Permits in Hudson became required in 2009 for residents for portable structures; the town claims this resident should have obtained one at the time.

As far as putting a portable garage in front of a home is concerned, this resident needs a portable shelter closer to his residence because of health problems.

If you own a portable garage, what does this instance mean for you? On multiple occasions, we have mentioned that, before you purchase a portable shelter, check the ordinances in your area. If a carport or portable garage goes up in the wrong location, the town may start sending notices or fines.

Once you find out where on your property you can place a shelter and how large it can be, decide on the type of structure you can purchase. Combine these aspects with your needs and choose a shelter.

Nevertheless, this instance in Hudson goes a step further than checking zoning rules and ordinances before you buy. Rather, you always need to be up to date on your town’s rules for portable shelters. As we saw a few months ago, towns like Austin, Texas may suddenly change their zoning rules. In these instances, you will need to move or remove your carport or purchase a permit. To avoid these situations, regularly check your community’s ordinances regarding portable shelters.

In other instances, these zoning restrictions and ordinances go beyond keeping up a general aesthetic and are in place for practical purposes. This is the case according to an article published recently in The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois. According to the article, which summarizes minutes from a Rochester Village Board meeting, the town approved a ban that prohibits portable buildings from being built near drainage and utility easements. It appears that such structures near drains, in particular, are posing an impediment in floods. The article, additionally, specifies that residents can request variance, although how much variance allowed isn’t delineated.

Nevertheless, this article brings up an important issue for purchasing a portable shelter like a carport, shed, or garage: following your local ordinances and zoning restrictions. Manufacturers may not allow a shelter to be returned once it has been purchased and shipped, and you should be aware of your local laws before picking out any type of shelter ranging from a portable garage to a metal carport. Not only should you make sure that you can have such a structure on your property, but also many laws restrict the area in which the shelter can be placed and its size. In many neighborhoods, two-car portable garages may be the largest such a shelter can be.

There are two types of portable storage and shelter structures:

• Portable garages. Portable garages are essentially permanent portable structures in that they will go up and protect vehicles for an entire season, if not longer. In some cases, carports, which are portable garages with partial walls, will protect cars all year long. Other types of portable garage structures include boat and RV structures and portable animal shelters. Economically, protecting a boat with a boat shelter that will last several years is a better option than shrink wrapping or tarping a boat, as the boat will have a shelter that can be used over and over and can have other purposes, as well. All of these structures have a galvanized or powder-steel frame and a polyethylene canopy or metal top that is UV treated.
• Party tents. “Party tent” is a name for a temporary shelter structure, one that will go up and come down within a day or two. Going by names like “wedding tent,” “pop-up tent,” “frame tent,” “pole tent,” and “EZ up tent,” this type of temporary structure is used at weddings, backyard and beach parties, and flea markets, as they are easy to set up – pop-up or EZ up tents only need one person to set them up – and are an economical option for shelter and a centralized place for events and parties. These types of structures are made of a steel frame with a vinyl or polyester canopy.

When picking out a canopy, decide for which purpose you’ll need it. Is it for storing cars and seasonal vehicles or is it for shade during an event? Either way, portable shelter and storage retailers all have a variety of economical options for your choice.

Shelters of America claims to have the guaranteed lowest prices on their entire inventory of outdoor shelters. However, on occasion, a competitor could have a lower price product and, to continue to prove they have the highest quality products for the lowest prices, Shelters of America will offer this discount.

So, how does the discount work? If you find an identical item at a competitor’s store, and identical means the same brand, model, size, style carried by Shelter of America and the competitor, you can contact Shelters of America by telephone to point out the lower-price item – even if the item is in an advertisement by their competitor – and then they will go to the competitor’s website to verify the claim. Once it has been verified, the same item at Shelters of America will be sold at five percent lower than the price advertized by the competitor.

For a price example, suppose Shelters of America is selling a small portable garage for $620 and a competitor online store has the same item – same brand, model, size, style as the one found on Shelters of America – for $600. Once this is pointed out to customer service at Shelters of America and verified, the portable garage will be discounted by five percent of the competitor’s price, which would be $30 in the case of a $600 portable garage, and would be sold for $570.

• As a garage – A portable garage can protect your everyday vehicle, such as your car. If you have additional items that need to be stored, such as equipment, those can be stored in a portable garage, as well.
• When a seasonal vehicle needs storage, such as a boat or an RV during the winter, a portable garage can protect it when not in use. A portable garage, whether metal or a polyethylene canopy, keeps out UV rays and is water proof while also being breathable. Therefore, when a seasonal vehicle is sitting in the storage of a portable garage for several months, the paint will not fade, the surface will not crack, and the vehicle won’t experience dry rot and mildew due to trapped moisture.
• As an animal shelter – A portable garage can be an animal shelter, such as a run-in horse shed or a dog kennel. While a dog kennel is smaller, it has a polyethylene roof and dividers to create multiple dog kennels. A run-in horse shed, on the other hand, is open, allowing horses to run in and out of it, like an open stable, during the day.
• As a work shop – Like a brick and mortar garage, a portable garage allows for work space outside of the house. If you keep your tools and work bench in a portable garage, you can do any wood or fixing projects without having to leave or go back inside the house.

A portable garage has the same features of a brick and mortar garage and more. In addition, unlike a standard garage, a portable garage can be expanded to accommodate several vehicles or to add additional storage space and can be given walls, whether full or partial walls, during the year. Adding additional polyethylene walls or expanding a garage can be done simply with a kit and a day’s worth or less of work.

To protect your car from UV rays, which will fade the paint coating over time and create cracks on the surface, a portable garage with a polyethylene canopy is UV treated – sometimes even on both sides. In addition, the polyethylene is often given other treatments like anti-fade, anti-fungal, and anti-aging treatments to protect your car even further.

But, aside from a metal or UV-treated roof, a portable garage needs to have air circulation to prevent mildew, rust, and dry rot from forming on your vehicle. All portable garages have ventilation. The polyethylene canopy, for example, is a material that is water-resistant and allows for circulation simply because that’s the nature and design of a material. But, regardless of whether you choose a portable garage with a metal or polyethylene roof, the garage should be partially enclosed, and many portable garage stores sell kits to create partial and full walls for a portable garage or carport. With or without walls, however, the structure itself is also strong enough to withstand heavy amounts of snow and winds up to 95 MPH.

Other benefits in protecting your car with a portable garage include its expandability. If, in the future, you plan on having more cars or purchase a seasonal vehicle, such as a boat or an RV, a portable garage’s width and length can be expanded by a kit to enclose and protect both vehicles from water and intense sunlight.