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The original was posted on /r/solardiy by /u/b0tt0mturn on 2025-10-23 18:01:32+00:00.
After a frustrating search for a prefab carport design that would allow me to park my cars facing east-west with the solar array angled south, I decided to design my own. The material is steel because that was the most cost effective due to the strength and stiffness requirements of the long spans. It’s made from stock lengths of 20’ steel tubing and channel to minimize fabrication time and material waste. The steel was sourced from a local supplier and delivered to the site for <$4000. There are no fasteners - is was fabricated and welded on site by two guys and a fork truck in 3 days. The solar racking is attached directly to the purlins and there is no underlying roofing - so it’s not waterproof. I was my own general contractor and now I understand why they charge what they do. All in, it was less than $11,000 (structure only), but would be more if you hire a GC. I’m an engineer, but not a PE, so there was an added cost of having the design certified and stamped. The completed structure passed inspection in North Carolina, US in late 2024.
I’m posting this here to put the design in the public domain. A full set of engineering drawings and a CAD file can be found at the link below.
https://grabcad.com/library/two-bay-solar-carport-structure-1
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