Going green is no longer a tagline for the trendsetters, it’s an accepted and expected way of life and it can easily be incorporated into building and outfitting your new metal carport, metal garage or metal utility building.

Simply by choosing a metal structure, you’ve already made a great green choice. Metal construction requires no harmful chemicals such as resin, adhesive, wood treatments or pesticides commonly used in traditional wood frame construction. Metal is highly resistant to water, mold and mildew which can emit harmful toxin into the air you and your family breathe. Metal and steel building elements also are 100% recyclable at the end of a structure’s usable life. And Carport Empire’s metal carports, metal garages and metal utility buildings are built to last – particularly if they’re certified, meaning that they’re engineered to withstand heavy snow loads and high wind speeds.

Metal enclosed carports, enclosed garages and steel utility buildings are easy to insulate, which can help conserve energy, further control moisture and resist pest invasions. Reflective insulation is made with aluminum foil, which is completely nontoxic. Foam board and spray foam insulation contains no HCFCs, VOCs or Formaldehyde and does not settle or give off gasses over time, as do some other sealant products. It completely seals your structure, keeping outdoor pollutants and allergens out, which makes for a healthier hangout space – an important consideration if your enclosed carport, garage or utility building will be used for a children’s playroom, workshop, office or the like.

Lighting your open carport or the exterior of your enclosed garage or metal building can be achieved with solar light fixtures or compact fluorescent bulbs. Motion sensor lights help save energy and money because they’re only on when someone is in or near the structure. If your carport, garage or utility building has a window, use a blackout curtain to help keep out sunlight and heat. And if you’re structure houses your water heater, wrap the heater in an insulating blanket to help contain heat.

To learn more about metal carports, garages and buildings and their eco-friendly attributes, contact Carport Empire at 1-800-985-7678.

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’re planning to add an open or enclosed metal carport to your property, be sure to do a little legwork before your Carport Empire professional installer arrives, especially when it comes to wiring. Although Carport Empire does not provide electrical wiring services, your new or existing structure can be wired for electricity and phone service. Your best bet is to talk with an electrical contractor or telephone service provider first, as your plans, as well as the locations of your existing underground utilities wiring (including not just electrical and phone, but gas lines too) may affect the placement and orientation of your new carport.

In planning your electrical wiring, a prime consideration is lighting. Wiring likely will come from the same wiring that powers and lights your home or existing attached garage, depending on how close your new detached carport is from your house. If your carport is small, one or two lighting fixtures may be adequate. A larger, double-bay or triple-bay metal carport, metal garage or metal building may require multiple fixtures to provide adequate lighting. And if you plan a corner workshop table, for instance, you’ll need to be sure that an electrical outlet for a plug-in lamp is nearby.

If your carport is enclosed, most any standard lighting fixture should work fine. Open carports, however are subject to moisture conditions, particularly in rainy, snowy or humid coastal climates. If your new carport will have an open or partially open configuration, you’ll need to install appropriate outdoor lighting fixtures that are resistant to moisture. Consider adding floodlights around the corners of your open carport, and pathway or driveway lighting in the ground leading up to your carport to help ward off vandals and thieves.

For open carports, solar-powered lighting costs more than electricity-powered lights initially, but will save you money on energy costs in the long run. A solar light with a motion sensor assures the light will come on only when someone is around, then automatically turn off after a period of non-movement. This avoids wasted energy and money when no one is around, plus helps to alert you if a unwanted prowler – whether a thief or a four-legged visitor such as a rascally raccoon looking for a free meal – has approached your carport.

Among the least expensive, yet effective ways to insulate your enclosed carport, metal garage or metal building is by installing reflective insulation. This lightweight, moisture-resistant insulation made with polyethylene foam and aluminum foil acts as a barrier against air infiltration and is resistant to all three types of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation. Carport insulation, when installed properly, it acts as a thermal break, radiant barrier, vapor barrier and sound barrier. These factors mean that it helps keep your structure warm in the winter and cool in the summer, reduces energy costs and condensation, and muffles outside sounds coming into your enclosed carports space.

Developed based on technology first used by NASA, reflective insulation works by reflecting heat away from surfaces, unlike other insulation methods that simply slow down conductive heat transfer. The carport insulation’s aluminum foil content reflects 95 to 97 percent of the radiant heat that strikes it, allowing only three to five percent to be emitted through the installation. This is important in metal carports, steel car cover, metal garages and metal storage buildings because during the winter, heat inside a climate controlled metal structure is reflected off the insulation’s surface back into the building, keeping it toasty inside. During the blazing summers, heat radiated through the roof is reflected off the insulation’s surface back to the roof, never getting inside your structure.

Reflective insulation is non-toxic, fire resistant, mold and mild mildew resistant and helps ward of pests including insects. It can be used in most any area of your new metal carport, metal garage or metal building including stud walls, side walls and around pipes and duct wraps. Since it’s moisture resistant, it can be used with other insulation materials in any type of climate or weather condition. And it’s easy to install, around any enclosed car port, using just pair of scissors or razor knife, staple gun and high-quality foil tape with no protective gear (such as gloves and breathing masks) needed.

Many reflective carport and garage insulation products on the market today are Energy Star qualified and eligible for Energy Tax credits. Be sure to check with your insulation provider or manufacturer for Energy Star certification and tax credit eligibility.