If it fails: the first hour
What the site contact should do before the technician arrives.
- Cone or barricade the exposed area
- Photograph the damage and the impact for insurance purposes
- Check whether anything the bollard was protecting was also damaged
- Call for temporary protection if the exposed point is high-risk
- such as a gas line or building corner
What fails
What a service call includes
- Assess whether a damaged bollard can be repaired or needs full replacement
- Remove and replace bent or corroded bollards, including new concrete footing where needed
- Match new bollard placement and spacing to the actual risk being protected against
- Install crash-rated bollards where vehicle speed and impact risk warrant it, rather than decorative units
- Repaint or resleeve existing bollards for visibility where the post itself is sound
- Fill and finish concrete footings properly to allow full cure time before use
- Verify ADA clearance is maintained around bollards placed near accessible routes
- Document bollard locations and ratings for the property record
Preventive checklist
The items a maintenance program should carry for this system. Build a combined checklist across systems with the checklist builder.
Quarterly
- Inspect for leaning
- looseness
- or new impact damage
- Check coating and visibility of safety bollards
Annual
- Full inspection of base corrosion and footing condition
- Verify spacing and placement still match current traffic patterns
What it costs
| item | typical range | what moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard steel bollard replacement (each) | $200 to $500 | Includes removal of the damaged post and new concrete footing. |
| Decorative bollard installation (each) | $300 to $800 | Higher for stainless steel, powder-coated, or architectural finishes. |
| Crash-rated bollard installation (each) | $1,500 to $4,000 | Cost depends on the vehicle speed and weight rating specified and footing depth required. |
| Bollard repainting or resleeving (each) | $50 to $150 | Lower-cost option when the post itself is structurally sound. |
| Concrete footing repair without post replacement | $150 to $400 | Used when the bollard is intact but the base has cracked or heaved. |
National ranges. Local labor, access, after-hours timing and materials move them. Multi-site programs usually price below one-off calls.
When this is an emergency
A bollard knocked out of position after a vehicle impact, especially one protecting a gas meter, entrance, or pedestrian area, counts as an emergency until it can be replaced or the area otherwise secured.
How to choose a provider
- Ask the provider to assess the actual risk at each location before recommending a bollard type or rating
- Confirm they install crash-rated bollards to the manufacturer's specified footing depth, not a generic depth
- Ask how quickly they can replace a bollard that was damaged in an incident
- Get a quote that specifies bollard rating, material, and finish, not just a flat per-unit price
- Ask about ADA clearance verification if bollards are near an accessible route
Questions
What is the difference between a decorative and a crash-rated bollard?
A decorative bollard is meant to define space or add visual interest and offers little resistance to a vehicle. A crash-rated bollard is engineered and tested to stop a vehicle of a specified weight at a specified speed.
How deep does a bollard footing need to be?
Standard decorative bollards typically need a shallower footing than crash-rated units, which require a specific depth and concrete strength set by the manufacturer's tested rating.
Can a bent bollard be straightened instead of replaced?
Usually not for safety purposes, since a bollard that has already absorbed one impact may have weakened metal or a compromised footing, even if it looks straightened.
How many bollards are needed to protect an entrance?
This depends on the width of the opening and the spacing needed to stop a vehicle from passing between them, which a provider can calculate based on the specific location.