Convert carport into storage area...advise please?

[bamboozled]

Top of a Sunday morning to y'all. So, I would like to make the carport where I live into a storage area. I'm in a rented house so no permanent structure desired. It is a sturdy structure already with a pretty decent roof, concrete floor, and some uprights keeping the roof up. The roof will need a few cracks mended to keep out water but I think fairly simple with some caulking. The items in storage will be in plastic containers in plastic bags so I think they will be protected from water, dirt, and insects, for the most part. I also have birds and cats that could make problems. I am thinking plastic tarping and perhaps some chicken wire for the sides to keep out rain and animals....with some reinforcing uprights at various intervals to give the tarps some resistance against wind and weather. This seems to my mind to be the easiest and cheapest method and still substantial enough.

 

The biggest problem I foresee is that in big rains the yard floods and though the carport is raised a bit it can still flood sometimes in big storms as much as 6 inches. How to keep the flood water out? What can I construct around the bottom perimeter of the carport to accomplish this that is not permanent? I could make a foot high barrier with blocks and concrete and it would probably easy enough to remove but I'm sure would still leave some traces behind. Granted, the area is not in perfect condition but if the landlords come by and see that, even if removable, they might be unhappy (they rarely rarely come by but still). I thought sand bags, perhaps? I'm not sure how well they work.

 

Anyone have input on this? Ideas much appreciated. I'm looking to do it cheap and cheerful so please keep that in mind.

 

A thousand thanks in advance.

[sometimewoodworker]

As far as waterproofing there are really 2 options.

1) actually waterproof it. This will be expensive and permanent so probably not what you want.

2) accept that you will get up to 300mm of water (double your estimate for the metrical challenged) so use steel racks that start storage at 300mm and keep anything that is sensitive at least that far off the floor.

 

For the actual construction of your walls chicken wire and plastic tarps will probably only last a year or two possibly even less.

 

I would create a steel framework and use something like fibre/concrete board sheets to clad it. the plastic sheeting can work but from experience you need something heavy duty so a steel frame with cement boards is probably a cheaper option. You can easily make the frame modular so it can be disassembled.

 

As an alternative you can use the light-ish weight silver tarpaulins you are already using and hang them off the roof beams as you already are doing, though you will need a significant overlap to stop rain, you would them use a long piece of timber as a weight on the bottom to prevent them blowing in the wind and rain.

I also would not bother doing anything with the floor, just keep anything that will not be effected by water on the floor

[KannikaP]

Simply get rid of all the rubbish you are storing.

[bamboozled]

37 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Simply get rid of all the rubbish you are storing.

Truth there....but that doesn't solve the rest of the problem!

[bamboozled]

39 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

As far as waterproofing there are really 2 options.

1) actually waterproof it. This will be expensive and permanent so probably not what you want.

2) accept that you will get up to 300mm of water (double your estimate for the metrical challenged) so use steel racks that start storage at 300mm and keep anything that is sensitive at least that far off the floor.

 

For the actual construction of your walls chicken wire and plastic tarps will probably only last a year or two possibly even less.

 

I would create a steel framework and use something like fibre/concrete board sheets to clad it. the plastic sheeting can work but from experience you need something heavy duty so a steel frame with cement boards is probably a cheaper option. You can easily make the frame modular so it can be disassembled.

 

As an alternative you can use the light-ish weight silver tarpaulins you are already using and hang them off the roof beams as you already are doing, though you will need a significant overlap to stop rain, you would them use a long piece of timber as a weight on the bottom to prevent them blowing in the wind and rain.

I also would not bother doing anything with the floor, just keep anything that will not be effected by water on the floor

I thought of that....just keeping everything up and off the floor. But it's a lot of stuff. I'm not talking about a few boxes. And then I did not want to have all that moisture lingering underneath everything which would just make mold and mildew a bigger issue and potentially ruin everything I'm storing. Any experience with sandbags?

[bamboozled]

Hmm, how about concrete blocks and that polyurethane spray foam "Great Stuff" instead of mortar? Pretty unsightly, however. Probably not any easier to remove than the mortar itself. Speaking of, how difficult is it to remove mortar from a cement floor in the case that I used it like glue to cement blocks down...if that would work?

[sometimewoodworker]

6 hours ago, bamboozled said:

I thought of that....just keeping everything up and off the floor. But it's a lot of stuff. I'm not talking about a few boxes. And then I did not want to have all that moisture lingering underneath everything which would just make mold and mildew a bigger issue and potentially ruin everything I'm storing. Any experience with sandbags?

You wouldn’t have any significantly larger amount of humidity hanging around as the racks will not accumulate water and your walls are not going to prevent airflow depending on the construction. Also assuming you are going to want to access the items you are storing you will need walkways between shelving so allowing for airflow. The kind of shelving I am talking about is like this.

 

FWIW sandbags, unless you are going to be moving them out as soon as any floods subside, are going to retain large amounts of water so making the area even more humid. Sandbags are a very temporary flood control method so you will need an area to store them 

 

 

[bamboozled]

33 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You wouldn’t have any significantly larger amount of humidity hanging around as the racks will not accumulate water and your walls are not going to prevent airflow depending on the construction. Also assuming you are going to want to access the items you are storing you will need walkways between shelving so allowing for airflow. The kind of shelving I am talking about is like this.

 

FWIW sandbags, unless you are going to be moving them out as soon as any floods subside, are going to retain large amounts of water so making the area even more humid. Sandbags are a very temporary flood control method so you will need an area to store them 

 

 

Some good points, friend. I do have some good shelving but not enough for all the stuff. I was trying to keep expenses down as much as possible and to purchase enough shelving would be thousands of dollars. Those things are not cheap and I have toooo much stuff. I'm hoping just to stack the plastic crates and though I need some access I'm willing to have it a little uncomfortable if that keeps my cost down and allows me to store everything.

