INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 20' WIDE FRAME ACTUAL FRAME SIZE 20’ X 18’ X 7’-4 3/4” CARPORT/STORAGE SHELTER/STOR-PORT/GARAGE CARPORT STORAGE SHELTER STOR-PORT GARAGE Our unique assembly process quickly transforms the individual pieces into a finished structure that will give you years of service. Great care has been taken to ensure complete satisfaction with your purchase.
SAFETY AND HAZARD INSTRUCTIONS CAUTION: Read the following safety warnings and all instructions in their entirety prior to installation. If you have questions or are missing any parts, contact Mid-South Metal Products, Inc. (DBA, VersaTube Building systems) customer service at 1-800-900-7222 before proceeding. WARNING: Metal parts may get hot when exposed to high heat or direct sunlight. Avoid contact with skin and wear protective gloves and clothing to prevent the possibility of burns.
ATTENTION: IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THE FOLLOWING NOTE BEFORE STARTING THE ASSEMBLY OF YOUR SHELTER NOTE: If during the installation process you have Difficulty fitting frame components together, use an adjustable wrench to open end of receiving tube as shown at right. Close wrench down around bent portion of tube and bend wall outward.
20' WIDE CARPORT PARTS LIST D C F1 A2 B G H A1 A2 E F2 I PART NO. PART QTY.
SITE PREPARATION FOR CARPORTS, SHELTERS, STOR-PORTS & BUILDINGS The Versatube frame is designed to be placed on a foundation that is level side to side and sloped about 1/8” per foot back to front. (The slope will allow water that may gather in roof horizontal ribs to run to one end. The water should flow over the center seam in your roof panels and not into the seam. IF YOU ARE BUILDING A STOR-PORT, water that hits the concrete slab must also run off the slab, away from the storage end of your stor-port.
ASSEMBLING AND POSITIONING THE BASE RAILS: Layout the base rails on your slab or footing or prepared ground. The base rails should be 20’ apart (outside to outside). The basic carport frame is an assembly of two end base rails and one center base rail as shown below. The length of this assembly will be 18’ from the front of the front pin to the back of the back pin.
ANCHORING THE VERSATUBE CARPORT/BUILDING ANCHORING TO CONCRETE SLAB OR FOOTING WITH 1/2” X 7” CONCRETE WEDGE ANCHORS After you have completed all measurements and have the base rails in place and squared, Make sure joints are screwed together with 2 screws per joint on the top surface of the base rail. This will assure that the rails remain straight and do not vibrate apart when you drill the anchor holes in the concrete.
ANCHORING TO GROUND WITH VERSATUBE GROUND ANCHORS: (OPTIONAL) DIGGING HOLES FOR GROUND ANCHORS Mark the locations of the rails and the anchor holes on the ground. You may want to drive small stakes at the ends and several down the side of the base rails to mark the location. Move the base rails to one side and dig 8” diameter holes at each anchor point. Use a post hole digger to dig the holes. You may want to rent a gas-powered post hole digger with an 8” diameter auger for this job.
ROOF/WALL FRAME ASSEMBLY Before you start the assembly of the Roof/Wall sections, stack the Peak tubes D, line up the ends and mark a line on the top of each peak 17 1/8” from one end. This will be the location of the edge of your first run of sheet metal panels on the roof of the carport. MARK STACKED PEAKS 17 1/8” On the ground, assemble (1) peak D, (2) rafters C, (2) side posts B, and (2) optional height extensions if required. (8 1/2’, to 12 1/2’ side height carports require height extensions.
TRUSS BRACING: TYPE (2) COLLAR TIE WITH VERTICAL, TYPE (3) COLLAR TIE WITH WEB BRACES Your carport may or may not require a truss brace depending on the wind and snow load in your county and the height of your carport/ building. 7 1/2’ to 9 1/2’ tall carports/buildings do not require a brace if the ground snow load requirement in your county is 40 pounds per square foot or less. Structures taller than 9 1/2’ at the eave (side wall) require truss braces.
INSTALLING VERTICAL BRACE FOR BRACE TYPE (2) TRUSS BRACE The Center Vertical Brace is 1 1/2” square x 22 1/4” long on 18 wide carport, 25 1/4” long on 20’ wide, 31 1/4” wide on 24’ wide and 40 1/4” long on 30’ wide. Fasten the brace to the Collar Tie and the Frame Peak with Single Purlin Brackets. Use two screws in the bracket tongue and one screw in each side flange as shown. Fasten the brackets to the vertical brace first.
