In most cases no. A carport is an open-sided structure rather than an enclosed building, so it is normally treated as permitted development, which is one of the reasons it works out quicker and cheaper than a garage. Conservation areas, listed buildings and new-build covenants all change the answer, so a call to your local planning office before you order is worth the ten minutes.

Clear sheets let the most light through and stop a narrow driveway feeling boxed in. Opal spreads the light and softens the glare, which suits a carport you also use as a covered working area. Bronze cuts the light back furthest and reads darkest from the street, so it sits quietly against brick. All three are part of the same roof kit, so the choice is about look rather than cost.

Two posts suit the shorter widths and keep the front edge clear for car doors. Three is the usual choice through the middle of the range. Four gives the most support across the longest 7.22m widths or on an exposed plot that catches the wind. The posts stand along the outer edge, with the opposite side of the structure fixed back to your wall.

It is wall mounted, so it needs a sound, load-bearing wall running the full width of the structure. Solid brick, blockwork and rendered block are all straightforward. Timber cladding, single-skin garden walls and older lime-mortared brickwork are worth checking before you order. Depths run from 2m to 4.5m, so you can pull the posts back from a boundary if you need to.

The sheets in your chosen colour, the glazing bars in brown or white, and the fittings that go with them, so the roof does not need a separate trip to a builders merchant. The redwood frame, the curved corner braces and the decorative pedestal panels come with it. If none of the forty-two standard sizes suits your driveway, bespoke sizes are made to order.