Earlier today we had a high tech garage door locator/car stopper, and here’s a low tech version from MAKE Flickr pool member Hiram_cook – “Here is my version of a low-tech garage locator device, very low tech. It consists of a piece of carpet, a 4×4 board and some roofing nails. The carpet was one of those samples you can buy at a flooring store. I seem to remember that I paid $1.00 for it. The wood and nails I had left over from a repair job I did at home. All you do is nail the board to the carpet using the roofing nails which have a very large head to help keep the rug attached. Then just lay the whole thing on the garage floor at the position that stops your car where you want it to stop. Once you fine this place I marked the floor with a big marker in case the stop gets kicked out of position when the car is not holding it down. Next time you go to park you ease into your parking space and you will feel when the tire pushes against the wood stop. Perfect stop ever time without batteries to wear out and need replacing. I thick I’ve had this stop in place for over 12 years and I haven’t replaced a battery yet. “ – Link.
Related:
HOW TO – Build your own garage locator device – Link.
8 thoughts on “Low tech car stopper for parking”
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what about the tennis ball on a string? adjust it so it hangs at just the right level to contact your windsheild when you’re in the right spot. you could even get different colored balls at different levels if you have multiple cars that park in the garage whenever its open (like my house)
I like it.
(I have the hanging ball system, but the kids like to swing them.)
I believe the simplest solution to a problem is the most elegant.
Greg
I like the low tech idea, however, what use is the carpet?
The wood if not attached to the carpet could be push forward a little each time the tire touches it. This way the weight of the car holds down the carpet which in turn holds the wood in place. It didn’t seem to work well when I just laid wood on the floor. The only time it moves now is when I pick the whole thing up and lean it against the wall so I can do other stuff in the garage.
Which reminds me before I used this method I used the “ball on a string” lined up with the hood ornament (remember them). I got tired of these two tennis balls hanging in midair when I left the cars outside to do work in the garage.
In case you missed it I used a big marker on the floor in front of the wood. That way I could easily line up the stops if I moved them of someone tripped over them when the cars were out.