hawkeye_45
Aug 16, 2017, 05:48 AM
Hi all, new here. I have a bit of a plan, but I have no idea whether it's structurally sound.
Just purchased my first house with a garage, but it's a single-car. To avoid races with the wife, we've decided to build a two-car carport and use the garage as a work space. The only place with enough lateral room for this is directly in front of the garage where the driveway is already located, which is pretty severely sloped; I'm talking an inch of drop for every foot. We could level that area, but then it would look like this: http://i.imgur.com/zD3czGl.png
We decided that building a carport with different-height posts is going to be easier than leveling all that. So here's the plan I've come up with: http://i.imgur.com/D4g89Tj.png
That's a side view of it, so it's only showing half of the plan and no roof. We're going to rely on experts for the roof but save some money by putting in the posts and connecting them ourselves. I'm in Tennessee, and the frost line is only about 8 inches here, but I still plan to dig down 2 feet for the... piers? Pilings? Footings? Concrete forms? Not certain. At any rate, I plan to add 6 inches of gravel to the bottom and use concrete forming tubes to make a concrete form. While the concrete has just been formed, I plan to use post bases set into the concrete to secure the posts later. Here are the bases: Simpson Strong-Tie PBS 6 in. x 6 in. Galvanized Standoff Post Base-PBS66 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-PBS-6-in-x-6-in-Galvanized-Standoff-Post-Base-PBS66/202092496)
That's mostly because I fully expect someone to run into one of the posts and damage it, and it'll be much easier to replace that post if it isn't cemented into the ground. Additionally, it'll be much MUCH easier to cut the posts to their final length if we can remove them from the bases and cut them on the ground instead of on a ladder on a slope.
We'll be using 6x6's for the posts and 2x10's for the... stringers? Runners? Front-to-back-connection-whatsits? Anyway, now that I've laid all this out, here are my questions:
Are these post bases under-engineered? Should I consider something like Simpson Strong-Tie 12-Gauge Black Powder-Coated E-Z Base-FPBB44 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-12-Gauge-Black-Powder-Coated-E-Z-Base-FPBB44/100655350) instead? Is there a better option I haven't considered?
Since I'm going with 6x6 posts, will I be okay with an 8-inch form tube, or should I up it to 10-inch tubes?
Is there anything structurally unsound about my plan that you have seen or read? Do you have any more questions?
Thanks in advance.
Just purchased my first house with a garage, but it's a single-car. To avoid races with the wife, we've decided to build a two-car carport and use the garage as a work space. The only place with enough lateral room for this is directly in front of the garage where the driveway is already located, which is pretty severely sloped; I'm talking an inch of drop for every foot. We could level that area, but then it would look like this: http://i.imgur.com/zD3czGl.png
We decided that building a carport with different-height posts is going to be easier than leveling all that. So here's the plan I've come up with: http://i.imgur.com/D4g89Tj.png
That's a side view of it, so it's only showing half of the plan and no roof. We're going to rely on experts for the roof but save some money by putting in the posts and connecting them ourselves. I'm in Tennessee, and the frost line is only about 8 inches here, but I still plan to dig down 2 feet for the... piers? Pilings? Footings? Concrete forms? Not certain. At any rate, I plan to add 6 inches of gravel to the bottom and use concrete forming tubes to make a concrete form. While the concrete has just been formed, I plan to use post bases set into the concrete to secure the posts later. Here are the bases: Simpson Strong-Tie PBS 6 in. x 6 in. Galvanized Standoff Post Base-PBS66 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-PBS-6-in-x-6-in-Galvanized-Standoff-Post-Base-PBS66/202092496)
That's mostly because I fully expect someone to run into one of the posts and damage it, and it'll be much easier to replace that post if it isn't cemented into the ground. Additionally, it'll be much MUCH easier to cut the posts to their final length if we can remove them from the bases and cut them on the ground instead of on a ladder on a slope.
We'll be using 6x6's for the posts and 2x10's for the... stringers? Runners? Front-to-back-connection-whatsits? Anyway, now that I've laid all this out, here are my questions:
Are these post bases under-engineered? Should I consider something like Simpson Strong-Tie 12-Gauge Black Powder-Coated E-Z Base-FPBB44 - The Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Strong-Tie-12-Gauge-Black-Powder-Coated-E-Z-Base-FPBB44/100655350) instead? Is there a better option I haven't considered?
Since I'm going with 6x6 posts, will I be okay with an 8-inch form tube, or should I up it to 10-inch tubes?
Is there anything structurally unsound about my plan that you have seen or read? Do you have any more questions?
Thanks in advance.