Frequently asked questions

In most North Florida counties a carport is treated as a structure that needs a building permit, with plans checked for compliance with the state building code. The county will usually want engineer-stamped plans showing the design wind loads for your lot, along with the anchoring detail. Confirm with your building department before ordering any cover.

That depends on how it was engineered and installed. Wind getting under an open roof pulls upward, so the anchors and their spacing count for as much as the steel. A carport built and anchored exactly to sealed drawings for your site is the starting point, but no open cover should be counted on to protect a vehicle in a major storm.

A certified carport comes with drawings sealed by an engineer that state the wind and snow loads it was designed for and how it must be anchored. An uncertified one has no such drawings. Building departments that permit carports generally want the certified kind, and an insurer may ask for the drawings too.

Most residential carports use square or rectangular steel tube bent into bows or joined at the corners, with roof panels fastened across. Larger RV covers sometimes use heavier frames. The tube size, steel thickness and bow spacing all follow from the engineered loads.

Rounded and boxed-eave roofs with panels running side to side are the simplest. A vertical roof, with panels running from ridge to eave, sends rain and leaves off faster and gives water fewer laps to leak through, which is why it is common on longer carports and those drawn for higher wind.

Measure from the ground to the top of the RV's air unit or its tallest antenna, then add room to drive under on an uneven approach. Leg height sets the clearance at the sides, and the roof pitch adds a little more toward the center.

Sometimes, if the frame was designed for it. Walls change how wind pushes on the structure, so a carport engineered as open-sided may need more anchors or bracing before panels go on. Mention any plan to enclose it when you first ask.