Foam cushions for a tight driveway!

fullerand

Hi,

I've just moved into a house with a driveway that has barely enough space for two cars. To allow my wife's car to pull in behind me, I have to drive mine right to the top of the driveway so that my front bumper is touching the wall.

It's only a matter of time before I damage my bumper or the wall, so I'm looking to see if there's some form of waterproof cushion or something that I could put on the wall of the driveway to prevent damage?

Google wasn't my friend in this case, I found nothing.

Thanks!

biko

You can either use a thin boat fender, or cheaper, make a fender from rope.

Wossack

wont look great, but an old tyre - ala fishing boat fenders etc, springs to mind

/edit ^^^ hah, great minds..

Gosub

Some pipe insulation tube attached to the wall?

Toyotafanboi

a more subtle thing to do would be to get say 2000mm of 2x2 timber, driver your car as close to the wall as you can, put the timber in front of the front wheels, reverse the car back and use rawl bolts to fix the timber to the concrete/ tar etc, then you know when you feel your wheel touching it that you are as close as you can safely get. treat the timber and it should last a good many years.

if you wanted to be really stylish you could use a railway sleeper and you probably wouldn't need to rawl bolt that.

edit: this sort of thing.

Special Circumstances

Doubt anyone will do better than Toyotafanbois suggestion. Gold star!

fullerand

Yeah - hat-tip to Toyotafanboi, that's great thanks!

I think I'll still need to go with something soft on the wall though, because sometimes I'll reverse into the driveway, sometimes my wife's car will go in first, etc.

Not sure about putting up tires on the wall, thanks for the ideas though

Del2005

fullerand wrote: »

Yeah - hat-tip to Toyotafanboi, that's great thanks!

I think I'll still need to go with something soft on the wall though, because sometimes I'll reverse into the driveway, sometimes my wife's car will go in first, etc.

Not sure about putting up tires on the wall, thanks for the ideas though

Google bumper guard.

Nforce

Del2005 wrote: »

Google bumper guard.

Yeah..spotted those in NYC recently...

http://vimeo.com/53054591

Del2005

Nforce wrote: »

Yeah..spotted those in NYC recently...

http://vimeo.com/53054591

Just saw them there recently myself.

Special Circumstances

Del2005 wrote: »

Google bumper guard.

Looks like a rubber nappy for your car.
I mean some people are into that whole rubber bonnet bra and wearing diving suits backwards thing but...

CathalDublin

slimjimmc

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

a more subtle thing to do would be to get say 2000mm of 2x2 timber, driver your car as close to the wall as you can, put the timber in front of the front wheels, reverse the car back and use rawl bolts to fix the timber to the concrete/ tar etc, then you know when you feel your wheel touching it that you are as close as you can safely get. treat the timber and it should last a good many years.

if you wanted to be really stylish you could use a railway sleeper and you probably wouldn't need to rawl bolt that.

edit: this sort of thing.

Friend of mine done this using a pair of 4 inch concrete blocks cemented on their flat to his concrete driveway. Has served him well over the years even with different cars.

goz83

Putting something on the ground would be trip hazard though. A strip of rubber membrane on the wall should prevent bumper scuffs. You'll be careful enough not to make contact at any speed, so should avoid any actual damage.

NyOmnishambles

fullerand wrote: »

Yeah - hat-tip to Toyotafanboi, that's great thanks!

I think I'll still need to go with something soft on the wall though, because sometimes I'll reverse into the driveway, sometimes my wife's car will go in first, etc.

Not sure about putting up tires on the wall, thanks for the ideas though

You could paint the tyres a more pleaseing colour or match it to the wall, fill the bottom of the tyre with soil and stick some plants in it to make it more eye pleasing or less noticable

AstraOwner

A sheet of rubber cattle matting should work. Cut it to whatever size suits.

Spook_ie

http://www.park-safety-equipment.com/car-protection-products.html

Spanish company

arthur daly

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Doubt anyone will do better than Toyotafanbois suggestion. Gold star!

Defo the best option both visual and practical

ardle1

I can't believe you let your wife park in your driveway.





I'm in trouble now, aren't I?

ronn

E-bays solution

Pkiernan

Bumping the car up against the wall of your house in the long term could cause very expensive damage to your house.
I'm not taking the piss - the walls are designed to have high compression strength, but will have very little lateral strength in comparison.

Having a soft bumper on the wall will certainly protect your car, but over time could give you a false sense of security.

Something attached to the driveway that will alert you to stop before you touch the wall would be a much better idea.

Del2005

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Looks like a rubber nappy for your car.
I mean some people are into that whole rubber bonnet bra and wearing diving suits backwards thing but...

Not my cup of tea either, but they don't have to go on to the car.

Del2005

slimjimmc wrote: »

Friend of mine done this using a pair of 4 inch concrete blocks cemented on their flat to his concrete driveway. Has served him well over the years even with different cars.

Not much good if he did it with a Mini and then buys an E-Type.

Boom_Bap

Those bumper blockers, fitted in seconds, stolen in less than seconds.

In the USA in carholds (garages) a tennis ball is normally dangled from the roof at a certain point. When you drive in and when the ball touches the window, dont go any further.
is there something like that you could fashion in your driveway?

Otherwise, park your car as normal, put a marking on the wall either to the left or right of the front windows as your point to not go past.

BostonB

I think a tennis ball would get stolen just as easily.

mikom

as an aside......."Foam cushions for a tight driveway" would be a great name for a porno.

ardle1

EUREKA.....
No more nails(silicone)small door wedge stuck to wall facing down, then more no more nails(glue/silicone)and 6"x6" mirror stuck to wedge.

Noccy_Mondy

ardle1 wrote: »

EUREKA.....
No more nails(silicone)small door wedge stuck to wall facing down, then more no more nails(glue/silicone)and 6"x6" mirror stuck to wedge.

By any chance do you work for no more nails?

mickdw

Front bumper cam or parking sensor.
If you need any further assistance in not hitting the building, you should hand in your licence.