I wouldn't think a carport of any variety would add much resale value to an historic home. A garage, yes. A carport, no. Most are unattractive and kinda cheap looking.

Well currently the home has zero parking - just parking on the street. I would think having an actual driveway leading into a carport in the fenced backyard would be attractive to a buyer. The carport would be high quality and would have a bit of siding & the roof/roofline matching the house itself.

Can anyone offer any info/advice on whether you think it'd be okay to build it as a "covered patio," yet use it for a carport? Possible ramifications? Would really love to get feedback on this dilemma...

Thanks :)

Just adding the driveway gives you off street parking. Or are you not allowed a driveway on the lot line?

I'm assuming this is a small lot since 20' makes a difference in general location of the carport?

Will the covered patio look like a patio? Or a carport?

You say this is for resale - when are you planning this sale? As soon as construction is done? 5-10 years from now? Obviously when you sell, it has to be listed as a covered patio and not a carport.

I agree, what's wrong with just a driveway up to the house for parking?

Count on someone advising the by-law enforcement department that your "covered patio" is being used as a carport, then expect warnings, orders, fines, a directive to run a fence across the alley entrance and lastly demolition.

Let us know how that works out for you.

Thank you kindly for the responses. Worthy, your response has me scared straight. lol

Yes, the lot is a 1/2 lot, so it's smaller than many.
I am looking to sell the property next spring hopefully, if all my improvements are completed by then. The covered patio would look like a carport - i.e. a gabled pavilion set upon a concrete slab - which also passes as a covered patio. It could be either one.
I live in the inland NW where it gets snowy in winter, so having covered parking would be much more desirable than just having a driveway by itself.

There is already a large, old concrete slab patio right outside the backdoor & abutting the alley. I am thinking now I might use this slab for parking by altering the fence so that it has a double gate opening inward into the yard, so a car could drive in there. Then perhaps I could get one of the nice, attractive carport kits for around 3k and install it over this slab. Doing this would be an inexpensive way of creating covered, off-street parking in the backyard. Might not yield amazing profits but would certainly make the property more attractive to a potential buyer. Any thoughts are welcome.

This post was edited by iris_bulb on Sun, Oct 19, 14 at 17:06

You can't add a garage instead of a carport?

The type of carport you are describing would be a major turnoff. If you can't build a garage, then leave well enough alone. You'd never get your money back for any of it. All remodels are money losers, but one of those temporary type carports would be especially so as it's considered a low end feature that most would actually want you to remove.

Can you get a variance on the 20' from the alley so that your property can have a garage/carport like the neighbors?

Our neighborhood isn't historic but it is old and has a lot of busy bodies on the City Council (they approve building permits and variances) and they said they routinely drive down alleys to see if homeowners are doing something wrong or building without permits.

I think I would concentrate on doing some landscaping and having that stump ground out before spending money on a carport that may/may not pay off and may/may not be legal.

Is that a blue tarp in the next yard? I can't imagine that's acceptable in a historic district. :)

You already have parking. Ha. Just cut a hole in the fence to get to it. Plain carports here, with extreme snow, provide little relief when having to shovel. Don't waste your money. Especially not on one of those goofy tent looking things.

Thanks everyone!!
To the person who asked about garage vs. carport, a garage would take up significantly more room in the yard than a carport since it should accomdate current SUVs, need clearance to open the doors, etc. Plus it would cost twice as much as a nice carport, which would really eat into my budget that's already been severely reduced by miscellaneous projects (all new water lines, new sewer line, new roof, new ductless heating/cooling system...). So I felt a nice carport would be a better choice.
While I can agree with the people saying one of those portable carport kits would be tacky & undesirable, I disagree with those who think a nice carport would not be a selling point. No one can say these are not both attractive and functional:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-spmqLmkTWR4/TuEKwLXb6KI/AAAAAAAACOc/wFqtxm1HeNo/s640/IMG_0911.JPG

http://www.rbmremodels.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/CarPort-2-564x409.jpg

The person who said "all remodels are money losers".....not sure why you would say that. Sure, if someone remodels for their own specific taste, then they may stand to lose money. But if someone is remodeling for resale, to appeal to the broadest range of buyers, and have a good aesthetic sense, then they can stand to net a strong profit. This will be my third flip, I've always netted nice profits.

Hmmm..The blue tarp in the pic is 2 houses down and its in someone's backyard along the alley. Not sure what it is. People can mostly do whatever they want in personalizing their property and whatnot except when it comes to additions and major things of that nature. The historic district covers a large neighborhood in the north part of the city: there are "historic" homes (like mine) which date from early 20th century to the 1950s, and there are more modern homes as well, like many of my neighbors.

I'm thinking I will just open the fence up with gates so that the concrete patio slab can be used as a driveway for parking.
I can certainly use the extra carport money as I still need to rip out the weedy lawns & put sod down next spring, a sprinkler system (maybe), wood floors, wall off part of the large master to create an upstairs ensuite bathroom.
It all really adds up to a lot of expense.

If I were the buyer, the important thing would be off-street parking, and I would not be interested in a carport, but maybe that's me. I have a home with a three-car garage, but I use it for more important things -- like my wood shop and for storage -- and the cars are always outside sitting on a concrete apron...but off the street.

If you were to build a patio/carport and suggest in any way that the buyer could use it for parking, you would open up yourself to liability after the sale. If such a carport were built, it not only wouldn't be consistent with the character of the home, but you would have to answer truthfully the likely question: "So, I can park there, right?" Then, when you said "It's not allowed," the buyer might say: "That's too bad, because it's not very useful then."

Put in the driveway, but don't build something in addition of questionable value. Let the new buyer figure out if he wants to do more than have off-street parking. It'll be cheaper and less stressful to go this route. You can't be accused of misleading anyone, and the permits busybodies will have nothing to cite you for.

Yes, all remodels lose money. Even the 50K garage project yhat would add 70% of it's value to a home. It would only lose you 15K, and it's one of the better ''investments'' for remodeling.

Any ''covered patio'' not built architecturally similarly to blend with the house, and located adjacent to the house for easy access, would be a big loser too. These types of structures are remuddles that people want torn down, not added. They are NOT desirable at all, and would lose you money twice, once in construction, and at sale also. I'd want something like that removed, or a credit for it to be removed.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cost vs. Value