How to Attach Fabric Carport Sides
Carports are a great way to keep the sun off your car. If you add sides, it helps protect against rain, dust and snow, and can be used as a storage space as well. To create a more secure place for your car and other valuables, you can make your own carport walls. First, you'll want to consider exactly how impermeable you'd like them to be. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 7-foot ladder (or taller, if necessary)
- Measuring tape
- All-weather fabric (number of yards depend on size of carport)
- Tent stakes
- Heavy-duty snap buttons, zippers or grommets (number/yards depends on size of garage)
- Screws
- Flat washers
- Electric screwdriver
Instructions
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Measure the length, width and height of your carport. Determine how secure you want the carport. If you are looking to shade the car, then maybe you only want to hang fabric on two sides. If you want to create a more secure carport, then you will want to hang four fabric walls. If you are trying to keep the elements out of the carport, you will want to consider sewing a heavy-duty zipper to the tops and sides of your all-weather fabric. On the other hand, if you are only looking for shade, then heavy-duty snap buttons will be a simple solution for you. After deciding on which option suits you best, calculate how much all-weather fabric is necessary to cover your carport. If you are going to be adding snap buttons, allow an extra 5 inches on the top and side hems where you'll snap the fabric walls together. Your measurements will need to be even more precise to sew a zipper on the sides.
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Sew the all-weather fabric to customize your carport walls using the above considerations. In addition to sewing the all-weather fabric walls, you'll need to add a support strip of all-weather fabric that will be permanently attached to the interior of the carport support beams. This strip should be the length of each side of the carport and about 5 inches high. If you will be securing the fabric walls with snap buttons then space the snap buttons 1 foot apart, starting at the ends and working your way to the other side.
Remember that the other side of the snap button on the wall piece need to have the same spacing for a nice hang. If using a zipper, sew one side of the zipper onto the support strip and the other side onto the wall piece. It will be helpful to start the sewing with the zipper zipped together, that way the ends match up perfectly.
In addition to the buttons and zipper you will need to put heavy-duty grommets into the support strip placed above the buttons or the zipper. These should be placed every 2 - 3 feet apart. The grommets will be used to nail the fabric to the interior of the carport and help from wear and tear on the fabric.
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Screw the strip of fabric with the grommets directly to the interior of the carport side support beams. Start on one of the ends by placing the strip of fabric about 5 inches from the bottom edge of the carport side support beam. Screw the strip of fabric in place by sliding a washer on the screw and then drilling it into the center of the grommet with an electric screwdriver. Continue to repeat this step until you have secured all the grommets to the side carport support beams that will have hanging walls.
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Snap or zip your all-weather fabric walls to the support strips. You should now have a carport with secure weather-proof fabric walls. If you would like to secure the walls even further you may consider sewing a loop onto the bottom of the walls on each end (consider one in the center of the fabric depending on the length/width of the carport), pull tight and drive a tent stake into the ground to help stabilize the fabric from wind.
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