to answer for two things a homeowner in a calmer climate rarely thinks about: shedding a meaningful snow load off an open-frame roof, and standing up t...
- Carport in Nevada
Nevada is the driest state in the country according to NOAA's own State Climate Summary, but 'dry' does not mean 'the same everywhere.' The two long-record NOAA stations that an...
- Carport in New Hampshire
A carport in New Hampshire sits under some of the heavier snow totals in the Northeast, and often on ground that was wooded before it was a driveway.
- Carport in New Jersey
A carport is an open structure, so it lives or dies on two things: whether it fits the driveway it is meant to cover, and whether it is built for the weather that lands on it.
- Carport in New Mexico
An open-sided carport in New Mexico earns its keep mostly by cutting sun and dust exposure on everyday vehicles, not by shedding snow.
- Carport in New York
A carport in New York is planned around two different realities depending on where the parcel sits.
- Carport in North Carolina
North Carolina doesn't have one climate or one terrain — NOAA's own narrative traces the state's progression from the Atlantic Coastal Plain, through the rolling Piedmont, to th...
- Carport in Ohio
Planning a carport in Ohio is a direct response to the state's variable climate and its mobile industrial workforce.
- Carport in Oklahoma
A carport in Oklahoma is built against a landscape that NOAA NCEI itself describes as split: a southern Great Plains character across most of the state, giving way to the Ouachi...
- Carport in Oregon
An open-sided carport does one job — keep weather off whatever sits under it — and in Oregon that job changes shape depending on where the parcel is and what the ground beneath...
- Carport in Pennsylvania
A carport in Pennsylvania is decided twice: once by the terrain under it, and once by the township that will review it.
- Carport in South Carolina
In South Carolina, a carport's most important job is fighting the sun.
- Carport in Tennessee
A carport in Tennessee is a smaller structure than a home or a storage building, but it still sits on the same varied ground, so the same regional questions apply before you fix...
- Carport in Texas
A carport is the most wind-exposed structure most Texas buyers will ever put up, because it has no walls to help carry lateral load — the anchoring and the frame do all the work.
- Carport in Utah
Utah is administered under a genuinely uniform statewide code structure — the Division of Professional Licensing and the Uniform Building Code Commission work from the same Stat...
- Carport in Vermont
A carport proposed in Vermont has to answer to the ground before it answers to a parts list.
- Carport in Virginia
Virginia's carport buyer sits between two diverging trend lines.
- Carport in Washington
A carport's only job is keeping weather off a vehicle, so the state it sits in matters more than for almost any other structure.
What this page answers
Specifying an open-sided metal cover: leg height, panel orientation, anchoring and how much of it to enclose.
A carport is the one steel building where almost every decision is about what is left out. There is no wall diaphragm, so the roof style, the leg height and the anchoring carry the whole specification, and the most common buyer mistake is choosing a footprint before choosing how many sides stay open.
Roof style changes what the cover can be asked to do
A regular roof follows the frame with rounded ends and horizontal panels. A boxed-eave roof squares the ends off. A vertical roof runs panels down the slope so water and debris shed along the ribs rather than across them — which is the reason it is normally chosen for longer or wider covers.
Leg height is the specification buyers under-order
Standard legs are sized for a car. An RV, a raised truck, a boat on a trailer or a tractor with a cab need the leg height decided before the footprint, because raising the legs later is a frame change, not an accessory.
Anchoring depends on the surface, and it is not optional
Concrete, asphalt and bare ground each take a different anchor. On an open cover there is no wall to resist uplift, so the anchoring detail is the structural connection — the supplier specifies it for the surface and the site.
Decisions
The decisions this page is here to settle
Planning guidance for an early-stage decision, not a specification.
Open, partly enclosed, or a garage?
Each closed side adds panel, adds a diaphragm and changes what has to be permitted. Buyers who want a lockable, weathertight space almost always end up at an enclosed garage; a carport is the right answer when ventilation and unobstructed access are the point.
