Comments on: Can I Pad my Parking Garage Pillar to Save My Paint Job?

Question: Can I Pad my Parking Garage Pillar to Save My Paint Job?

bonheur — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:36:24 -0800

Where can I buy a padded jacket for the concrete pillar in my parking garage that I keep accidentally scraping my car against?

So, for the second time this year my mom has scraped the side of her car against a concrete pillar in our parking garage. The repairs are very expensive. I'm sure I saw a padded pillar jacket in another garage, something thick and squishy wrapped around the pillar to help reduce damage if someone were to accidentally touch the pillar with the side of their car. I know I could do this myself with carpet padding or something similar, but I'd really like to buy something pre-made that attaches with velcro or buckles. Can anyone help me find something like this online?

By: Iteki

Iteki — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:41:20 -0800

By: Iteki

Iteki — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:43:28 -0800

Lagging Jackets they are called it would seem. Otherwise I would buy a bunch of that expanded foam lagging for regular pipes and duct tape a "fence" of it around your pole.

By: RichardP

RichardP — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:27:07 -0800

Are you in the US? McMaster-Carr sells 1" thick flexible polyurethane foam that has a vinyl facing on the front side (provides strength and abrasion resistance) and adhesive on the back side. The sheets are 4 1/2 feet wide and available in any length (up to 144 feet) for about $16 a foot.

By: LionIndex

LionIndex — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:34:01 -0800

How about the ones they use for keeping water heaters insulated?
They are like duvets for cylindrical things. Might not stand up to being hit with a car, I would probably give it a few wraps with duct-tape.

I've only ever seen people wrap a sheet of fiberglass insulation around water heaters--which wouldn't stand up well to impact at all. Heat insulation and impact resistance generally require fairly similar material properties, but in this case it doesn't quite work.

By: oblio_one

oblio_one — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:38:54 -0800

my first thought was the padding used on football goal posts and equipment on ski mountains, but froogle tells me that stuff is in the 200 dollar range.

If not RichardP's excellent suggestion; might an old comforter plus duct tape work well? One that is very thick and being thrown out anyway?

By: RichardP

RichardP — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:45:47 -0800

Compared to the self-adhesive foam I recommended earlier, I can also suggest a solution that's cheaper and that can be removed later, but it doesn't qualify as pre-made. Buy several 6' foam sleeping pads ($10 each) and a set or two of sleeping bag straps ($3 a pair) or a couple of lashing straps ($3 each). Then wrap the foam pads around the pillar and secure them with the straps.

By: 45moore45

45moore45 — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:52:29 -0800

I have seen used tires with a seam cut so they fit around the pole used to protect cars. You'd have to stack up a few and they might be wider than your space allows, but you can probably find used tires for free and they seemed to work well.

By: krisak

krisak — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 18:03:29 -0800

You could try moving blankets and secure them using ratcheting tie down straps. That solution should be pretty cheap and I think those blankets hold up pretty well. We used to get them out of the dumpsters of moving companies and golf courses.

By: box

box — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:46:47 -0800

How hard is she hitting it, and how thick is the pillar?

By: dhartung

dhartung — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:16:37 -0800

Instead of wrapping the pillar, can you do something to increase visibility, like painting it, or adding a mirror (to the parking space, or inside the car)?

I have a lazy eye and I use extra mirror kits you can get from auto supply stores.

By: hjo3

hjo3 — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:23:59 -0800

Make sure you have permission from the owners before you start putting this stuff up. I would get it in writing, but maybe that's just me. (Besides, if you talk to them about it there's a teeny-tiny chance they might spring for the equipment themselves.)