Back Exterior & Back Yard

Carport Progress: Rafters & Roof Design (And How The New Ties Into The Old)

Last Updated on June 5, 2021 by Kristi Linauer

There has been some serious progress made on the carport in the 15 days since I last updated you. In fact, I think the last time I showed you any progress here on the blog, it looked like this…

carport progress - large concrete pad for parking plus new wheelchair ramp for Matt

That wasn’t really a carport. That was just a whole lot of concrete. It’s not really a carport without a roof.

But now, it’s starting to look like an actual carport! They got the posts put up and the massive triple LVL beams in place, bolted together, and tied into the existing studio framing. The back wall of the studio has also been reframed to its new eight-foot height. And then, the most exciting part was seeing the rafters being built. That’s when everything really started coming together.

For over a week now, it has looked pretty messy and confusing because of the too-long tails on the rafters and all of the bracing used to keep everything square…

But yesterday, things really started taking shape. The long tails of the rafters were cut to the proper lengths and finished out, and all of the bracing (with the exception of the braces still left on the two posts) was removed. I had to take this picture with the panoramic setting on my iPhone to get everything in the frame, so the rafters look a little bit curved. I promise that they’re actually perfectly straight. 🙂

But if you’ve had trouble visualizing how the carport was going to tie into the original roof, now you can actually see how it’s coming together. This is what I started out with…

There was the original roof of the garage (now studio) that had a standard pitch (probably 5/12). And then at some point, the back storage room (now the mudroom and half bathroom) was added on, and whoever built it just started the roof at the low part of the original roof and slanted it down slightly so that the back wall was only about seven feet high.

You can see in the picture of the original back side of the studio (two pictures above) how the roof sits just above the doors and windows, leaving barely enough room for trim on top of the doors and windows.

But now the roof of the carport ties into the original studio (garage) roof, with the top ridges of the carport roof and the studio roof meeting at the same height, which means that the carport roof completely covers over that awkward flat roof extension over the back of the studio.

So much better, right? This looks completely intentional, and not like an afterthought.

If you look just above the doors, you can see the new back wall framing. The horizontal boards are the new top plate of the wall, so they still have to add the joists on top.

Right now, most of the original flat roof is still in place. They just cut away enough of it to tie the carport beams into the original framing of the studio, and to reframe the back wall.

The rest of the flat roof will be removed eventually, but they don’t want to do that too soon because it will leave the studio literally wide open to critters. It would also be open to rain until they get more of the new rafters covered.

And of course, there’s the little issue that if they removed the flat roof prematurely, anyone with a ladder would be able to climb right over that exterior wall and right into our house. So for now, the flat roof will stay intact until they get a little further along.

So that means that the changes on the inside haven’t been quite as exciting. You can see here that the original flat roof rafters are still there and the decking and shingles are still on there as well. They just cut enough away so that they could raise the framing of the wall with new, taller 2 x 4’s and add a new double top plate at the new height.

But when you’re standing inside the back area of the studio, you still just see the original low ceiling. I’m very anxious for it to be removed so I can actually see the new wall height, but I also completely understand why they can’t rush that part. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if that roof were gone right now.

And finally, let me show you how the side view has changed. This is what it looked like originally…

And now that same view looks like this…

You can still see hints of that awkward flat roof under the new carport roof, but that’s mainly because of the white piece of trim that’s still there. That little bit of siding and trim under there will be replaced so that no hints of that flat roof remain.

The progress is exciting! Sadly, it’s supposed to rain quite a bit this week, so I doubt there will be much progress made over the next few days. But it’s getting there! I can’t imagine that it will be much longer before it’s finished.

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30 Comments

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  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Eileen
    June 19, 2018 at 9:37 am

    What a difference and what an impact this is going to make on the whole house and especially all the new space you will have. Wonderful.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    C L Hays
    June 19, 2018 at 9:46 am

    Are you going to lower the carport ceiling to a flat surface for storage or finish it as a vaulted ceiling .