How many vehicles should the width be set for?
Set the width by vehicle envelopes plus the door-swing margin between them, not by vehicle count. The configuration pages below work through what each count actually needs across the width.
What decides whether a permit is needed?
The local authority, on floor area, siting and whether the structure is anchored — thresholds differ by jurisdiction and are confirmed there, not from a national guide.
Go deeper
Where the detail continues
Each page below answers one question this page deliberately stops short of.
- 2-car carportWhat two vehicle envelopes plus a shared margin needs across the width.
- 3-car carportWhere the third bay forces a frame change rather than a wider cover.
- 20x20 carportThe two-bay square footprint, measured.
- 20x30 carportTwo bays with working depth behind them.
- 20x40 carportTwo across and two deep, and what the second row costs in access.
Related
Where the neighbouring questions are answered
Each link goes to the page that owns that question, so nothing is answered twice.
Where cost is handled
This page does not price the building
What a building costs depends on specification, site, freight and supply at the time of quoting, so cost is handled in its own silo rather than estimated from a building type or a footprint.
Keep planning
Configurations covered in more detail
Each page below works through one footprint or configuration on its own terms.
- carport, 1 carA single carport is the smallest structure where the post positions matter more than the cover. What to settle before quoting a carport, and which decisions c
- carport at 12 by 20 ftPlanning a 12x20 carport: what 240 sq ft holds, how the 12 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 20 ft length divides into bays.
- 12x24 carport layoutPlanning a 12x24 carport: what 288 sq ft holds, how the 12 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 24 ft length divides into bays.
- 12x30 carportPlanning a 12x30 carport: what 360 sq ft holds, how the 12 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 30 ft length divides into bays.
- the 18x40 carport footprintPlanning a 18x40 carport: what 720 sq ft holds, how the 18 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 40 ft length divides into bays.
- carport at 24 by 24 ftPlanning a 24x24 carport: what 576 sq ft holds, how the 24 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 24 ft length divides into bays.
- 24x30 carport layoutPlanning a 24x30 carport: what 720 sq ft holds, how the 24 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 30 ft length divides into bays.
- 24x40 carportPlanning a 24x40 carport: what 960 sq ft holds, how the 24 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 40 ft length divides into bays.
- the 30x30 carport footprintPlanning a 30x30 carport: what 900 sq ft holds, how the 30 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 30 ft length divides into bays.
- carport at 30 by 40 ftPlanning a 30x40 carport: what 1,200 sq ft holds, how the 30 ft width affects span and door width, and how the 40 ft length divides into bays.
- 4 car carport guideFour bays is where a carport stops being a cover and becomes a structure. What to settle before quoting a carport, and which decisions can wait.
- insulated carportInsulating an open structure is mostly about condensation, not warmth. What to settle before quoting a carport, and which decisions can wait.
- carport, single slopeA single-slope cover sheds one way, which is sometimes the entire reason to choose it. What to settle before quoting a carport, and which decisions can wait.
- the vertical roof carport pageVertical roof panels change how a cover sheds, which is why the option exists. What to settle before quoting a carport, and which decisions can wait.
Plan the detail
Configurations worth reading before you quote
Each page below works through one configuration on its own terms, with the decisions that change a quote.
Planning reference
Dimensions to check before you commit to a size
Reference pages that work through the measurements behind this decision, with every figure computed or cited.
Weighing options
Compare this against the alternative
A side-by-side walkthrough of the decision, written for buyers rather than engineers.
Definition
What a metal carport is
An open-sided steel roof structure covering parked vehicles. An open-sided steel structure that shelters vehicles without enclosing them.
As a use pattern it behaves as vehicle shelter and parking, which is what separates it from a same-sized building serving another purpose: Extra length adds parking bays; extra width is what allows vehicles to sit side by side without pinching circulation.
The metal carport definition above is this platform's own editorial typology, written for homeowners and property managers adding covered parking. It contains no price, no code requirement and no engineered capacity.
