Carport Installation: What Uneven Ground Means And How To Level An Installation Site

Blog

A carport helps to provide safe and secure storage for your vehicle. It protects your vehicle from various harsh environmental elements, such as wind, rain, hail, and snow. This can do wonders at protecting your overall investment, as the carport prevents damage that could have otherwise occurred to your vehicle had it not been installed as an additional layer of security. However, to ensure that your carport is able to provide proper accommodation and security for your vehicle, it is imperative that you prepare the site before it is installed. This includes leveling the ground because uneven ground can result in a number of problems. Read on to learn these problems and how to level the installation site.

What Can Happen with Uneven Ground

There are two main problems that you'll run into if you install a carport on uneven ground.

1. The Carport Structure Will Be Top-Heavy.

If the ground below where the carport will be installed is uneven, then the carport will not be balanced. This often results in a top-heavy structure, which leaves it susceptible to harsh weather elements like hailstorms and high winds. This compromises the safety of the carport as well as the items beneath it, such as your vehicle. By leveling the ground prior to the installation, you will dramatically increase the carport structure's stability to withstand wind, rain, and other weather elements.

2. It May Create Misalignment.

For carports with vertical roofing systems, it is crucial that the panels and ends align. If the installation site is not level, then alignment is not going to happen. Now, proper alignment is important because it ensures that no leaks occur. In addition, if you have any plans on enclosing and installing doors on your carport structure in the future, alignment ensures that the doors will open and close properly. 

How to Level the Site for Carport Installation

In order to prepare the site for the installation of your carport, here is what you need to do: 

  1. Using a tape measure and spray paint, mark the area where the carport is going to be installed. Ideally, you should go just outside the size of the actual carport to account for any off-measurements in the carport. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
  2. Put a ground stake at each of the four corners to secure the corners. Locate the stake with the highest point, and measure a certain number of inches above the ground (such as four or five). Tie a piece of string there. 
  3. Then, use string to connect the stakes to one another by going from one to the next and tying the string at the number of inches that you measured at the first stake. Make sure to pull the string tight and leave no slack. 
  4. Start at your first stake with a string level and place it in the middle of the strings. You can then adjust the string at the second stake until the bubble in the level is in the center. You will then need to measure the inches from the ground to the string at each stake. This will help you determine where you need to add or remove dirt in order to level the site. Repeat this for all corners.

For more information, reach out to a company that makes or installs carports.

Share

22 May 2017

protecting your cherished items in storage

Storage units make it possible for us to hold onto the things that we aren't quite ready to let go of. Whether you have moved into a smaller home, or your collection has simply outgrown the house you are in, a storage unit can make it possible to keep the things that you love. If you pack and store things properly, you don't have to worry about pests, heat, cold and moisture damaging the things that you have stored. This blog will show you how to protect your belongings by teaching you how to pack and store things in a way that will protect them.