Automatic Rising Bollards

[JohnnyUK]

Hi All

Any experience positive or negative with this sort of thing:

https://bollardsecurity.co.uk/bollards/automatic-b...

We're looking for a mixture of better security to avoid car theft, but also to stop Amazon drivers (as just one example!) using our drive to turn around (we live in a cul de sac)

Any companies you'd recommend? Battery or mains powered? Electric or Hydraulic?

ETA: we're not allowed to have a fence or gate per covenants.

Thanks!

Edited by JohnnyUK on Saturday 17th January 21:53

[GasEngineer]

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

[LooneyTunes]

I had some BFT powered bollards installed on our office car park: they worked flawlessly over the course of several years. I’ve been contemplating getting some at home.

Go for mains power if you can, they’ll almost certainly be faster and more reliable, and make sure the installer assesses / deals with water. We didn’t have a problem on that site but I have experienced issues elsewhere where water ingress into the bollard pit has caused problems in cold weather when it has turned to ice and prevented the (hydraulic/manual) bollard from moving.

If you’re going for manual ones, which I’ve also had installed at a couple of sites, hydraulic lift assisted ones are worth the extra money. The problem with manual ones is that people don’t like getting their hands dirty lifting the flap and/or having to get out of their car to drop the bollard, get back in, drive through, get out again... they’re fine for sites where someone is opening up in a morning and closing at night but a PITA for access control throughout the day. Grit ingress into the keyway can also cause issues (clean it out regularly with Wd-40/ptfe spray).

[blueg33]

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

[GasEngineer]

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

[biggiles]

Link didn't work OP?

I've looked at similar - was put off by the need for non-trivial excavation and drainage issues. You essentially have a sizeable hole in the driveway which attracts water like a thirsty eel, and which you need to keep drained of water at all times. Especially if it's freezing.

And if it goes wrong, you might spear a loitering vehicle.

For a domestic driveway, would a simple bollard placed appropriately deter the Evri/amazon drivers? Or a chain across?

[TA14]

biggiles said:

Link didn't work OP?

You need to click on the icon:
https://bollardsecurity.co.uk/product/eco-rise-wir...

[TA14]

biggiles said:

I've looked at similar - was put off by the need for non-trivial excavation and drainage issues. You essentially have a sizeable hole in the driveway which attracts water like a thirsty eel, and which you need to keep drained of water at all times. Especially if it's freezing.

You would think that at the price they're asking a drainage system is included - this will be simple sometimes and other times a nightmare.

[blueg33]

GasEngineer said:

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

I don t need to read the thread. I have been doing property law all my career and have successfully enforced covenants on gates, fences and boundaries.

Further covenants vary wildly. A scheme of development covenant has different enforceability rules, covenants linked to visibility splays, s106 and s52 are all easily enforceable.

Edited by blueg33 on Sunday 18th January 12:34

[allegro]

If your reasoning for the bollard is to prevent vans reversing then I pretty much guarantee someone will hit it. they are expensive things to replace once they are bent. I've had similar issues in the past and every post I bought ended up bent or ripped out of the ground. I did look at plastic flexy bollards but currently have the coffin type with extra reflective tape applied and so far so good

Edited by allegro on Sunday 18th January 13:09

[bigmowley]

The emergency release looks like a possible point of entry for a determined thief? Apart from that it looks like an effective solution for dissuading delivery drivers from accessing the property. According to the spec posted by the OP no external additional drainage is required. The only thing I would be tempted to do is to illuminate the bollards at night so that they are clearly visible to drivers and pedestrians. Third party liability and all that.

