Why you should think about a car shed in your compound
In addition to keeping your vehicle safe a car shed can also be a place for entertaining guests. Photo/mombasacanvas.com
What you need to know:
- One of the most repurposed space is the garage which creates a need another space to keep vehicles safe and secure.
- Some families have two or more cars that cannot fit in one garage. The best way to solve these challenges is by building a shed.
The work from home phenomenon sparked by the coronavirus pandemic has forced many homewoners to repurpose spaces.
One of the most repurposed space is the garage which creates a need another space to keep vehicles safe and secure.
Some families have two or more cars that cannot fit in one garage. The best way to solve these challenges is by building a shed.
The shed will not only be able to protect your car, but it can also double as a storage for your essentials that do not fit in your main house, such as tools.
Alice Birungi, a homeowner decided to turn her garage into her home office, which turned out great. Not wanting to leave her car prone to nature changes, she decided a car shed would be a perfect solution.
Car sheds, however, could necessarily not be just about your car. There are other perks that come with it.
For example, when you want to have a small get-together celebration with friends and family, you would not need to invest in a tent to have an outdoor party place.
The car shed could help with that and more. These are some of the things to keep in mind before investing in one.
Deal with professionals
Because your car shed may be used for much more than keeping your car, you need to invest in the very best.
According to Godwin Lematia, CEO of Vision Qual-Tech Designs Ltd, because standard material is hard to find, getting a person who knows much about the product will help you get you the very best.
Types
There are two types of shed nets; waterproof and non-waterproof nets mainly made of nylon. No matter the type, both shed nets have one thing in common. They both protect the car from Ultra Violet (UV) light from the direct sun by absorbing the heat before it heats the car.
According to drivespark, UV rays are known to be harmful to human skin, and in the same way, they can cause fading of one’s car paint and can cause oxidisation of metal.
Parking one’s car inside a garage or under a shade keeps the UV rays away from the gleaming paint on the car. But while waterproof shed nets absorb both the heat and prevent rain from reaching the car, non-waterproof nets only absorb the sun heat.
Size
Before thinking of how big one wants their car shed, one should consider the size of the compound. The size of the car may not affect much since the standard car of at least seven feet is considered while measuring the height of the car shade.
“The more space one has, the bigger the car shade one can install in one’s compound,” Lematia says.
He adds that the size of the compound determines the size and shape of car shade one may want.
Shapes
According to Lematia, there are both straight and curved shed nets. While curved shade nets can fit in any kind of setting, smaller or bigger compounds, straight ones normally need bigger spaces. A straight car shed needs to stand alone to bring out its beauty since it is constructed just like a house.
Material
Car sheds are mainly nylon. The stands used are mainly metal. Lematia recommends a stand of four millimetres thickness, which, he says should be strong enough to hold the roof. The thicker the stand, the steadier the car shed.
Size of the shed net
Recommended height of a car shade is 19 to 20 ft which is about six metres and the width 18ft, depending on the type of car one has.
“A standard car occupies about three metres once opened. Two cars, therefore, can fit well in a six metre car shed,” Lematia says.
Because a standard car normally is as high as seven feet, the height of the car shade can go up to nine feet (about three metres) and still leave room between the car and the roof of the shed.
It is not preferable to use iron sheets or rely on the shade of the tree for the car because while the iron sheets may not fully absorb the heat from the sun, the tree shade does not give any.
Price
While many may want to spend as low as possible, this may bring in the use of sub-standard material for one’s car shed. According to Lematia, it is hard to find standard and long-lasting shed nets in Uganda, thus forcing him to import some of the materials from Kenya.
The price may also depend on the size of the car shade and how many cars it can accommodate.
According to Lematia, a standard car shade that can accommodate two cars goes for at least Shs3m.
While using non-waterproof material for the roof, the minimum price for the entire project goes for Shs2.5m
