Structure To Serve Dual Purpose

Sometimes a person can realize two goals by building a structure that satisfies a need and a want all at the same time. We already had a one-car garage attached to the house, but we wanted a second shelter to protect our other vehicle from the weather. As well, I’ve always dreamed of building an upper level deck on my home, with access only through an interior upstairs door. Last summer, we began working on a project that will give us not only an enclosed space for a vehicle but that will ultimately satisfy my desire for an upper level haven.

We began by planning a carport with the idea that we would construct the roof sturdy enough to hold a sun porch and surrounding deck. We had the ideal set-up, as between the east wall of the house and a small outdoor shed we had 12 feet of open area, with the south end opening out onto the existing driveway. This allowed enough space to park a second vehicle after we built a structure to house it, and it also gave us the opportunity to consider placing a sun porch on the roof of the completed carport.

We sunk six 6’x6’ treated posts in the ground at strategic locations, three on each side of the intended carport. We then set more 6’x6’ timbers lengthwise on top of the uprights to attach the roof. These timbers are strong enough to support a sturdy roof as well as anything else we wanted to place on that completed roof. We then built a roof, spacing the rafters close enough together to supply strength. We also added a few inches of extra overhang at the east edge of the roof to allow for more space for the porch and deck we plan to add at a later time.

Once we completed the roof, we added the north wall and put in an east wall around the ends and over a small portion of the top of the small shed. This completed the basics of the carport and allowed us to have a spot to park a second vehicle.

It took several weekends of work to complete this first phase of our project, but we felt the result justified the effort. We met our goal of completing the car port before winter’s arrival, and now we are in the stage two planning process.

This summer we plan to complete the second and final phase of this project. We will erect a sun porch and put up railing around the perimeter of the roof. This will give us a private enclosed sunny spot to enjoy as well as an upper level deck.