Carport Vs Garage for Homes – Description and Comparison

Many people have the dilemma whether they should build a Garage for their home or just construct or buy a Carport and be done with it. Here we’ll try to shed some light about the two options, compare their differences, pros and cons of each one, cost etc.

Garages are completely enclosed structures that feature a door or a big shutter that provide you and your car access.

Due to their enclosed style, garages keep your vehicle out of everything and anything that the environment may throw at your car.

However, carports, on the other hand, are structures designed with at least two open sides. We can say that they are less secure than garages in terms of access.

Garage Guide

As we discussed above, a garage is a wholly enclosed structure built to store and secure a single vehicle or more than one in the event that the garage has enough capacity to do so.

A garage may be attached to a home or be a freestanding building. The average cost of a garage goes for $50 per square foot; however, according to HomeAdvisor, some homeowners report paying anywhere from $16,000 – $38,000 in total to build a garage for their home.

With that said, there are several types of garage in use today;

Garages are either integrated or detached:

• Detached garages are stand-alone structures that are not attached to the home.
• While integral or integrated garages typically share one or more walls with the home, or they are entirely constructed as part of it, forming parts of the ground floor.

Garage sizes

You could have a garage that is a single, double, triple, or even the tandem type of garage.

• In the United Kingdom, for example, the most common type of garages are single ones. However, they have enough room inside them for a single car, or even a smaller one. Also, some of the garages have enough space for storage or workbench.
• The double garages are bigger and have enough space to accommodate two cars side by side, and you can still open the door of your vehicle (although you can only open one at a time). The garage door is sometimes twice as wide as in a single garage or having two doors that can fit side by side.
• The triple or quadruple garage types are common in places like America, France but rare in the United Kingdom. However, these garage types typically follow the same pattern. They are bigger than the first two having two or more single or double doors.
• The tandem garage is the kind that accommodates only one vehicle. However, they are deep enough to fit two vehicles, nose to tail. These garages are not very popular, and they are a good way of keeping two cars out of harsh weather elements. However, many folks use the extra room for storing stuff, or they use them as a de facto laundry space.

Garage Material

Garages may be constructed from any of the following materials: Timber, concrete, brick, steel, or any other combination of everyday materials.

Advantages of Garages over Carports

Most of the advantages a garage has over a carport come from its enclosed feature:

Garages are versatile

Many garages typically do not even house vehicles; instead, they are used to store belongings or are being converted to a living space, a home gym, or even an office for a small start-up.

They offer excellent protection from the elements.

Having a roof over your vehicles has been the typical standard for weather protection architecture for many years.

Garages are Secure

When installed with high-quality locks, new garage doors can be as safe as the doors of the home itself. This ensures that it’s a safe place for your car and a wide variety of things, including costly equipment.

Garages can also be constructed in a way to match the property.

If the garage is constructed with the house or added later, it can be made of the same materials and in the same style to match the existing home’s appearance.

Carport Guide

Carports are not as formidable as garages; however, in a way, they provide your vehicle with some degree of protection.

Carports serve to keep your vehicle from the wind and rain when not using your car. Unlike garages, carports are typically defined by their materials. 

Metal and Aluminium Carport

A metal carport is typically made of copper, steel, or aluminium. The roof is composed of glass, plastic, or acrylic panels backed by a metal frame, transparent, translucent, or opaque.

A high-quality metal carport constructed by a reliable home maintenance company would be powder coated to protect it from harsh weather elements to ensure that it has good corrosion resistance.

Wood Carport

These types are a little more of a flattened peaked roof, and they stand on four or more wooden support or column frame. In a way, they look so much like garden gazebos; however, they do not have walls.

uPVC Carport

Like the same uPVC doors and windows, the uPVC carport features a uPVC framework. They are always reinforced internally.

Its roof could either be transparent or made from opaque panels. It can also support one or more walls so that it provides an extra layer of protection from weather and wind.

Double Carport

Let’s say you have two cars and you have enough space; then the beautiful double carport would do the magic.

Advantages of Carport over a Garage.

Most advantages a typical carport has over a garage is its less enclosed features and lower cost.

Carports are way more flexible and faster to construct.

Because their design is less stressful and demanding, carports can be constructed quickly without as much advanced machinery or as much professional labour as a garage.

Much lower cost

Since it requires fewer resources and less labour, constructing a carport costs less than building a garage. The average cost of setting up a carport is around $6000 to $7000 for two car size.

However, according to HomeAdvisor, most homeowners spend anywhere between $3,968 to $5,687 on a carport.

Carports are versatile

The open-sided shelter provides a comfortable covering from the heat or storm and is used as a playground, workspace, or barbecue station, as well as storage for a car.

Carports are ventilation friendly

Anything stored in a carport is free from dust and heat. Meanwhile, things stored up in garages can quickly become dusty and may even go bad if there is too much heat.

Modern ones are quite portable and discreet.

Carports are less pronounced structures and have less effect on most new homes’ aesthetics than garages do. There are modern ready-made portable carports nowadays that are sturdy and cost way less than constructing your own, so this is another option to consider.

Comparing both: Garage vs Carports

Yes, Both garages and Carports are superbly versatile regarding their design options. So, the decision in choosing which one to build or design is entirely up to you.

Also, your decision should be based entirely on your exact requirement. Although even as carports seem affordable and less stressful to construct, they serve only a single purpose: To provide some basic protection to your car or motorcycle.

If you want much better protection to your belongings and also want maybe extra storage space etc, then a full-blown garage is a better choice. This of course depends on whether you can afford the much higher cost of building a garage instead of carport.