Carport or garage? Walls cost $25,000.
We build carports, so you would expect us to argue for them. Instead here is the honest version: a garage is a genuinely better answer for some Pakenham blocks, and a waste of $25,000 on others. The whole decision comes down to what you are actually protecting, and whether you need to lock it up.
It is not a style choice. It is a building classification.
Open sides. That is the whole difference. A carport has at least two sides open and is treated as a Class 10a non-habitable structure with relatively relaxed rules. A garage is enclosed with at least three walls and a door, and although it is also Class 10a it triggers tighter ResCode and overlay scrutiny, particularly on front setbacks in residential zones. That single distinction drives everything downstream - the permit pathway, the price, the footing schedule and whether council wants to talk to your neighbours about it.
It matters structurally as well as legally. An open carport lets wind blow straight through it. A walled box catches that wind, which changes the internal pressure coefficients in the AS/NZS 1170.2 calculation and pushes the uplift and racking loads up hard. A garage is not a carport with walls added. It is a different structure carrying different loads into deeper footings.
What each actually costs in 2026.
Substantially different, and it is not close. Here are the real bands we quote and see across Cardinia Shire this year, for the same 6 x 6m double footprint beside a Pakenham brick veneer on Class M clay.
Double carport, 6 x 6m:
- Flat-roof Colorbond, fully fitted: $7,000-$11,000
- Gable Colorbond, fully fitted: $9,000-$13,000
- Includes slab, Class M engineered footings, guttering, permit and engineering certificate.
- Optional: side or end walling at $120-$220 per linear metre, insulated roof upgrade at +$1,200-$2,800, electrical rough-in at $480-$1,200, roller door to make one bay lockable at $1,400-$2,800.
- Build time on site: 3-5 days. Permit: 2-4 weeks.
Double garage, 6 x 6m:
- Enclosed, walls, roller door, engineered slab, wiring: $28,000-$45,000
- Build time on site: 3-6 weeks. Permit: 2-4 weeks, or 6-12 if planning is triggered.
- Deeper footings and a heavier frame, because the enclosed structure catches wind rather than passing it through.
You are roughly tripling the spend to gain lockable, enclosed storage. If your actual problem is hail, sun and bird mess on the car, you are paying $25,000 extra for walls that solve a problem you do not have. Our full itemised bands are on the pricing guide.
A three-car family in Officer, both options priced.
The most common version of this conversation. A 2015 estate home in Officer with an existing integrated double garage, 450m² block, three cars in the family, one of them permanently on the driveway getting hammered by summer sun and spring hail.
Option A - a second garage:
- Not physically viable on the setbacks, and even if it were, roughly $28,000-$45,000.
- Almost certainly pulls a planning permit at 6-12 weeks because of the front-setback position.
- Estate covenant likely restricts materials and roof pitch on a structure that is visible from the street.
Option B - a single carport beside the garage:
- 3 x 6m flat-roof Colorbond in Monument to match the existing facade: $5,500
- New slab, 18m² at $95-$140/m²: included in the fixed price
- Class M engineered footings, 900-1200mm pads: included
- Guttering and downpipe to the legal point of discharge: included
- Building permit and engineering certificate: included
- Total: $5,500. Six weeks from call to finished. No planning permit, behind the building line.
The third car is out of the weather for a fifth of the price of the garage that could not legally go there anyway. That is the typical answer in the growth-corridor estates, and it is why we build far more carports in Officer and Cardinia Lakes than anywhere else in the Shire. Structural detail is on steel carports and the profile decision on gable vs flat roof.
The honest case for walls.
We are not going to pretend a carport wins every time. There are real reasons to spend the extra $25,000, and if any of these is your situation we will say so at the site visit rather than sell you the cheaper thing.
- You need to lock it. A classic car, a trailer full of tools, a motorbike. A carport is an open structure and no amount of clever design changes that.
- You need a workshop. Dust, noise, a bench, somewhere to leave a project half-finished. A carport is not a workshop and pretending otherwise ends badly.
- You need dry storage. Cardboard, tools, anything that hates our wet Cardinia winter. A carport keeps rain off the top of a car; it does not create a dry room.
- Insurance premium on a specific vehicle. Rare, but some policies price garaged versus non-garaged differently. Worth a phone call to your insurer before you decide.
And the middle ground worth knowing about: a carport with one walled end and a roller door on a single bay. You get a lockable bay and an open bay for perhaps $3,000-$4,500 over a standard double carport, still well under half a garage. It has to be designed that way from the start, because those walls change the wind loading.
Frequently asked questions.
What is the actual difference between a carport and a garage?
Open sides. A carport has at least two sides open and is treated as a Class 10a non-habitable structure with relatively relaxed rules. A garage is enclosed with at least three walls and a door, and although it is also Class 10a it triggers tighter ResCode and overlay scrutiny, particularly on front setbacks in residential zones. That single distinction drives everything downstream - the permit pathway, the price, the footing schedule and whether council wants to talk to your neighbours about it.
Is a carport cheaper than a garage in Pakenham?
Substantially, and it is not close. A 6 x 6m double carport in Pakenham runs $7,000 to $11,000 flat-roof or $9,000 to $13,000 gable, fully fitted with slab, permit and engineering. A comparable double garage - walls, roller door, engineered slab, wiring - is typically $28,000 to $45,000 in 2026. You are roughly tripling the spend to gain lockable, enclosed storage. If your actual problem is hail, sun and bird mess on the car, you are paying $25,000 extra for walls that solve a problem you do not have.
Does a carport or a garage add more value before selling?
A garage usually adds more raw value, but a carport almost always returns better on what you spend. In the Cardinia growth-corridor estates, where nearly every home already has a double garage, a second enclosed garage adds little. Covered parking for the second or third car - the one currently baking on the driveway - is what buyers there actually notice, and it costs a third of the price. In older Pakenham and on the semi-rural blocks, where a house may have no covered parking at all, either helps. The permitted, engineered, documented status matters more to a buyer's inspector than which one you chose.
Can I enclose a carport later to make it a garage?
Only if it was engineered for it, and most are not. Enclosing a carport fundamentally changes the structure - an open carport lets wind pass through, while a walled box catches it, so internal pressure coefficients under AS/NZS 1170.2 change and the uplift and racking loads go up sharply. Bolting walls onto a carport frame designed as an open structure is genuinely dangerous. It also converts it to a garage for planning purposes, which can trigger setback rules that the carport was exempt from. If enclosure is a possibility, tell us at the quote and we will design and certify for it now - that costs far less than retrofitting later.
Which one is easier to get approved in Cardinia Shire?
The carport, comfortably. Because a carport is open-sided it is treated more leniently on siting, and a carport behind the building line with no overlay is usually a building permit only through a private building surveyor - 2 to 4 weeks. The equivalent garage attracts tighter ResCode scrutiny and is more likely to pull a planning permit through council at 6 to 12 weeks. Forward of the building line, both can need planning, but the carport's threshold sits lower. On a Heritage Overlay lot the gap widens again: a gable carport in a heritage colour will often get through where an enclosed garage will not.
The full approval picture, including which overlays apply where, is set out on our Cardinia Shire carport permit guide.
Where we build.
Not sure which one your block needs?
We will look at the setbacks, the covenant and what you actually park, and tell you honestly if a carport is the wrong answer. Free written quote.