STEP 3: INSTALL WEB BRACES (2): Loosely attach Web Bracket 2 to the other end of Web Brace 1. Place the Web Bracket on the Collar Tie (make sure the collar tie is straight and fasten the face of the bracket to the collar tie with a self-drilling screw. Remove the hex nut and attach one end of Web Brace 2 to the Web Bracket 2 assembly. ( Like the first assembly, one brace end should be on one side of the web bracket tab and one on the other.
INSTALLING ROOF/WALL FRAMES SECTIONS TO BASE RAILS NOTE: This assembly will require at least two people. When raising a taller frame a third person can walk the center of the frame up a ladder placed inside the carport. Start at one end of the building and place a Roof/Wall frame assembly (one with no truss brace) on the first base rail vertical pins. Fasten joints with two screws each. Keep the screw heads away from the outside of the building where sheet metal may be installed.
BACK ENCLOSURE FOR STORAGE SHELTER, STOR-PORT OR GARAGE SELF-DRILLING SCREW H SELF-DRILLING WHITE SCREW E F STITCHING SCREW E G D I D B G A B C A C A PARTS LIST PART NO. PARTS QTY.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS FOR BACK ENCLOSURE FRAME BE-20 (20΄ WIDE ) STEP 1: BASE RAIL ASSEMBLY Loosely assemble all Base Rail parts: (3)T-sections A, (2) Base Rail sections B, and (2) Base Rail sections C. Place the loose assembly on the ground or slab at the back of the building with the pins on the T-Sections in the vertical position. Adjust the joint spacing to be equal. The ends of the Base Rail Assembly should be touching the Side Base Rails of the building (19‘- 6“).
ANCHORING THE BACK BASE RAIL ASSEMBLY TO A CONCRETE SLAB Place the back base rail assembly at the back of the building, flush with the back frame assembly. The pins on the T-Connectors should be vertical. Now, attach the ends of the back base rail assembly to the side base rail vertical pins with Angle brackets (G) and 6 screws as shown below. Make sure that the assembly is straight before you drill your anchor holes for concrete wedge anchors.
INSTALLATION OF HORIZONTAL SHEET METAL ON BACK OF BUILDING (7) 12' PANELS Additional panels are required for buildings taller than 7 1/2’ at the eave. NOTE: The sheet metal on the back enclosure and front enclosure should be installed before the roof and side panels if possible.
FRONT ENCLOSURE FOR 20' WIDE BUILDING NOTE THAT STOR-PORTS WILL HAVE A FRONT ENCLOSURE INSTALLED AT THE FRONT OF THE STORAGE AREA. THIS WILL USUALLY BE THE THIRD FRAME SECTION FROM THE BACK. SELF-DRILLING SCREW SELF-DRILLING WHITE SCREW H H G C STITCHING SCREW G A G B G D A J E D F G E F PARTS LIST PART NO. PART QTY.
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS FOR FRONT ENCLOSURE FRAME FE-20 (20 WIDE) SEE NEXT PAGE FOR LOCATION OF FRONT ENCLOSURE ON STOR-PORT FRAME. STEP 1: Assemble Front base Rails and L-Sections Assemble the Front Base Rails (F) to the L-Sections (E) Do not attach with screws at this time. Place one Base Rail Assembly in each front corner of the building as shown and fasten the Front Base Rail (F) to the side Base Rails of the building with Angle Brackets (G) and Self-Drilling Screws.
STEP 3: Assembling Door Verticals Place one Door Vertical (D) on to one L-Section (E). Square the Door Vertical Tube With the building by measuring and setting the distance from the outer edge of the building to the inside (door opening) edge of the door Vertical at 24" at the top. This should match the bottom dimension. Put a mark on the rafter above to use as a placement guide. IMPORTANT: Make sure that your building frame is square before attaching the vertical door tube.
STEP 6: Installation of Door Header Brace (C) Attach the Door Header Brace (C) to the top center of the Short Header Tube (B) with two Angle Brackets (H) and #12 x1” self-drilling screws. Level the Door Header Assembly and attach the top of the Door Header Brace to the building Peak with one Flat Bracket (H) and (6) #12 x 1” self-drilling screws.
INSTALLATION OF HORIZONTAL SHEET METAL ON FRONT OF BUILDING (3) 12' PANELS Additional panels will be required for buildings over 9 1/2’ at the eave. NOTE: The sheet metal on the back enclosure and front enclosure should be installed before the roof and side panels if possible. If you installed height extensions the number of panels and measurements will be different.
INSTALLING HORIZONTAL SHEET METAL ON THE CARPORT FRAME: Sheet metal panels run horizontally on your carport/building. Carport Panel lengths are all 10’ or 10’ and 14’ for longer structures: 10’ panels at the ends of an 18’ long frame will overhang the frame 11” at both ends. 14’ panels at the ends of the roof will overhang the frame 5” at the front and 4” at the back.
