Bollard accessories shield bollards from water, temperature extremes and damage from motor vehicles. This helps extend a bollard’s life and reduces the need for repeated maintenance. Your bollards are an essential part of your business. Whether they protect your storefront or guide customers to your business, bollards are aesthetic tools that serve your business every day. Give your bollards the best care by investing in bollard caps and covers. Learn the similarities and differences between bollard caps and covers so you can choose the best accessory for your business.

Bollard Accessory Options and Types

Several bollard accessories are available to protect your property’s bollards from the elements and keep them looking fresh and new. Bollard covers slip over the entire length of the bollard, providing a protective barrier, while bollard caps fit tightly on the top of the bollard. Each type of accessory offers functional and aesthetic benefits for your business and bollards.

Bollard Caps

Bollard caps measure at least 6 inches tall and come in 4 1/2-inch and 6.625-inch diameters. The caps slip onto the tops of pipe bollards and fit most standard sizes. Some reasons many choose to install bollard caps include:

• Affordability: Bollard caps are budget-friendly. Installing the caps on existing bollards is often more cost-effective than repairing or repainting the bollards regularly.
• High-quality materials: Bollard caps consist of weather-resistant and UV-resistant PVC vinyl. The UV treatment keeps the vinyl from fading or breaking down — even when exposed to sunlight every day in parking garages and parking lots.
• Various options: Bollard caps come in two diameters and a wide range of colors, from attention-grabbing yellow to neutral black. Other color choices include blue, green and red. With all these choices, you are sure to find an option that supports the bollard’s function and fits your business’s aesthetic.
• Protection against wear: Bollard caps prevent water from pooling on top of the post and help keep trash out of posts. With bollard caps in place, the posts themselves are less likely to need paint touch-ups or other forms of maintenance.
• Visibility: Depending on the type you install, bollard caps make it easier for drivers to spot bollards, particularly in dark or overcast conditions. If visibility is a concern, a brightly colored yellow cap might be a good choice.
• Vehicle protection: The vinyl material absorbs shocks, reducing damage to vehicles that drive into a bollard post.

Whether you are looking for something cheap to install and will reduce maintenance costs or something that will further enhance the function of your bollards, caps can be an excellent choice for businesses considering accessories for their bollards.

Bollard Covers

Plastic bollard covers slip over the entire length of the post. They protect the post, as well as anything that might bump into it. Bollard covers can also help improve the visibility of the posts. Some more benefits of installing bollard covers include:

• Form and function: Bollard covers combine form and function by protecting posts while enhancing the style of your parking garages, parking lots or loading docks.
• Increased visibility: Depending on the bollard cover’s color, it can help make posts more visible in dark conditions or poor weather, like rain or fog.
• Minimized wear and tear: Bollard covers use UV- and weather-resistant materials to protect bollards from rust and other types of wear and tear. They can also minimize damage to vehicles that bump into them in a parking lot, much like bollard caps.
• Reduced maintenance: With a bollard cover in place, there is less need to repaint or scrape rust from your bollards. Like caps, you can save time and money on bollard maintenance with a bollard cover.
• Style options: Bollard covers are available in round or square shapes and come in various sizes. Materials include high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and fabric, allowing you to find the option that best fits your coverage needs.

With a bollard cover, you can transform your bollards into more functional and durable structures that will last for a long time after your investment.

Bollard Wrap Covers

A bollard wrap cover encases the entire bollard post. It protects the post from rain, sun and other weather conditions while letting you send a message to customers. You can print designs and words on your bollard wrap covers to customize them and advertise your business. Some of the benefits of bollard wrap covers include:

• Customized messages: You can choose bollard wrap covers that have words printed on them, such as “Car Wash” or “ATM Inside,” to share information with potential customers quickly and easily. You can also use the wrap covers to promote a sale or direct people to the right location. Whatever information you need to share, you can utilize bollard wrap covers to do so.
• Celebrated holidays or events: Bollard wrap covers let you add a festive touch to your parking area or the exterior of your building. For example, you can slip an American flag-printed cover over the bollards to celebrate the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.
• Increased visibility: Like other types of bollard covers, bollard wrap covers can make the posts more visible, reducing the chance someone will bump into them in dark or cloudy conditions.
• Protection from the elements: Bollard wrap covers shield bollards from rain, sun and other elements, reducing the need for regular maintenance and extending the life of the bollards.

For great protective benefits and customized messaging, choose wrap covers. These accessories let you display messages or create festive spaces during holiday seasons.

Similarities Between Bollard Caps and Covers

If you are choosing between bollard caps and covers, you can help ease the challenge of deciding by looking at the similarities between the two accessories. Both caps and covers are excellent choices for protecting your bollards against damage and wear and tear. Regardless of which accessory you choose, you can ensure that your bollards will be safe from the weather, saving you money from repairs. They also protect cars from collision damages.

Additionally, you can make your parking lot or garage and storefront safer for pedestrians and drivers with both accessories because they enhance visibility. This can further protect your bollards from damages due to lack of visibility as well. Whether it is protection from the dark or poor weather conditions, you can count on caps and covers to help make your bollards more visible to customers.

