What Is a Lean-to?
If you’re a serious hiker, camper, or Boy Scout, then you’ve likely built a lean-to shelter at some point. With just a few wooden stakes or branches, some rope, a tarp or poncho, and a couple of trees to use as supports, you can lash together one of these survival structures pretty quickly. A lean-to shelter is a great place to bed down for the night, and it does a good job of shielding you from wind and precipitation.
Lean-tos for Metal Buildings
This same concept can be used to expand the coverage space of a metal building, as well. Whether you’re looking to add on to a storage shed, carport, garage, barn, workshop, or other metal building, a lean-to offers many possibilities to expand your covered space and make your building even more versatile. A lean-to typically involves a simple-slope design, and it literally “leans” on an adjacent building for support. By taking a metal tubing frame approach, it’s also easy to design and build standalone lean-to structures, as well.
Lean-to Roofs vs. Other Roof Styles
Lean-to roofs are the simplest type of pitched roof. A lean-to roof refers to a single slope roof by definition. In most cases, the upper edge of the lean-to adjoins a taller wall of a building. Lean-to roofs are very commonly used to create basic shelters, and they are often the cheapest alternative for expanding either a new or existing structure.
Good Reasons Why Lean-tos Make Good Sense
⇒ Extend the dimensions of your building without having to break the bank. Want to add on to your barndominium, metal building home, garage, or other metal building design? A metal building with a lean-to (or lean-tos) is a great way to help you get there.
⇒ Add a lean-to for your custom metal carport and increase the amount of space you have for parking vehicles. Lean-tos can be designed to accommodate everything from cars and trucks to motorcycles, RVs, motorhomes, boats, tractors, and more.
⇒ Use a lean-to to create your own open-air picnic area, fire pit area, or covered play area for the kids. You can also place some benches and chairs under your lean-to and have a great place for taking in some sunrises and sunsets in the great outdoors!
⇒ Turn a lean-to area into your own small garden spot. Many plants grow well in partial-shade environments. Use your natural area to grow a variety of plants, vegetables, flowers, ground cover, or whatever you want!
⇒Enclose your lean-to space to add a new room to your building. You can create your own man cave, she shed, workout center, game room, home theater, or kids playhouse. Use your imagination!
Some Creative Lean-to Metal Building Options
How can you incorporate a lean-to into your metal building plan? There are honestly at least as many options as there are metal building types and designs. Here are just a few of the more popular lean-to metal buildings we provide for our customers at Metal Barn Central:
→ Lean-to Storage Sheds
Lean-to sheds are a great way to add some extra storage space when you only have limited space to work with. Lean-tos are a great way to create additional exterior covered space.
→ Lean-to Carports
Maybe you need some more open-air covered space for parking another vehicle or two. A lean-to carport is a perfect solution for meeting that need!
→ Lean-to Garages
Lean-to garages are typically designed as garage buildings with a lean-to extension added on one side. (Of course, you can always add more than one lean-to section, too.) These multipurpose metal buildings are a great, cost-effective way to create both enclosed and open-air storage space to meet a wide range of needs.
→ Lean-to Barns
Ever heard of a step-down barn or a raised center barn? It’s a popular category of metal barns where the main central building section is flanked by shorter sections on either side. The lean-to areas can be left open, or they can be fully enclosed to create an even larger horse barn or other barn application. And if a custom barn is what you’re looking for, just remember that the Metal Barn Central team is full of barn experts!
Can I Add a Lean-to to an Existing Building?
This is probably one of the most common questions we get from metal building owners who are looking to expand their buildings. The short answer is yes, you can! And the cost of adding a lean-to is typically much less than that of adding a second standalone metal building.
There’s just one caveat. Metal Barn Central is typically only able to facilitate lean-to add-ons for buildings that were originally purchased through Metal Barn Central due to building compatibility issues with various manufacturers. Just reach out to a member of our team, and we’ll be happy to answer your questions!
Let’s Get Started on Your Lean-to Metal Building!
If you’re ready to make a plan for getting the lean-to metal building you need, our friendly, knowledgeable building specialists are here to help! You can even create your own custom lean-to building design with our easy-to-use 3D Estimator.
You can access our 3D Estimator or connect with a member of our team by clicking Metal Barn Central. But if you’d just rather just speak with a live human, simply give us a call at (980) 365-8481 today!
