Building some sort of roof over outdoor workbench

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ilyaz

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I have a driveway that's partly enclosed by a fence with a gate. This end of the driveway is about 10' x 10' and then there is about 3' of dirt between the d/way and the fence making it 10' x 13' . I have an outdoor workbench there (shown covered by black plastic in one of the photos) and I want to cover the area at least somewhat to protect from rain so that I could work there when the weather is bad (but not too bad). So I am thinking about an awning of some sort that would be attached to the house wall. The height of the wall without the siding (the red vertical arrow) is about 96", with the siding at the lowest point (green arrow) is about 110".

I have a couple of large trees over the area so lots of leaves in the Fall.

I am in MD near DC.

What I want is something:
  • simple but durable so that it damaged by wind, heavy rain/snow, stuff falling from the trees (preferably including my neighbor's cat) etc.
  • relatively cheap
  • not too ugly: it's next to my patio where we often have guests
What are my options? An awning? A fixed one or a folding one? What sort of material should I use for the cover?

Thank you!
awning_1.jpg awning_2.jpg
 
Attaching it to the house means it is going to have to have footers that will go down probably 3' in the DC suburbs. This is to prevent frost heave as the ground freezes and thaws over the winter months. In your area the ground won't stay frozen all winter as the temperatures will swing quite widely. I lived in Northern VA so I'm familiar with your weather.

You will likely need permits. It will need to meet lot set back requirements. Your house is probably old enough you don't have an HOA to deal with. Have you thought about going with something free-standing like a prefabricated shed? Move it into the backyard and you'd have an all-weather workshop. You've probably seen these for sale a little further out from the city. I know of places in VA that sell them, I'm sure you can find them in rural Montgomery County and PG County. They come complete and typically just need to have some blocks to raise them up off the ground. They can rise and fall with the heaving ground in winter.

You want anything you attach to your house to add value to the house and not be an eyesore. If I were looking to do it I'd probably look at doing a carport type structure that would enhance the house and not detract from it. Ideally, I'd go with a deep single car garage and make my workshop on the back-end of the garage. You may not have the side yard clearance to support that though.
 
Have you thought about going with something free-standing like a prefabricated shed? Move it into the backyard and you'd have an all-weather workshop. You've probably seen these for sale a little further out from the city. I know of places in VA that sell them, I'm sure you can find them in rural Montgomery County and PG County. They come complete and typically just need to have some blocks to raise them up off the ground. They can rise and fall with the heaving ground in winter.

To fit the space shown in the photos, the shed would have to be too small to be used as workspace. Just the makeshift w/bench would take most of the space. I do want eventually to build a large shed in the back of my property to house a w/b and a bunch of woodworking tools that would require, among other things, a separate breaker box that would support 240v outlets etc. So that's probably going to happen after I finish paying for my kids' college :)

You want anything you attach to your house to add value to the house and not be an eyesore. If I were looking to do it I'd probably look at doing a carport type structure that would enhance the house and not detract from it. Ideally, I'd go with a deep single car garage and make my workshop on the back-end of the garage. You may not have the side yard clearance to support that though.

Yes, that's a good point. Something too "rustic" will look ugly. So... back to the drawing board. Thx
 
I can relate to the college expense. My youngest is a junior in college, her brother graduated last spring. I'm about ready to pull the trigger on the long-awaited basement workshop finishing.

If you have space, I'd do a carport roof but build it that I could close it in as my budget allowed. That would add value to your house. The challenge is going to be side yard set back requirements.
 
I've decided to take the a cheaper route and get a simple camping canopy. Should work as a temporary solution (which eventually might turn in to a permanent one :))
 
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