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Loretta Zamer
    June 19, 2018 at 9:48 am

    This is very exciting. It looks great…I am interested in the size of the slab. It is hard to tell in the picture.

    Thanks Loretta

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    susang
    June 19, 2018 at 9:51 am

    how will the area at the end of the ramp be covered?

    • Reply To This Comment ↓
      Kristi
      June 19, 2018 at 9:58 am

      It won’t be. I mean, I guess I could build some sort of trellis above it eventually for partial cover, but it won’t have a roof over it. There really wasn’t a way to work around that (at least not a way that I was satisfied with), so I’m okay with it being exposed. We don’t have a lot of rainy days here, so the likelihood of Matt absolutely needing to use that ramp while it’s raining is pretty low. If we were still in Oregon, that would be a different story. 🙂

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Debs
    June 19, 2018 at 9:54 am

    Fabulous!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Dee
    June 19, 2018 at 10:17 am

    This will make it easier for you and Matt to go out and sit in the shade in the evenings right? SO EXCITING

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Missy
    June 19, 2018 at 10:32 am

    I know you said in an earlier post that you won’t be able to pour the driveway right away due to cost; does that mean you won’t be able to use the carport (for cars) until the driveway is in place? Also, do you mind me asking what the cost of the driveway will be, and what the projected date is for that?

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    tracy
    June 19, 2018 at 10:34 am

    Now that’s exiting progress!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Kathy
    June 19, 2018 at 10:57 am

    Do you ever wonder if the former owners (or their kids who grew up in that house) drive by and are amazed at the changes wrought? I am constantly amazed at how you could have looked at that house at its initial showing and seen all this potential. I’m so enjoying all this. And fair warning – if I ever come to Waco, I’m going to drive by and be amazed all over again. Is there something in the water there? Should I come armed with buckets and barrels to haul some home? LOL!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Sharon C
    June 19, 2018 at 11:50 am

    What a difference the new carport is already making, especially with the roof line. It’s going to make an amazing difference to your home’s appearance and especially for yours and Matts daily usability. $$’s worth spending!!!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Lauren
    June 19, 2018 at 11:54 am

    Looks great! I’m finding this whole process and your sharing of information very helpful. We want to add a carport since we enclosed our garage, but it will be a standalone. Thank you for keeping us posted!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Jane
    June 19, 2018 at 12:02 pm

    Looks so so good!!!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Alma Miranda
    June 19, 2018 at 1:42 pm

    It looks really good. What a difference.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Sherre
    June 19, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    Looking good! How old is your roof? Maybe now would be a good time to replace all the roofing, since there’s already a lot of tie-in happening and the new shingles likely wouldn’t match the old, anyway…

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Marianne in Mo.
    June 19, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    Exciting! I love watching construction! That’s why I enjoyed building our three houses over the years.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    MARA SMITH
    June 19, 2018 at 4:03 pm

    Looking good! Since the ceiling of the carport will be vaulted, have you considered hanging some ceiling fans across the middle beam? I think it would help tremendously if you plan to work out there occasionally with heat and the bugs.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Rebecca Neustel
    June 19, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    Will you be able to reuse that white trim and just cut it down? It’d be nice to pull the vehicles out of the way whenever you have nice weather to sit or eat outside. You know, the two days in Spring and Fall…lol!

    • Reply To This Comment ↓
      Kristi
      June 19, 2018 at 4:40 pm

      If we’re talking about the same piece, it’s not very long (about 7 feet), so they’ll probably just replace it.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Trish
    June 19, 2018 at 5:13 pm

    Looking amazing! I love how much the new roof line changes it, all I can say is WOW!

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    Maggie Obst
    June 19, 2018 at 9:40 pm

    Wow lovely space and certainly makes a huge difference to you home. Love the Vauted ceiling,are you exposing the rafters in your studio? Love you work,thanks for sharing.

  • Reply To This Comment ↓
    janpartist
    June 20, 2018 at 11:20 am

    This is really nice.