People love to take trips, but sometimes, a short trip just isn’t long enough.  Motor homes are popular sale items because the purchase gives owners the freedom of taking extended tours of places they want to see and experience.  When owners return, it is important to protect their ‘roadway home’ from debris and weather elements.  Manufacturers have developed RV covers to create a canopy over mobile homes.

Depending on your home’s geographic area, a number of outside elements could disturb the pristine look of your mobile home.  For instance, those who live in an area that gets a lot of snow have to deal with removing snow from atop and along their mobile home.  The endeavor can be exhausting when done in conjunction with other snow removal needed around the home and driveway.  RV covers create a layer of protection against snow.

If your home’s lot is large enough to fit a mobile home, then chances are likely that you live in a wooded area.  Leaves, sap, and other debris from trees can dirty or mar the exterior of the mobile home.  When is your next trip?  It may not be for some time.  That leaves your mobile home susceptible to many months of exposure.  Motor homes are expensive; leaving them in the wide open is not a good way to treat expensive possessions.  RV covers are an inexpensive way to protect your valued investment.

Constant sun is not good for your mobile home’s exterior.  A lot of sun beating down on the hood and roof can warp the color.  RV covers provide shade from the sun to keep the exterior looking nice and to ensure the interior and internal temperatures do not get too high.

Take a look through our motor home carports to find a product that suits your liking.  Protect your investment with any one of our RV covers.

Meeting the necessary certification, zoning requirements, and building codes for steel garages is often seen by homeowners as a major barrier to getting the type of structure they want.  While getting required permits and approvals can take some time, getting steel garages put in place usually follows a similar path regardless of the city or municipality in which you live. The process can be divided into two steps:

* The first is to learn your local zoning restrictions concerning the installation of steel garages. Generally speaking, set backs from adjoining property lines and the street will be defined. Another issue will likely concern the distance of the steel garage from the house or other structures on the property. If the planned structure is connected to the home or within a specified distance, fireproofing requirements may have to be met. This aspect isn’t a problem for steel garages due to their high resistance to fire.

* The second step for steel garages is the creation of the building plan. Many manufacturers keep databases of local building codes and certification requirements which can prove to be a huge help in getting the necessary approvals. Certification requirements typically cover the rated snow and ice loads as well as the capacity of the structure to withstand heavy winds. Depending on the specifics of the location of the steel garage, certification can also be required for flooding and seismic activity. These certifications are stamped with an engineer’s approval and then only need to be submitted with the other applications and documentation required by the local zoning board or planning committee.

Prior to signing the contract for steel garages of any type, you should make sure that your structure passes all local building requirements. Making any necessary changes with the manufacturer at this stage will prove to be much easier and less expensive than being forced to alter plans or the building at a later date.

Plan on paying some fees for your permitting process. These fees can range upward from $25 for a permit application with other fees required as the process rolls along. Tight budgets at the municipal level have led to increases in these fees in some places. Keep in mind that whatever you’re paying for your permitting process, it will be a small fraction of what it will cost should you get caught with an unapproved structure after it’s built.

The team at Carport Empire makes the approval process for steel garages as simple as possible. For more information on navigating your local permitting process,  call (800) 985 7678.

Are you an up-and-coming professional music producer? Got a teenage future rock star in the house? Or is Dad aching to relive his own garage band glory days? Whether for professional use or just for fun, you can turn your enclosed metal carport, metal garage or metal building into a working music studio with a few simple soundproofing tricks.

If you’re a frazzled parent who just wants the noise kids call “music” these days to go away, you’ll want to make sure that the enclosed carport, garage or utility building where your teen and his friends will practice is soundproofed from the inside, so you can enjoy your home and garden in peace. If your carport, garage or building is being outfitted as a recording studio you want to keep exterior noises from entering your recording space. It’s important to know which soundproofing method does what. Here’s a quick rundown:

•    Sound Isolation creates a sound barrier between your recording space and any adjacent areas. This typically is achieved by using heavy materials to block exterior noise from coming into your studio.

•    Sound Absorption materials improve sound quality by reducing or controlling echo and reverberation.

•    Sound Diffusion materials distribute sound evenly throughout your space and prevent dead spots, allowing for proper mixing of your recordings.

A top sound controlling method with multiple non-noise related benefits is insulating your metal carport, metal garage or metal building. Fiberglass, foam board and reflective insulation all have noise reducing capabilities, particularly if several layers are installed. Cover your insulation with a sound absorbent drywall product like QuietRock, a drywall/fiber-cement sandwich with a sound-absorbing layer of visco-elastic polymer. If your structure has any small gaps, holes or cracks, seal them with foam board insulation, which can be sprayed either across the entire wall or used to fill in gaps where other insulation types can’t cover.

Cover the walls and windows of your enclosed steel carport, steel garage or steel building with heavy soundproofing blankets, made of insulation with a quilted cover. These are the same blankets you often see in furniture moving trucks and on freight elevators and they can absorb up to 60 percent of the noise in any room. Walls and ceilings of your carport also can be covered with acoustic panels or studio foam – that’s the egg carton-like pieces that you often see in images of recording studios and radio station broadcast rooms.

Floors and doors also are a consideration. Carpet the floor of your carport, garage or utility building, adding a sound-reducing carpet underlayment beneath it. This will help reduce the sound of footsteps and falling objects. Add an acoustic panel to your carport’s metal door, or invest in a soundproofing or sound isolation kit for your metal door or garage door.

If you own or are planning to add an enclosed carport, garage or metal building to your property, consider the benefits of adding insulation. If you plan to use your structure as a workshop, art studio, office, play or recreation room you’ll want to make sure it’s comfortable and energy efficient. Quality insulation is a great way to ensure comfort and efficiency – and it may even put a few dollars in your pocket.

In an effort to encourage energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive construction and retrofitting of new and existing structures, the Federal government, many states and municipalities, manufacturers and utility companies are offering a plethora of rebates and tax incentives. These incentives apply to both residential and commercial builders and owners who install or upgrade insulation and purchase energy-efficient appliances. A great source to find out what’s offered in your area is the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association’s Simply Insulate website.

Insulation of your enclosed metal garage, metal carport or metal storage building offers many benefits:

• Reduced heat flow and costs for heating during the winter and cooling during the summer;
• Reduced consumption of fossil fuels which means less pollutant gas emitted;
• Condensation control, which helps to avoid harmful mold buildup and corrosion of metals;
• Noise control.

Three main types of insulation are best for metal or steel garages, carports and buildings: Fiberglass, foam board and reflective insulation (more on each of these in our upcoming blogs). Made from extremely fine fibers of glass, as its name suggests, fiberglass slows down the flow of heat into your house during the summer or out of your house during the winter. Foam board is sprayed onto walls, roofs and foundations, and can be used in crevices and small areas where other types of installation won’t fit. Reflective insulation makes use of foil to resist heat transfer and act as a moisture-resistant barrier against air infiltration.

Our next few blogs will go deeper into each of these types of insulation. Take a look, then call Carport Empire at 1-800-985-7676 if you have any further questions about the type of insulation that’s best for your enclosed carport, garage or metal building.