INSTALLING PANEL TWO: Check the list on the previous page for the length of panel 2 and any additional panels for your building. If you have not removed the protective paper on the butyl tape that you applied to panel 1, do that at this time. Now, position panel two as shown below with a 2” (or more depending on the panels used on your building) overlap on panel one. Press the panels together well to create a good seal with the butyl caulk.
INSTALLING THE 2ND PANEL, 2ND COURSE AND ADDITIONAL PANELS 2ND COURSE The additional panel/panels in the second course must be positioned with the underlap edge to the upper side of the panel. The upper underlap edge of the panel will lap under the panel above and the end of the panel will lap under the panel you just installed. Run a bead of butyl caulk on the end to be lapped under the previous panel 1” from the end and remove the protective paper.
INSTALLING VINYL EDGE TRIM ON A CARPORT: Install vinyl edge trim on front, back and side edges of sheet metal panels. Start at one corner and push the trim securely over the sheet metal edge. Install the trim on the gable ends first starting at one corner, up along the gable and down to the other corner. Install vinyl edge trim on both side edges of the carport. Clip the trim flush with the edge of the trim on the gable ends. It may help to use a small hammer to fit trim over major ribs.
INSTALLATION OF SHEET METAL PANELS ON THE SIDE OF BUILDING (8) 10’ panels on an18’ long x 7 1/2’ side wall frame. (use panels in the same order as you did on the roof.) Longer buildings may have some 14’ panels also. Stor-Ports will have 9’ side panels on the last two frame sections only. These instructions assume that the roof panels are installed on the building and the screws above the bottom rib have not yet been installed.
INSTALLATION OF CORNER TRIM STORAGE SHELTER Note: If you purchased a front enclosure for your shelter, please skip this page and proceed to page 29 (Installation of corner and door trim) STEP 1: INSTALLATION OF FRONT TRIM (EAVE TRIM 2 1/4” X 3 1/2” FOR BUILDINGS WITH NO FRONT ENCLOSURE) Measure the distance from the bottom of the roof overhang on the front corner of the building to the bottom of the building and cut a piece of Eave Trim to fit.
INSTALLATION OF BACK AND FRONT CORNER TRIM ON BUILDINGS AND STOR-PORTS (CORNER/GABLE TRIM 5 1/8” X 5 1/8”) Measure the distance from the bottom of the roof overhang to the bottom of the building and cut a piece of trim to fit. Place the trim on the corner of the building below the roof overhang and fasten it to the sheet metal with 3/4” stitching screws at each major rib. Repeat on the three remaining corners.
INSTALLING YOUR GARAGE DOOR IN A VERSATUBE FRAME Note that the Versatube frame is all steel with no overhead ceiling joist. You must deviate from the door manufacturer’s instructions to install the garage door in the Versatube frame. The following is a list of the installation steps that will be different from the door manufacturer’s assembly instructions: 1. It is not necessary for you to frame out your door opening with 2 x 6 lumber. Track brackets will be attached directly to the steel door frame. 2.
Step 5 Installing Additional Door Sections Follow the door manufacturer’s instructions and assemble door section 2. Note that each door section uses a different height hinge at the ends of the door and the same size hinge in the center of the door. When the second door section is assembled, install the rollers and install the door section into the vertical door tracks sliding it down from the top of the tracks. With the section in place attach the door hinges connecting section one to section two.
RAFTER RAFTER #12 x 3/4” PAINTED SELF-DRILLING SCREW WITH RUBBER WASHER #12 x 3/4” PAINTED SELF-DRILLING SCREW WITH RUBBER WASHER DOOR TRACK WITH EXTENSION ANGLE EYE HOOK WITH 2 LOCKING NUTS PROVIDED WITH GARAGE DOOR (HOOK FOR SPRING) 5/16” X 3/4” HEX BOLT, LOCK WASHER & NUT ATTACHMENT OF DOOR TRACK WITH EXTENSION ANGLE TO RAFTER IN 12’ WIDE BUILDING WITH A LOW HEADROOM KIT INSTALLED. Before you start, make sure that the tracks are level and square to the front of the building.
INSTALLING THE TOP DOOR SECTION With the door tracks (and low headroom kit if required) installed it is now time to install the last or top door section. Place the last door section on top of the section before. Center it side to side and clamp the bottom of the top section to the lower section or have a helper hold the bottom of the section in place while you attach the hinges connecting the sections at the center and both ends.
