In the basement of my house I did't want any posts .I bought some .5 inch x 9
inch x 20 feet long flat bar steel .I then bolted it between two 2 x10
joists.Its strong and straight and I can nail to it.Best of all it only cost
around $100.

The carports here in the southwest are often built from some very light
weight material. The roofs are often made of galvanized corrugated sheet
metal in the 18 - 20 gauge range.The frames that must hold them up are also
on the light side. The kind of structure I'm planning and are really common
down here, could never hold up to any kind of snow load or even be walked
on.
I guess when I said "carport" I thought of one thing and the guys from other
parts of the country picture another. An example of what I.'m thinking of
can be found at
http://www.patiostore.com/homeimprov...rts_Steel.html .

Any thoughts on the framing would be a great help.

Thanks again,

Chuck in Phoenix









"TLKALLAM8" wrote in message
...
In the basement of my house I did't want any posts .I bought some .5 inch
x 9
inch x 20 feet long flat bar steel .I then bolted it between two 2 x10
joists.Its strong and straight and I can nail to it.Best of all it only
cost
around $100.

If you had bought an 'W' shape beam (I beam) with the same weight
per foot (and same price per pound) you could have had a 10" beam
that was TWICE as strong. Before the last runup in steel I could
buy new A36 grade 10"x15 pound per foot for $.35 per pound =$100
for 20' And the 'W' shape is much less likely to buckle sideways
than a wood steel laminate bean.

TLKALLAM8 wrote:

In the basement of my house I did't want any posts .I bought some .5 inch x 9
inch x 20 feet long flat bar steel .I then bolted it between two 2 x10
joists.Its strong and straight and I can nail to it.Best of all it only cost
around $100.