Wheel stops and parking blocks

How many wheel stops per stall

Count one stop per head-in stall where a bumper could reach a curb, wall, walkway, landscaping or a building. Pull-through stalls usually don't get them. Accessible stalls do: the advisory note to 2010 ADA Standards 502.7 names wheel stops as a way to keep parked cars from overhanging and narrowing an adjacent accessible route.

Then count hardware. Each stop takes the number of pins or anchors its holes call for, usually two or three, and the product page lists it.

Sizes and placement

6-foot stops fit standard 8.5- to 9-foot stalls and leave room to walk between them. Shorter 4-foot stops suit compact stalls and motorcycle areas.

Set the stop so the front bumper stops before the curb or walkway behind it. Many lots set it roughly 2 to 3 feet in from the head of the stall; adjust for the vehicles you serve. Keep stops in a straight line along a row; one out of line gets hit.

Installation and hardware

On asphalt, drive rebar pins through the holes into the pavement and base; pins should be long enough to reach well into the base below the asphalt. On concrete, drill and set epoxy-anchored rebar or wedge anchors. Rubber stops sit flat and can be moved and re-pinned; concrete stops are heavy enough that many crews set them with a skid steer.

Paint the curb face or choose stops with molded reflective strips so drivers see them at night and in snow.

Asphalt versus concrete

Asphalt takes driven pins and is the easy case. On concrete, you drill for each anchor, so budget the time. On new asphalt, wait for it to cure before driving pins, and avoid setting stops over cracks, where pins loosen.

Pallet counts and freight basics for wheel stops

Wheel stops are dense and heavy. A pallet of rubber stops is a compact, heavy load in a low freight class; concrete stops are heavier still. The product page shows weight per stop, pallet quantity and shipping class, and the cart totals pallets and weight as you add.

LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers price a pallet by its weight, its size and its freight class. Freight class runs from 50 to 500 and is set mostly by density, in pounds per cubic foot: dense, heavy pallets ship at a lower class than light, bulky ones. Your delivery address matters too. A liftgate, a residential or limited-access address, or a call-ahead appointment each add a carrier charge. Our store quotes it live at checkout from the carriers, with those options priced in.

Common wheel stop mistakes

The misses we see:

• Placing stops in a walkway or across an accessible route, where they become a trip hazard.
• Pins too short for the pavement, so stops creep within a season.
• Setting stops too close to the curb, so bumpers still hit it.
• Dark stops on dark asphalt with no paint or reflective strip.
• Forgetting to order the pins with the stops.

When wheel stops are required

The 2010 ADA Standards don't require wheel stops, but section 502.7 requires that parked vehicles can't block the required clear width of an adjacent accessible route, and its advisory note names wheel stops as one way to do it. Many local codes and landlords require them where stalls face a sidewalk or building. Confirm local code.