[blueg33]

allegro said:

If your reasoning for the bollard is to prevent vans reversing then I pretty much guarantee someone will hit it. they are expensive things to replace once they are bent. I've had similar issues in the past and every post I bought ended up bent or ripped out of the ground. I did look at plastic flexy bollards but currently have the coffin type with extra reflective tape applied and so far so good

Edited by allegro on Sunday 18th January 13:09

I was about to ask whether they suffer damage that makes them unusable if someone does hit them

[TA14]

blueg33 said:

allegro said:

If your reasoning for the bollard is to prevent vans reversing then I pretty much guarantee someone will hit it. they are expensive things to replace once they are bent. I've had similar issues in the past and every post I bought ended up bent or ripped out of the ground. I did look at plastic flexy bollards but currently have the coffin type with extra reflective tape applied and so far so good

Edited by allegro on Sunday 18th January 13:09

I was about to ask whether they suffer damage that makes them unusable if someone does hit them

The stronger ones are fairly resiliant and would resist cars and light trucks. Even so at say £10K to £30K for three or four they are an expensive option.

[Tommo87]

GasEngineer said:

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

Not worthless as the legal premise is sound.
But enforcement is unlikely, especially if the neighbors are actually on board.

[DonkeyApple]

allegro said:

If your reasoning for the bollard is to prevent vans reversing then I pretty much guarantee someone will hit it. they are expensive things to replace once they are bent. I've had similar issues in the past and every post I bought ended up bent or ripped out of the ground. I did look at plastic flexy bollards but currently have the coffin type with extra reflective tape applied and so far so good

Edited by allegro on Sunday 18th January 13:09

This would be my assumption also. A van, in a hurry, reversing is quite likely not to see any singular bollard regardless of any tech being utilised.

[LooneyTunes]

The BFT ones we had installed had built in illumination and reflective tape. Not foolproof though...

[blueg33]

Tommo87 said:

GasEngineer said:

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

Not worthless as the legal premise is sound.
But enforcement is unlikely, especially if the neighbors are actually on board.

The thing is it depends - why the covenant is there, who is the beneficiary, what is the loss,. But many absolutely can be enforced and some are.

The threads you get on PH stating that covenants are unenforceable are extremely misleading and could lead people into making financial decisions that may have been made differently with proper advice rather that PH non expert anecdotes from someone who once built a fence in his front garden

[TA14]

blueg33 said:

Tommo87 said:

GasEngineer said:

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

Not worthless as the legal premise is sound.
But enforcement is unlikely, especially if the neighbors are actually on board.

The thing is it depends - why the covenant is there, who is the beneficiary, what is the loss,. But many absolutely can be enforced and some are.

The threads you get on PH stating that covenants are unenforceable are extremely misleading and could lead people into making financial decisions that may have been made differently with proper advice rather that PH non expert anecdotes from someone who once built a fence in his front garden

And even that thread concludes with: "residents have frequently complained that enforcement is inconsistent—strict on some (like satellite dishes) but lax on others (like anti-social parking or overgrown private gardens)" so not worthless.

[blueg33]

TA14 said:

blueg33 said:

Tommo87 said:

GasEngineer said:

blueg33 said:

GasEngineer said:

Can't advise on the bollard - but there is a recent thread regarding covenants being completely non-enforceable; so a gate may still be an option.

Misleading statement if ever I saw one.

Did you read this thread?

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It appears that covenants are worthless. A surprise to me and others who commented in the thread.

Not worthless as the legal premise is sound.
But enforcement is unlikely, especially if the neighbors are actually on board.

The thing is it depends - why the covenant is there, who is the beneficiary, what is the loss,. But many absolutely can be enforced and some are.

The threads you get on PH stating that covenants are unenforceable are extremely misleading and could lead people into making financial decisions that may have been made differently with proper advice rather that PH non expert anecdotes from someone who once built a fence in his front garden

And even that thread concludes with: "residents have frequently complained that enforcement is inconsistent strict on some (like satellite dishes) but lax on others (like anti-social parking or overgrown private gardens)" so not worthless.

Even with that conclusion, GE came away thinking that covenants are unenforceable and they made that as a factual statement on another thread. That's the danger right there.