Domino Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Can anyone provide information regarding companies that provide suitable sized carports to put on the side of the house to provide some protection for our van. Alternatively we may consider building one ourselves, so any advice on materials used by other people that have proved suitable/not suitable would be appreciated. Finally, apart from the sloping roof we are considering putting a 'short side', on the front, which is similar to one I saw many years ago, apparently that deflects some of the wind. Thank you in advance.
Hilux Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Seek the advice of the Council as you might need planning permission. H
lennyhb Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 I've always used Master Plastics for supplies found them reliable.
colin Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 We looked at many websites for motorhome ports, only company that gave a quote was several thousand pounds, so built a standalone one ourselves. Ours was built 'light weight' and fully braced, it is roughly 3m high 3m wide and 8m long, 'roof' is 13ft long haevyweight coated tin sheets this was dearest part @ £450, we came out of ground with 8off 4" sq x 4ft concrete fence post spurs bolted to this are 4"sq timber posts, framing for roof is 4x2 timber, the sides are braced with 2"( ?)dia ali tube (from an old poly tunnel), the end is braced with 4x2 timber as is each top corner of each bay, whilst this is at top of hill it is partialy sheltered so wind loading are not too high.
ips Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Dont think you need planning for a car port summat to do with having no ends so not a building (might be wrong though) anyway I built a free standing jobbie for about £400
Mel B Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Funily enough guess what we we've been talking about doing ... You don't normally need planning permission for a car port however it doesn't do any harm to check first as there may be a restrictions relating to where you could place it on your property which you are not aware of. Also you need to check if there is anything in any covenants relating to your property which again may restrict or prevent you having one. I believe to qualify as a car port it has to have 2 sides/ends open but again, double check this as it is some time since we constructed ours! We currently have a carport which is between our 2 single garages (see photo 1) - we did this purposely to allow us to put create the carport for our 'normal' car with our 2 Bond minicars being put in the garages. The car port is 10ft wide and around 17ft long to the back fence, but obviously isn't high enough for the motorhome. As I see it we've got 2 options: 1) Raise the carport to allow the motorhome to go underneath it - about 2ft or so - this would give some side and rear protection to it too and only the cab would stick out, the only concern would be if we can get the motorhome in/our as it is at a 45 degree angle to the drive, we did a 'test run' the other day backing up to the carport and I think it would go as it has a really good tight turning circle. 2) Leave the motorhome where it normal resides which is at the end of the drive (see 2nd photo of our old Rapido many years ago!) and build a carport over there. The only disadvantage is that it would be totally open to the north wind as that is the way our drive faces, although I have considered putting in some tall gates part way down the drive anyway so they could provide this protection, or a 'curtain' at the front of the structure which could be drawn across - as this would not be 'permanent' it should get round the requirement to have 2 of the sides open to qualify as a car port - this is what we did at a previous property. What do you lot think?????
tugga Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 What a lovely lot of room you have Mel, I am dead jealous! I think it would look nicer if you lifted up your current car port and put your motorhome between the two garages, less of it for jo public to see and less risk of anything getting stolen. Plus I think it would look a lot neater. Thats my opinion anyway. It will be interesting to see what others think :-D
tugga Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 What a lovely lot of room you have Mel, I am dead jealous! I think it would look nicer if you lifted up your current car port and put your motorhome between the two garages, less of it for jo public to see and less risk of anything getting stolen. Plus I think it would look a lot neater. Thats my opinion anyway. It will be interesting to see what others think :-D
colin Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 tugga - 2011-10-20 5:59 PM What a lovely lot of room you have Mel, I am dead jealous! I think it would look nicer if you lifted up your current car port and put your motorhome between the two garages, less of it for jo public to see and less risk of anything getting stolen. Plus I think it would look a lot neater. Thats my opinion anyway. It will be interesting to see what others think :-D From that photo, unless theres another way in it looks like an extremly tight turn to get a MH between the garages. On my port 'spec' I should mention we used heavy tin sheets as it's surrounded by large trees, already had a couple of bits of wood fall that would proboly go straight throu plastic
bob b Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 A pal of mine recently built a three car port on his property. The local authority have a height restriction on these type of structures apparently. As a result he had to have a flat roof instead of the pitched roof he wanted. It may be worth checking in your area before construction.
Hilux Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 Tha fact that it is a car port does not mean that you do not require planning permission. You are getting confused between Building Standards and Planning Permission. The two things are different. There are quite distinct rules about these things and if your proposed structure generates neighbour complaints the Council will come around and look at it. You might then be involved with making a retrospective planning application and it can all get rather messy and worrying. For a start Google the words "Planning Portal". This is the Government's web site on Town and Country Planning. Go to the Interactive House. It is a good starting point on the road to finding out if you need PP. It guides you through the General Permitted Development Order which is the Statutory Instrument that gives exemption from the need to apply for planning permission for your specific project. If you think it does not need planning permission then make an application under s191 of the T&C Planning Act for a Lawful Development Certificate. This will ensure that the Council cannot take enforcemnt action against you for building it. If this structure needs PP and you go ahead build this structure without PP, when you sell your house it could cause difficulties. If will have to be erected and complete for at least four years before it is immune from enforcement action. A little bit of effort on research now will save you a great deal of heartache down the line. H
Hilux Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 The point about covenants is also interesting. Some housing developments have clauses which prevent the parking of caravans. However the 1960 Caravan Sites Act draws no distinction between a caravan and a motorhome. So the parking of a motorhomes is caught by the same clauses. H
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.