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-   -   Parking space too short - How to extend the protection for my cars? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/237242-parking-space-too-short-how-extend-protection-my-cars.html)

Moved to a new place in Bangalore and the parking space is too small. The cars (Rapid & Polo) keep jutting out and the rainwater falls on the rear of the cars. Do you know any reliable roof/shed/parking lot extension solutions or service provider? Would like to protect the cars before the monsoon sets in.

@Mods: Could not find a relevant thread for service provider in Bangalore. Kindly merge if I missed.

One suggestion is:
Find a metal fabricator to fix 2-3 metal brackets perpendicular to the wall. Mount a 5 or 6mm acrylic sheet on top of this.

1" or 1.5" Square pipes can be used as the metal support. Or even 1.5"-2" wide, 5mm metal strip bent at a little more than 90 degrees (to get a slope for the acrylic sheet).

The mounting part of the bracket/pipe must have holes in it to be fixed to the wall. The supporting part of this bracket and the acrylic sheet must have matching holes.

Acrylic sheets can get be got in hardware shops dealing with this.

Fabricators can be those shops who fabricate gates

If the fabricator will only provide the brackets. then get hold of the utility services people to fix the bracket to the wall, and then the sheet on top of this. These people should also have the drilling machines to drill the holes.

You can consider something like this.


I have seen rolling shades in many self service restaurants (darshini) in Bangalore. This will help if you want to retract the shade when the cars are out. This will also help if your lane is small and the shade jutting out 24X7 might hinder vehicle movement.

I think a retractable awning could be a solution you are looking for.



I tried googling "awning Bangalore" and got quite a number of hits with a decent amount of reviews. See which one suits you best.

Thank you all. Both ideas are excellent. :thumbs up Will google vendors as well. However, would be great if you have some known vendors/ fabricators I can reach out to as well.

Can you post a picture of your parking space? There are multiple solutions

1) Simple tarpaulin sheet (looks ugly) or bit stylish like (search for brand Hippo) - May not last long
2) Retractable ones mentioned above
3) Roofing sheet (up to 3ft can be extended without pillars)

There's a few suggestions already but an important note: do check with the Society Office/RWA on what will be permitted. External structures typically aren't permitted / would require explicit permission. Ensure you get approval in writing on your solution before commencing work.

I'd suggest getting a metal bracket + sheet rather than acrylic sheets or awning as it's sturdier. The acrylic sheets (esp if partially transparent) will start looking ugly once dirt/debris start collecting on top. Awning is a) not sturdy (and will sway when windy), b) once dirty starts accumulating, retracting it becomes messy.

If you get a sheet done, do ensure it extends more than you need in all the three directions and has a curve on the front face, to avoid spray when the rain isn't just falling down straight.

I would go with a retractable awning for two reasons:

1. In Mumbai, even the super-strict BMC is totally cool with it. Am sure it's a similar situation with Bangalore authorities.

2. Retractable awnings are used by residential buildings, shops, godowns, restaurants and what not. Because of the wide customer base, good suppliers are easy to find.

Of course, that's only if you actually want to 'protect' your cars. I personally would have no problem with the heaviest rainfall on my cars. Manufacturers do rigorous testing, they are built for that and you shouldn't have any issues, unless there is a leak somewhere.

I am considering these awnings, but to protect my cars from bird poop & coconuts.

Retractable Awnings, though a decent proposal must be considered after evaluating the location and wind factor at that particular point.
Such Awnings fixed at places prone to high winds cause considerable loss. Or you may have to watch for that rare moment when you expect damage to the awning and tuck it safely.

I am not sure an awning will offer any reliable protection from falling coconuts. They are quite heavy and might tear the fabric. Also bouncing coconuts are a definite safety hazard.
I think nets would be better. You know the ones used on construction sites.



This discussion on coconut hazard reminded me of an incident from many years ago. It is hilarious as well as sad at the same time.
One of our friends tipped us off and all of us rushed to his place. Daewoo had just introduced Cielo in the Indian markets and our friends uncle had bought one. There she stood, all brand new and shiny. We oohed and aahed as we admired her. The friends uncle stood there proud as a peacock accepting our congratulations. He flung open the doors and we thrust our heads inside, breathing in the new car smell. Then he demonstrated all the features, ending up with the fog lines on the rear window, which we thought were absolutely rocket science back then. We parted ways after managing to extract a promise from him for a ride. Soon, he assured us.

Everyday we used to pester our friend to in turn pester his uncle for the ride. Unfortunately it never materialised.
It turned out, our friends uncle and aunt had a bit of an argument on where the new car should be parked. They lived in a kind of narrow lane. The new car was longish, the main door a bit narrow, and uncle was not really confident of driving the car inside.
Nonsense exclaimed the aunt. She was worried someone might scratch the car in passing since the lane was narrow.
Like all husbands, uncle gave in to his wife's wisdom and after lot of manipulation managed to park the car inside the premises. The next morning, he was horrified to notice a coconut had fallen on the rear window and totalled it. It had also left a big dent as it bounced to the ground. I do not remember if he managed to get it repaired under insurance or not, but all of us laughed quite a bit about it.

I think if you can share a picture of your current parking space, it would be easier for the forum to suggest ideas. Most of the suggestions are purely ideas that may or may not work for you. A few pics from all angles would make it so much easier to understand your concern.

The problem with having your car right under a wall is: rain water will flow down the wall on to your car and it will typically carry a small bit of wall paint and dust and cement as well. Over time, you will see sedimentation which will mess with the car paint.

There's also the risk of inconsiderate residents tossing something from the balcony/window that could fall on to the car... you know how people like to toss away those remaining few sips of tea, or the wrapper, or cig buds... you get the gist. :D

This is what I did. Extension is around 3 feet with a square water gutter. Entire thing is bolted on to the roof.

Worse, I saw a car crumble under an old wall that just gave away after an overnight downpour. I would never leave my car at nature's mercy. If I don't have a parking, I am willing to sell my car but will not leave it outside even for one day. Even when I am travelling, I look at the hotel's parking slot and then book a room. The windshield, plastic and rubber material inside wear over a period of time when left in the sun and rain.

Hi
I saw this shade system in one of the youtube videos. Its a manually operated diy shade from IKEA. Hope it might help if you don't need a permanent setting. Attaching pictures and link to the video-

Video link- https://youtu.be/LWSpGmRFgYI