Use patterns
What a metal carport is used for
- Covered vehicle parking
- Equipment shelter
- Covered working or loading area
The use pattern decides which dimension is the constraint. For metal carport projects the interior height question is driven by the tallest vehicle parked inside, measured with roof racks, antennas or a raised tailgate, and the layout question by vehicle depth plus a door-swing allowance sets the minimum usable length, not the vehicle length alone.
This page is written for homeowners and property managers adding covered parking.
The decisions that actually distinguish a metal carport from a generic enclosure of the same footprint are Number of open bays, Whether one or more sides are later enclosed, Anchoring method for an open structure. Those are the items to settle before comparing quotes.
Dimensions
The dimensional envelope recorded for metal carport projects
Planning envelope recorded in this platform's metal carport taxonomy
| Width | 12 to 30 feet of widthPlanning envelope, not a manufacturing limit |
|---|---|
| Length | 20 to 40 feet of lengthExtends along the bay module |
| Eave height | 7 to 12 feet of eave heightClearance below framing is lower than the eave |
The metal carport ranges above are planning envelopes from this platform's typology. They are not engineered limits, not code minimums, and not a claim about what buyers most often order — a specific metal carport can sit outside them.
For a metal carport the width figure is the one to argue about, because it fixes the clear span carrying the tallest vehicle parked inside, measured with roof racks, antennas or a raised tailgate; length is the forgiving dimension, growing in bay increments along the sidewall once Number of open bays is settled.
Configurations
How metal carport projects are configured
Configuration for a metal carport comes down to how the enclosed volume is divided and where it opens. The openings that usually get framed are overhead vehicle doors on the gable end, one walk door for daily access, sidewall windows where daylight matters.
- Vehicle depth plus a door-swing allowance sets the minimum usable length, not the vehicle length alone.
- Two vehicles parked side by side need a working gap between mirrors, which comes out of the width rather than the length.
- Anything stored along an end wall converts parking depth into storage depth, so it belongs in the layout from the start.
The parking and circulation allocation allocation above is an example model for metal carport planning, expressed in percentage shares. It is not survey data and does not describe a majority of projects.
Components
Components a metal carport specification turns on
- Number of open bays — decided before comparing products
- Whether one or more sides are later enclosed — decided before comparing products
- Anchoring method for an open structure — decided before comparing products
- Standing Seam Roofing
- Roll-Up Doors
- Framed Openings
- Gutters & Downspouts
- Concrete Slab
- Ridge Vent
- Red Iron Framing
- Purlins
Sizes, spacings, gauges and capacities behind Number of open bays are engineering outputs for one metal carport, produced by the manufacturer for the design loads at that site.
Code and permits
Permitting questions a metal carport raises
A metal carport raises its permitting questions around Number of open bays and vehicle shelter and parking: whether the work needs a permit, what it is set back from, and which occupancy classification applies are all decided by the authority having jurisdiction for the parcel under the code edition it has adopted and amended.
- Which code edition the jurisdiction has adopted, and its local amendments
- Whether the use classification changes with occupancy or conditioned space
- Site-specific setbacks, easements and zoning conditions
- Design wind and snow criteria assigned to the site
No requirement, setback, wind speed or snow load is stated as fact on this page. Confirm each item with the building department for the parcel before ordering.
Comparison
Types buyers compare this against
- Metal Garage
- Detached Metal Garage
- Boat Storage Building
- RV Carport
- RV Garage
- 3 Car Metal Garage
- 2 Car Metal Garage
The nearest comparison in this platform's taxonomy is metal garage. Compare the two on Number of open bays first, because that is where the two use patterns diverge rather than in the label.
The comparison that matters is rarely the name but whether the alternative changes Number of open bays or Whether one or more sides are later enclosed. Those are the items that carry cost and lead time on a metal carport.
FAQ
Questions about metal carport projects
An open-sided steel structure that shelters vehicles without enclosing them.
Count parking bays across the width, allowing a working gap between vehicles and clear space at the walls rather than dividing the total area by a vehicle footprint.
