Repair carport steel structure

Hello!

The steel beams of our approx. 12-year-old carport did not withstand the unusually heavy snowfall in January 2021. On one side, the steel beam is bent, on the other even cracked. These steel beams supported the curved roof on two steel posts (so not four). The carport is 5m long and 6m wide, so for two cars, and the roof is made of a kind of tarp.

A villager has offered to repair the carport by straightening the roof and supporting it with two additional steel posts. However, these cannot be installed at the front corners as this would block the driveway to the garage. They would have to be mounted slightly further back so that the roof would still overhang freely. The broken steel beams of the roof are to be stabilized by screwed-on plates.

We now wonder whether this construction could hold. Our concerns: The villager is not a professional. The carport shows various rust spots. Rainwater has flowed into the hollow spaces of the steel beam in the one and a half years since the roof was damaged.

Our insurance does not cover either the repair or a new carport, and since such a one is very expensive, we are considering the above-mentioned repair.

What is described can also be seen in the photos.

We thank you in advance very much for your advice!

Best regards
Tim and Nora

Hello,

I would say that a few screw-on plates here will do very little. The hollow profiles are warped and even their weld seam has cracked open. In my opinion, the two curved tube profiles are dead, but that doesn't make it impossible to repair them.

To me, this carport looks like a kit that was available ready-made somewhere. Find out the manufacturer and ask if these profiles can still be purchased. If yes, order them and possibly have a local resident install them. Since he suggested the screw-on plates, certain locksmith-handcraft skills might be present.

Also, the rusty weld seam running vertically on the support can be ground down with an angle grinder, then re-welded on site and repainted with paint and a brush. It just won’t look as nice. You could do this when the old defective tube profiles are removed because no load will be on this seam then.

Many thanks and heartfelt thanks for the response and the assessment! That helps us VERY much.