Recently, a carport fell over from valley winds in Phoenix, and while something like this doesn’t appear to be significant news, it brings up the question to carport owners and users, what force does it take to topple a carport? In the news story, a carport fell over from valley winds and, in the parking lot of a housing community, a few cars are now covered by the roof of the structure. Although judging from the picture in the article, the structure appears to be a large metal carport, the structure, when anchored properly, should be wind resistant.
In general, such structures are supposed to withstand winds up to 95 miles per hour. Valley winds near Phoenix have been known to be as high as 100mph, but a carport should almost always be able to stand such winds. But with exposure to so many wind storms, can a carport become worn out over time? This could have been the case, and a structure that has not been maintained properly may have simply toppled over. Maintenance, however, is an important factor when keeping a carport, whether for personal use or for a large group of people. As this structure may need to last several years under severe weather conditions, those maintaining the property should have been paying attention to the construction of the carport.
For a carport to be stable, the first thing to do is to make sure it has a solid foundation in the ground. With individual carports, this often means securing the structure in dirt, either with stronger anchors or putting the legs in cement first before putting the structure in the ground. In a parking lot, however, the structure should be secured in cement in the ground. Aside from the base, all joints for the carport need to be maintained so make sure that none are deteriorating.