Whatever you choose, you will have the freedom to customize and select bollard accessories that fit seamlessly into your current business aesthetic and style. With several material options and features for caps and covers, you can find a look that will match what you are looking for.

Differences Between Bollard Caps and Covers

While caps and covers have a lot of areas where they overlap, there are key differences between them you should be aware of as you explore your options. Understanding these differences can help you make the best choice for your business as you determine exactly what you need from your bollard accessories.

First, you should consider the coverage area. Caps will only cover the tops of your bollards, while covers will encase the entire thing. If you primarily want to protect your bollard against weather and trash, caps will be perfect for you. However, if your bollards are in high-traffic areas and experience more wear, you may want to consider covers.

Caps provide a good level of customization so you can find the option that fits your business best. However, cover wraps also allow you to deliver messages to your customers and change them to display something seasonal or promotional. Thinking about the purpose of your bollard accessory will help you decide which one will best serve your business.

Material Options for Bollard Accessories

When choosing your bollard accessories, you can select from various materials. These options can further help you customize your bollards to fit your business needs and style best. Materials for bollard caps and covers can include:

• HDPE: HDPE is a high-quality plastic that comes in various colors and styles. As a waterproof material, it can keep bollard posts from rusting or becoming damaged by rain or wet conditions. HDPE also protects the bollards from the sun’s UV rays.
• PVC vinyl: PVC is another high-quality plastic that protects bollards from moisture and UV light. PVC vinyl is a soft material that can absorb shocks, which helps reduce scrapes, scratches and other types of damage to vehicles that hit or bump it.
• Cast iron decorative covers: When form matters, cast iron decorative covers can be the right choice. The decorative covers can match a building’s aesthetic while offering functional benefits, such as protecting the bollards from wear and tear.
• Stainless steel covers: Stainless steel resists corrosion and rust and looks good. When the goal is to create a sleek and sophisticated aesthetic, stainless steel bollard covers can be appropriate.

Benefits of Bollard Accessories

Since bollards’ designs can already withstand the elements, it might seem strange to accessorize them. Bollard accessories can give you peace of mind that the bollards will have a long life, with little attention from you. Benefits of bollard covers and caps include:

• Protection from the elements: Small amounts of sun, rain and wind won’t wear down or harm bollards. However, many bollards are outdoors every day in parking lots, parking garages or on the main street. Bollard caps and covers help minimize their exposure to the wind, rain and other weather conditions to help your bollards last longer and create less work for you.
• Reduced painting or maintenance: You reduce the need to maintain the post when you utilize a bollard cover or put a cap on it. If you’ve been painting your bollard posts seasonally or annually, covering them can help you cut back, saving time and money in the long run.
• Enhanced aesthetics: Bollard accessories can ensure your property remains aesthetically pleasing, whether you choose a decorative cover that matches your building’s design and architecture or choose a plastic cover that adds a pop of color to neutral bollards.
• Protection for vehicles: If a car bumps into a post encased in a soft plastic bollard cover, it’s less likely to end up scratched or dented. Covering bollards means lower costs to drivers who might bump into them. The bollard covers can also protect the posts themselves from the impact of a collision, reducing damage.
• Conveyed information: A bollard wrap cover lets you send a message to anyone who drives by. What that message says is up to you. It can be anything from directions to your business to promotional advertisements of sales and services.
• Extended life for bollards: When a bollard post has protection from vehicle impacts, rain, sun and other elements, it’s going to last longer than one left uncovered.

How Do I Choose the Right Bollard Cover or Cap?

What type of bollard accessory is right for your posts? Whether you choose bollard covers or caps, there are some things to consider.

• Aesthetics: Aesthetic goals play a big part in determining the best type of accessories. If you want your bollards to match a sleek, contemporary building, a stainless steel bollard cover might be the right option. If you’re going for something more playful and fun, HDPE covers in a rainbow of colors might be a good pick.
• Cost: Remember your budget when choosing a cap or cover for your bollards. When reviewing the cost of the bollard covers or caps, also keep in mind how much you can save by installing them. You might eliminate annual paint jobs or deep cleanings, which can help make the accessories even more affordable.
• Bollard location: Think about where the bollards are when choosing their accessories. If they are in a dark area and need more visibility, choosing a bright cap or cover makes sense. If the bollards are in front of your property or can be seen easily from the street, you might want to choose a decorative wrap cover with a message on it to encourage people to stop in.

As you consider purchasing bollard accessories, you should think about how they will meet your business and bollard goals. Do you see your bollards as an opportunity to share a message or promote your business? Is your primary concern safety, protecting pedestrians and cyclists, or guiding motor vehicles through tight areas? Is there a specific material, such as stainless steel, that you are interested in utilizing?

Overall, bringing your goals into the decision-making process will help you choose the best bollard accessories for your business and current bollards.

Accessorize Your Bollards With Blockaides Today

Blockaides can help you pick the accessories that will serve you best, whether your goal is to protect your bollards from rain or sun or use the posts to promote your business. We offer bollard accessories, including caps, bollard sleeves, plastic covers and wrap covers. To learn more about our accessories and choose the items that work best for you, contact us today.