How We Verify Carport Specifications

1. Start with the exact entity

Before recording a number, identify what the source actually describes. CarportFit separates an exact shippable product/configuration from a brand family and from an installed provider. A 20×20 Arrow kit with a specific SKU is not the same data object as “Arrow carports” generally, and a dealer that configures custom structures by ZIP code is not treated as a fixed product.

This avoids one of the most common comparison errors: applying a family-level statement to every size or turning a configurable installed building into a fake exact SKU.

2. Prefer primary technical sources

The preferred evidence order is:

1. Manufacturer engineering documents, dimensioned drawings and installation manuals
2. Exact manufacturer product pages for the configuration being recorded
3. Manufacturer warranty, support and technical-reference pages
4. Authorized dealer technical documents when the manufacturer source is incomplete
5. Provider service-area, ordering and help documentation for installed-provider facts
6. Reputable secondary editorial material only when a primary source cannot answer the question

Retailer marketing copy can help locate a product, but it does not automatically outrank a dimensioned manufacturer drawing or installation manual.

3. Record evidence per critical field

CarportFit does not assume an entire product page is either “good” or “bad.” A page can correctly identify the model and roof material while exposing a malformed dimension or an inconsistent machine-readable wind value. Important hard-fit fields therefore carry field-level provenance where practical.

Critical fields include actual width/length, entrance or opening clearance, ground-to-truss clearance, peak height when relevant, anchoring/foundation requirements and configuration-specific wind/snow claims. A malformed value in one field should not erase valid evidence elsewhere, but it also must not be silently accepted.

4. Keep nominal and actual dimensions separate

Nominal dimensions are useful labels for shopping and SEO. They are not automatically safe inputs for hard physical fit. A “20×20” carport may have roof coverage, base/frame dimensions or overhangs that differ from exactly 20 feet by 20 feet.

CarportFit stores dimensions by meaning wherever sources allow it: roof coverage, frame/base footprint, overall footprint, sidewall height, entrance height, truss clearance and peak height. Finder hard exclusions should use the dimension that actually controls the stated fit question, not whichever number is easiest to find.

The same semantic rule applies across tools. For example, covered/usable length may use a documented usable-clear-length or roof-coverage-length field, but an overall exterior length is not substituted merely because it is available. Exterior geometry can be known while protected length remains unknown.

5. RV clearance requires more than peak height

For an RV, motorhome, fifth wheel or tall trailer, the visitor should enter the actual maximum overall height including rooftop air conditioners, solar panels, vents, antennas and other equipment. The carport record then needs a documented usable clearance that corresponds to the path the vehicle must occupy.

A center peak can be much higher than the structure near the sidewalls. If a manufacturer publishes only peak height and no drawing or truss-clearance dimension supports the full vehicle envelope, CarportFit should not label the result a verified full-width RV fit. The result may remain a possible fit with a clear verification requirement.

6. Missing data stay missing

If a manufacturer does not publish a value, the stored value should be null or an equivalent explicit unknown state. Do not infer a truss clearance from nominal height, convert “heavy duty” into a snow load, assume a ground anchor works on concrete, or use a similar product's value as though it belongs to the exact configuration.

This rule also applies in JavaScript. Missing numeric values must never be coerced into zero through expressions such as Number(null). Unknown is not zero, and a missing field must not accidentally add confidence points or create a false exclusion.

7. Preserve conflicts rather than choosing the nicer number

Manufacturer sources sometimes disagree. A product page may show one dimension while an installation drawing shows another; a family page may advertise a structural rating that an exact configuration page qualifies differently. CarportFit does not silently average those values or choose the higher rating.

Where the conflict affects hard fit or structural interpretation, the affected field should be marked as conflicting, the current sources retained, and the related Data Confidence reduced. If the conflict prevents a defensible physical-fit conclusion, the product cannot receive “Verified fit” status for that criterion until the issue is resolved.

8. Wind and snow numbers keep their conditions

A published wind speed or snow-load figure is stored with the conditions the source gives whenever possible: exact configuration, anchor/foundation requirement, enclosure state, engineering package, exposure assumptions or other qualifications. CarportFit reports the figure as manufacturer-published evidence rather than declaring that the carport is safe or code-compliant at the visitor's address.

Local structural requirements remain a separate question. Visitors should confirm the exact configured structure and applicable requirements with the manufacturer/provider and qualified local professionals.

9. Foundation and anchoring are exact-system questions

CarportFit can compare whether a manufacturer publishes earth, asphalt or concrete anchoring options and can summarize documented foundation requirements. It should not create universal anchor spacing, slab thickness, footing dimensions or embedment rules.

An anchor included with a kit is not automatically appropriate for every surface or every structural rating. The exact manufacturer instructions and project conditions control the final installation decision. The practical technical guides are Anchoring, Foundation, Concrete Slab, Roof Styles, Snow Evidence and Wind Evidence.

10. Installed providers use a different evidence model

Installed providers are matched on documented service area, project types, ordering model and known manufacturer/installer relationships rather than on fabricated exact dimensions. A provider that offers structures from 12 to 30 feet wide is not stored as though CarportFit has verified one fixed 20×30 SKU.

If a provider requires a ZIP code to confirm coverage, a state-level match is only a preliminary filter. Provider records should distinguish seller, manufacturer and installer where current sources show that those roles belong to different companies.

11. Prices are observations, not hard-fit evidence

Retail prices and installed quotes change much faster than dimensions or frame specifications. When a current price is useful, CarportFit can store the observed value with a checked date and source. Finder eligibility and Data Confidence should not depend on exact price unless comparable price coverage becomes sufficiently complete and intentionally incorporated into the methodology.

The Cost Calculator should let visitors use the current kit price or provider quote they are actually seeing while keeping site work, slab/foundation, anchoring, delivery, installation and options visible as separate project components.

12. Commercial relationships stay outside the evidence logic

An affiliate slug, dealer relationship, referral value or merchant priority is output metadata only. It must not change product eligibility, Fit Score, Data Confidence, result ordering, provider ranking or which limitations are disclosed.

A product with no affiliate relationship can be the best documented fit. A commercial partner can be excluded when the dimensions do not fit or receive lower confidence when critical documentation is missing.

13. Re-check important products and providers

Catalog records should retain source URLs and verification dates. High-traffic and commercially important products deserve periodic checks for discontinued generations, changed drawings, revised structural claims, altered warranties and merchant destination changes. Provider records also need periodic service-area and manufacturer-relationship checks.

14. Corrections are welcome

If you find a value that no longer matches current documentation, send the affected CarportFit page, exact product/configuration or provider, and the strongest current source through the Contact page. A correction supported by better evidence improves the dataset; the goal is not to defend an old number.

15. Brand and provider pages preserve entity roles

Brand pages are not generic reviews. Exact-product families such as VersaTube and Arrow are evaluated through model-level evidence. Installed-provider pages such as Carolina, Eagle, American Steel and Alan’s preserve manufacturer, seller/dealer and installer roles separately.

The ShelterLogic page owns the broader ecommerce/category relationship rather than duplicating Arrow’s exact-product evidence.