Yes. The framed opening, track and operator all consume space above and behind the opening, which is why the door package belongs in the layout discussion rather than in a later change order.
Start from the working footprint covered vehicle parking needs, then check the width against the tallest vehicle parked inside, measured with roof racks, antennas or a raised tailgate. Width is the constraint to settle first; length can extend along the bay module later.
That is decided by the authority having jurisdiction for the parcel under the code edition it has adopted, and for a metal carport the answer often turns on Number of open bays. Confirm with the local building department rather than relying on a national answer.
Methodology
Basis for this page
Sources and methodology
Find Steel Buildings dimensional records
Find Steel Buildings · Primary platform dataset · Tier 1 — code authority, standards body, primary dataset or manufacturer engineering
Supports: Stored nominal width, length, eave height, roof pitch and slab thickness for this subject.
International Building Code and International Residential Code
International Code Council · Model code · Tier 1 — code authority, standards body, primary dataset or manufacturer engineering
Supports: The framework of adopted codes and local amendments that decides permitting, separation and opening requirements. Cited as the governing framework, never as a local requirement.
- Dimensional figures: Width, length, eave height, roof pitch and nominal slab thickness come from this platform's stored record for the subject. Floor area, perimeter, wall area, roof area, ridge height and slab volume are computed from those inputs rather than transcribed.
- Typology: The definition, use list, decision list and allocation model for the metal carport category are this platform's own editorial typology, maintained as first-party planning guidance.
- Allocation and layout models: Layout splits are arithmetic on the stored footprint, published as example allocation models. They are not survey findings and do not describe what buyers most often choose.
- Clearance and opening guidance: Clearance and opening statements are planning guidance. Final dimensions depend on the selected door system, header detail and the manufacturer's engineering for the building.
Methodology notes
- Prices: No price figure appears on this page. Cost data is published on this platform only with a documented inclusion basis, a collection date and a named source.
Purchase format
Kit or installed?
The same building, bought two ways. What changes is who carries the assembly and the coordination.
Carports are sold both as kits and as installed covers, and because the structure is light the gap between the two routes is narrower here than on an enclosed building. A kit arrives as tubing or framing members, roof panels, fasteners and anchoring hardware, cut and marked to the design. An installed carport is the same package with a crew who sets it, squares it and anchors it on the day.
Anchoring is the detail that decides more carport outcomes than any other. What holds the structure down depends on whether it sits on a concrete slab, on asphalt or on ground, and the anchor type has to match both the surface and the wind requirements at the site. Suppliers do not all include the same hardware, and some specify it without supplying it, so ask which anchors are in the price and what the drawings assume the surface will be.
Access matters more than buyers expect on an open structure: a crew still needs room to work around the footprint, and a self-assembly route still needs a level, measured pad. Everything outside the cover — the slab or pad, permits where the jurisdiction requires them, and any later enclosure of the sides — remains a separate scope in both routes. Confirm each line below with the supplier rather than assuming it, since packages differ.
Kit, installed and turnkey compared
| Criterion | Kit (materials) | Supplied and installed | Turnkey |
|---|---|---|---|
| What arrives | Framing, panels and fixings | Package plus an install crew | Cover plus site work |
| Who assembles it | You, or a crew you hire | The supplier or its crew | The contractor |
| Anchoring | Hardware supply varies by supplier | Usually set by the crew | Inside the contract scope |
| Site and pad | You prepare and level the pad | Pad still yours to prepare | Included in the contract |
| What to confirm on the quote | Whether anchors are supplied or specified | Surface assumed by the install price | Which site work is named in the scope |
Package contents vary by supplier. Confirm each line in writing before comparing prices.
For how packages are scoped in general — what is routinely included, what is left out and the terminology used on quotes — see steel building kits.
Continue your research
Related planning topics
Background reading on the questions this page raises. None of these pages sells anything.
Explore sizes for a metal carport
Start from the footprints this building type is normally specified in, then price the one that fits your site.