Metal Roof Carport: Roof Styles, Gauge, Pitch and Cost

A metal roof carport is an open-sided structure with steel roof panels on a steel frame, listed by makers, dealers and retailers by size, roof style and gauge.

Material, price and size across all metal carports sit on the metal carports page, and this page covers the roof.

Five specifications describe the roof. Style is the shape and the panel direction. Gauge is the sheet thickness, and a higher number is thinner. Profile is the rib shape. Pitch is the rise in inches for each 12 inches of run, written x:12. Coating is the zinc, aluminum-zinc or paint layer. Sellers print style often, gauge at 7 of 17 and pitch at 2.

Read how an aluminum carport roof differs from steel, or wood carports built for a metal roof.

Makers such as Eagle Carports build their own carports. Dealers such as Carport Central sell makers' carports under their own names. Retailers such as Home Depot list do-it-yourself kits from third-party brands.

No seller page read describes a flat roof. SofTop is a tensioned fabric canopy and is not covered.

Where a seller prints a roof sheet gauge, 29 gauge is usual, about 0.014 to 0.015 inch thick, and the frame tube is a separate 14 or 12 gauge.

A 14 gauge frame tube is 0.0747 inch thick, about 5 times a 29 gauge roof sheet (0.0747 divided by 0.015). Gauge numbers are nominal and differ by standard and coated basis. Of 17 sellers read, 7 print a roof sheet gauge, and a 14 or 12 gauge frame says nothing about it.

Upgrades are priced. Metal America lists $150 to $500 for a heavier gauge. Bargain lists +$200 to +$300 for 26 gauge and +$500 to +$700 for 22 gauge. Sheffield Metals says denting is cosmetic, puncture is the serious failure, and 29 gauge dents more than 22 or 24 gauge.

Minimum slopes are the panel makers' own listed figures. A code copy read lists its own minimums and says panels are secured per the manufacturer's instructions. Ask the panel maker or your seller which sheet applies to your roof, and confirm with your local building department.

MBCI calls for a solid deck under 5V crimp, and a carport roof may sit on open purlins, so ask the seller how the panel is attached. McElroy says end-lap sealing becomes critical below 3:12.

Metal Architecture lists G60 at 0.6 oz per square foot, G90 at 0.9 oz and aluminum-zinc AZ50 at 0.5 oz. Galvanized steel usually carries no corrosion warranty, and aluminum-zinc carries 20 to 25 years on the substrate. SMP and PVDF are paint types, and a paint warranty is not a roof life: Metal Sales lists 45 years on its DL-3 panel.

Metal Sales names neoprene washers and #10-14 x 1 in screws for a wood deck. MBCI says standard fasteners can begin to rust within 10 to 15 years.

Metal roof carport listings read on 2026-10-06 run from $4.49 to $16.71 per square foot of footprint with installation, and retail roof panels alone list $1.52 to $2.17 per square foot.

Delivery and installation are included, except where Alan's says "qualifying areas". Compare only rows from the same seller or the same roof style. The rows differ in seller, size, height and scope, so no premium is read from them.

The panel prices are for material only. The Fabral price comes from the category listing, and the Union Corrugating figure is on nominal area, so its true price per square foot is higher.

Prices are the listed prices on the dates shown. Sellers and retailers change them, so confirm the current price and what it includes before you decide. A carport listing and a roof panel are different things, so the two tables are not compared line to line.

A 20x20 gable at 3:12 has 412.3 sq ft of roof surface, so panel material at $1.52 to $2.17 is $627 to $895 before trim, closures, screws, labor, tax and delivery. A seller's carport price also covers the frame, delivery and installation, so the two are never set side by side as a share.

A vertical roof, a heavier sheet and insulation each raise a price. Coast to Coast Carports lists insulation per square foot: Double Bubble $1.50, R17 single $2.00 and Prodex R17 double $3.00. Midwest Steel Carports sells CondenStop, an anti-condensation backing applied at the factory.

A kit is a different purchase. A Garvee 12x20 kit lists at Home Depot for $895, and the buyer installs it. You can see what a carport kit includes.

For a metal roof carport, the 2021 model International Residential Code sets a 200 square foot permit exemption, the International Building Code sets 120 for sheds, and local rules differ.

A seller's "certified" means engineer-stamped drawings at a stated wind and snow load, not government approval (Alan's Factory Outlet, Carport.com). No source read ties it to a panel test such as UL 580, UL 1897 or ASTM E1592.

Sellers print wind and snow figures such as 140 mph and 30 psf. None of the pages read names a code edition. Ask the seller which edition applies, and get the design load for your address from your local building department. The ASCE Hazard Tool returns design values by address.

The 2021 IRC, R105.2, exempts one-story detached accessory structures of 200 square feet or less (Grant County, WA and Sioux Falls, SD copies). The IBC, 105.2, lists 120 square feet for shed-type structures (Larimer County, CO and Tukwila, WA copies).

A 20x20 carport is 400 sq ft. That is 200 sq ft over the 200 sq ft line in the 2021 model International Residential Code R105.2 and 280 sq ft over the 120 sq ft line in International Building Code 105.2 and in some California codes. Local rules differ.

Some places measure the roof area at the drip line (Portland, OR), so the overhang counts. A permit exemption does not remove setback, zoning, wind and snow, or HOA rules.

CarportBay's metal carport, roof-style, material and permit pages go deeper on each point of this metal roof carport page.

• Metal carports
• Metal lean to carports with a single slope roof
• How an aluminum carport roof differs from steel
• Wood carports built for a metal roof
• Read how carport permit rules work by place