What carport? This carport. You know, the one that almost made us walk away from this house because we were so anti-carport? Funny how perspectives change after living with it for a few years…
Sherry talked about our shift in thinking back in this Listy McListerson post: “we originally wanted to convert this into a garage, but now we’re leaning towards adding a trellis arch so it’s all lush and pretty like a carport with a pergola instead of being closed in and dark like a garage (we’d lose some light from two windows into the laundry room and office if we closed it in).”
The potential loss of those windows changed everything. Building a garage would have required closing them off to meet fire codes, which meant losing the built-in desk area and the laundry room window shown below.
We also realized we didn’t actually need extra garage storage — our basement and attic handle that just fine — so the garage conversion plan morphed into a plan to beautify the carport. Our approach was simple: add architectural interest and soften the structure with a trellis-like pergola.
Instead of a plain carport, we envisioned something warmer and more intentional — a structure that looks built-in and attractive, maybe with vines climbing up to add greenery.
If the edited image above doesn’t sell it, the examples we found online did. While searching for inspiration I discovered that attached pergolas are a real thing. Some people call them “garage arbors,” so a carport arbor — a “carbor” — suddenly seemed very doable. But actually figuring out how to build one felt intimidating at first.
Then Google led us to Workbench Magazine and a 2008 article on building an attached garage pergola. It included straightforward plans and helpful diagrams, which was exactly what we needed.
The plans were nearly the exact size we wanted, so we were able to follow the material and cut lists with minimal changes. I printed the plans, rented a truck from Lowe’s, and loaded up the wood and hardware.
This past weekend we started building. The first step was adding an extra column on the house side of the carport to attach the pergola brace. From there we’ll reroute a drainpipe, prime and paint lumber, create custom curved wooden braces, and cut slats for the top. If all goes according to plan, we should have the main structure finished by early next week, followed by a full how-to post.
The project requires some precise cuts and careful bracing, so it’s a bit involved — at least for our skill level — but breaking larger projects into smaller tasks keeps them manageable. Here’s the checklist we used to stay organized:
- find or adapt plans
- determine the exact lumber, fasteners, and hardware needed and transport them home (we rented a Lowe’s truck for the 16′ boards)
- prime and paint wood pieces before assembly (easier than painting after)
- build and install the extra column on the left side of the carport
- construct the curved braces and bolt them securely
- install the top boards and slats, ensuring everything is level and fastened
- add climbing vines for added greenery and softness
Have you built a pergola or attached arbor before? We’d love to hear tips. And who else thinks a Pimp My Carport segment would be a hit on TV?
Psst — I wrote this for Boston.