Today, I took the rest of the stuff out and power washed everything, floor and ceiling. It's looking better. What I started to lean more toward is constructing a low wall with some bricks and mortar around the perimeter. Since the area is fairly old and stained I began to think that if a little mortar is left over after I deconstruct the wall when I leave that it won't really matter all that much. Plus, the landlords, I think, would understand that flooding is an issue. The house/yard is not pristine by any means and has plenty of jerry-rigged pieces and parts. Of course, I don't have much experience with bricks and mortar. I will do some research but I'm hoping I can just lay down a "bead" of mortar on the concrete floor and set a brick into it without really making too much mess of the floor. Am I dreaming? The water in this area, since it is already raised 6 inches or so, does not get that deep, ever, and a 6 or 10 inch height would be plenty.

 

Do you have any experience using bricks and mortar?

[sometimewoodworker]

36 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

I do have some good shelving but not enough for all the stuff. I was trying to keep expenses down as much as possible and to purchase enough shelving would be thousands of dollars.

I have found that a reasonably competent welder will construct shelves for a much lower cost than you are suggesting. The shelves in my picture above are half of a pair that cost $80 for labour the materials were extra but I doubt they were as much as $80

 

36 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

. You can easily add adjustable shelves by using the shelf brackets and rails that are available from the big stores, an example are these two sets here.

they are specifically designed as shallow units, you can easily have bigger ones.

 

36 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

Do you have any experience using bricks and mortar?

No, l leave that to the locals as they have experience and are more skilled than I and the cost is minimal. I do things that I can do competently, which for me is woodworking with things like this.

 

[bamboozled]

Thank you again. It will be a work in progress. All this stuff is in another house that I want to vacate so as I pack up there I will have a better idea how much space this loot will take up and then I can make a more precise plan. I would prob be smart to hire someone and yet I have a DIY streak that sometimes is my own worst enemy. Also, finding "skilled" labor is, well...every guy and his brother is "skilled" here. Anyone that has ever done work on the house here, they don't even arrive with the proper tools and I end up having to loan them mine. Crazy.

[sometimewoodworker]

59 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

Also, finding "skilled" labor is, well...every guy and his brother is "skilled" here.

I know two highly skilled workers. Both have their own tools, though they may not have the complete range,

 

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

Anyone that has ever done work on the house here, they don't even arrive with the proper tools and I end up having to loan them mine.

I have lent things like my compressor and spray gun to one of them, the other has a bigger selection and much higher quality electrical equipment than I do.

 

However they are the exception and usually your assessment is accurate 

[unheard]

13 hours ago, bamboozled said:

Also, finding "skilled" labor is, well...every guy and his brother is "skilled" here. Anyone that has ever done work on the house here, they don't even arrive with the proper tools and I end up having to loan them mine. Crazy.

I'm not trying to stir up anything here.

It's not my intention.

I just want to understand the thinking process behind the decisions to hire part time farmers in place of skilled tradesmen.

Yes, it saves tons of money but in the end you always (with real few exceptions) get what you pay for.

It's just super weird (to me at least) to see so many rants around this forum on the botched up jobs done by unskilled workers.

I want to ask then why you guys keep hiring them?

If you don't live in big enough of a city with readily available skilled workforce then face the reality and adjust your expectations.

Skilled labor in most cases will always be willing to travel to even remote areas, if you make it attractive to them.

But if you choose not to then what's the point behind the complaints about part time farmers not having proper tools?

[bamboozled]

Personally, I don't hire them. I've always lived in rentals and it is the landlords that hire them. And I'm sure they hire the cheapest they can find. Also, I don't think they mind that much when things are done half-assed because they are used to it and it doesn't bother them. Well, one of my houses, the landlords lived right next door and kept good care of the house. Any problem and they would call their trusty "engineer" as they referred to him. He could do anything and everything, and anything and everything badly.

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, unheard said:

It's just super weird (to me at least) to see so many rants around this forum on the botched up jobs done by unskilled workers.

I want to ask then why you guys keep hiring them?

If you don't live in big enough of a city with readily available skilled workforce then face the reality and adjust your expectations.

Skilled labor in most cases will always be willing to travel to even remote areas, if you make it attractive to them.

The problem is that it is extremely difficult to actually find someone who’s skilled. So please tell us poor benighted prospective employers how to do that.

 

As I have said I know an electrician and 2 welders whose work I would wholeheartedly recommend. I know of a couple of groups employed by the builder we used who are probably OK but they are only employed by them.

[unheard]

42 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

I've always lived in rentals and it is the landlords that hire them. And I'm sure they hire the cheapest they can find.

I see, it makes sense now.

[unheard]

20 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The problem is that it is extremely difficult to actually find someone who’s skilled. So please tell us poor benighted prospective employers how to do that.

You find them the same way you do it in the west now - mostly online, especially if you're in the sticks and far away from "civilization".

I'd admit it would be a big challenge for those not speaking Thai or having Thai wives, girlfriends or good friends

But even then it's not an unsolvable situation.

I'd guess it's more of a learning experience - one must experience the part-time farmers first hand in order to get a taste of local realities.

It's seems some never learn (or maybe can't afford to learn).

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, unheard said:

You find them the same way you do it in the west now - mostly online, especially if you're in the sticks and far away from "civilization".

I'd admit it would be a big challenge for those not speaking Thai or having Thai wives, girlfriends or good friends

My Thai friends in the village have exactly the same experience as my wife has, they do not know any way to find true craftsmen. They are all online so that is no guarantee. The only way I and SWMBO have found craftsmanship is, I the first instance employing one, in the second instance we got lucky with a recommendation, we hadn’t had the same kind of luck with other referrals.