Adding a carport to your property is one of the quickest and most affordable ways to create shelter for a variety of uses. Carports offer great shelter from the rain or to offer shade on hot summer days, but carports can also perform well on snowy days. In this post, we’d like to talk about how carports work in the snow, and what design elements are important to consider when ordering a new carport.

Look for a High Quality Carport

Carports are good at keeping your vehicles or tools dry, and a carport can offer the same protection. However, snow comes with a different challenge you need to consider: its weight. When snow piles up on a roof, it becomes quite heavy, and that load can threaten the health of the roof. If the structure underneath that snow load can’t handle the stress, the entire structure could come down.

Of course, not all carports are created equal. A cheap, poorly-built carport will be in danger under even a modest snow load, but a quality structure, like those offered by American Steel Carports, Inc., will be up to the challenge. This is one of the many reasons why it’s so important to carefully select your supplier when buying a new carport.

Vertical Roof Design is Important

When purchasing a carport, there are two options for the roof style you add to your carport: vertical and horizontal. Those terms refer to the orientation of the roof panels when they are installed. A horizontal roof has the panels running parallel to the rooflines, from front to back. Conversely, a vertical carport roof orients the panels up and down, with the lines running away from the peak of the roof and down toward the eaves.

For climates where snow is a regular occurrence in the winter, a vertical roof is much more desirable. First, more structure is required to support a vertical roof, so the building will be stronger as a whole and able to carry the weight of heavy snow. As an added benefit, this stronger structure will help your carport fare better in other adverse weather conditions, like high winds.

The other advantage of a vertical roof is found in the way it sheds snow as it falls. Since the panels are running down toward the ground, the snow will be more likely to fall away to the sides of the carport, rather than piling up on the roof. That way, you won’t have to worry about the heavy load sitting on top of the structure, and you can simply shovel or plow the snow away from the sides as needed.

Enclose the Carport on One Side

Snow doesn’t always fall straight down. If the wind is blowing as the snow falls, that snow will accumulate unevenly, and it might make its way under your carport. This would significantly take away from the benefit of having a carport in a cold environment in the first place. To get around this problem, consider adding a side to your carport strategically. Pick the side that is exposed to the prevailing wind during the winter months. That will help to block out the snow and keep the area under your carport free from accumulations.

Make Winter a Little Easier

With a sturdy carport strategically placed on your property, those winter snowstorms won’t seem as inconvenient as they once did. In fact, you might be able to sit back and enjoy watching the snow fall, knowing that your vehicles or other equipment are tucked safely under cover. Explore our Build & Price tool on our site to create and customize your own metal carport. Of course, you are always welcome to contact us if you need assistance and we’ll be glad to work with you on this project. Let’s get started today!