Guide to Hail Canopies

06.27.23

Hail can pose a serious threat to various businesses and organizations. The damages caused by hail can impact business operations and cause inventory and revenue loss. For businesses located in areas with frequent hailstorms, it's important to adequately protect inventory, assets, and people, and hail canopies are designed to do just that. 

Hail canopies are used to lower the risk of hail damage while providing additional benefits. Learn more about what hail canopies are, their benefits and applications, and more with this complete guide to hail canopies. 

Read the full article or jump to a specific section:

• What Is a Hail Canopy?
• Types of Hail Canopies
• Benefits of Using Hail Canopies
• Nationwide Hail Damage Repair Costs
• Industries That Can Benefit from Hail Protection
• Is Hail Netting Effective for Car Dealerships?
• The Process of Receiving a Hail Canopy from VPS

What Is a Hail Canopy?

Hail, regardless of its size and speed, can cause extensive, costly, and time-consuming damage to a business. Businesses — especially vehicle-related businesses — often use hail canopies to protect their inventory and assets. These canopies can be used in parking lots, over walkways, and more. Ultimately, these canopies act as a barrier between the weather and the people, cars, and products underneath. High-quality hail canopies should be made of durable steel and fabrics to provide optimal protection.

Hail canopies can do much more than reduce the risk of hail damage. These canopies can also help prevent damage from UV rays and provide shade to keep things cool on a hot day. They provide protection and comfort while still allowing the outdoor space to be accessible — people can drive, park, and walk into a business comfortably even when the weather is unfavorable. 

Canopies can also complement a building's exterior design. Hail canopies are available in a variety of colors and designs, so businesses can reap the protective benefits of the structure while maintaining their building's aesthetics. 

Types of Hail Canopies

Every property has unique needs, which is why there are a variety of hail canopy types to choose from to ensure properties get the best protection. Some of the different hail canopies include mass coverage, walkways, cantilevers, solar protection, and solid membrane canopies. 

Mass Coverage

Mass coverage hail canopies are ideal for large spaces. Vehicle-related businesses with a large number of assets, including car dealerships, corporate parking lots, and automotive assembly plants, can benefit from a mass coverage hail protection structure. These large-scale canopies can be customized to fit a business's unique needs and size or shape requirements. These hail canopies can be installed in almost any length and width configuration necessary. Mass coverage hail canopies can also include embedded mounting designs if needed.

Walkways

Covered walkways help keep employees and visitors safe from severe weather like hail as they walk toward a facility or business. Businesses can use covered walkways in addition to a parking lot hail canopy for maximum coverage. This allows employees and guests to remain covered as they walk from the parking lot to the building's entrance. They won't have to wait in their cars for a storm to pass before entering a building, and there will be a reduced risk of falls and fewer maintenance requirements when the walkway is free of rain, sleet, hail, and snow.

Cantilevers

Cantilevers provide increased protection in a visually appealing way. As a protective structure, cantilevers can help protect against extreme weather like hailstorms and provide additional protection against heat and UV rays. While protection is important, design is another important consideration. Businesses that want to make sure their hail canopy is aesthetically pleasing and adds value to their building's exterior may choose cantilevers. Cantilevers are available in a variety of designs, allowing businesses to find a protective hail structure that aligns with their building's design.

Further, cantilevers make navigating the parking lot underneath the structure easy, as the structural support columns are placed away from parking spots. Because fewer columns are used, constructing and implementing a cantilever can occur much faster than constructing a multicolumn design. 

Additionally, cantilevers have internal wiring capabilities, which allow businesses to add surveillance cameras, light fixtures, and additional features to the structure. In other words, cantilevers can act as a multiuse structure: They can protect inventory and people from severe weather as well as offer additional lighting and security features. 

Solar Protection

Solar panel-covered parking structures allow businesses to protect assets while harnessing solar power. Businesses that use solar panels can lower their energy costs. This seamless and innovative design offers a variety of benefits, including savings on electricity, tax savings, added protection against severe weather, and energy initiative compliance. 

Solar parking structures can help businesses comply with various governmental mandated solar initiatives such as Denver's Green Roof Initiative and the 2020 California solar mandate. Additionally, solar panel structures are often eligible for state and local tax incentives that can lead to tax credits or deductions. 

Solid Membrane

Solid membrane fabrics, such as HDPE Scrim, PTFE, and PVC commercial fabrics, can also be used to provide better overhead weather protection for various assets. These solid membrane hail structures use specialized fabric, welding, and attachment techniques for a durable and aesthetically appealing hail protection structure. 

HDPE Scrim and PVC are available in a variety of colors to allow businesses to have a more personalized and on-brand design. Additionally, the various membrane fabrics offer a variety of levels of translucency, fire retardancy, noncombustibility, and light reflectivity, so each facility can find the most suitable fabric for its needs. 

Benefits of Using Hail Canopies

Hail canopies offer a variety of benefits to businesses and organizations. From more obvious benefits like protecting inventory from hail damage to lesser-known benefits like increased peace of mind, hail canopies provide many advantages. 

1. Protects Inventory

Hailstorms have the potential to lead to significant inventory damage and, in extreme cases, even complete inventory loss. Investing in proper inventory protection allows business owners to avoid costly and time-consuming repairs. Inventory exposed to the elements should be covered in case of severe and unexpected weather. 

2. Provides Peace of Mind

With a hail canopy in place, businesses can feel peace of mind their inventory is protected, even during unexpected weather. Large businesses especially will not have the time to properly cover and protect inventory during an unexpected storm, so it is better to install protection structures to ensure inventory is shielded. 

3. Improves Work Environments

Hail canopies protect cars and other assets as well as people. Employees will feel safer and happier when they know their work environment has weather protection structures in place. Employees can feel at ease that their vehicle is safe in a hail canopy covered parking lot and also appreciate their own safety as they walk under covered walkways to the facility. 

4. Decreases Liability

Facilities or businesses that provide visitor parking can reduce the possibility of liability if a visitor's car experiences hail damage while on the property. Since hail canopies reduce hail's ability to make contact with the car, it's less likely damage will occur. Low damage risk lead to low liability for businesses that properly protect and cover their property with hail canopies. 

5. Reduces Risk of Operational Disruptions

Hail damage is not just costly — it also can lead to time-consuming repairs and maintenance. Operational disruptions are not ideal for any business, and the simple installation of a hail canopy can reduce the risk of these operational disruptions. After all, if there are no damages or problems, operations can continue as normal. 

There are other ways hail canopies can prevent operational disruptions, too. When employees are properly covered or protected, they can safely walk from their car to the building's entrance or continue to work outside even amid unfavorable weather. Of course, during severe weather, employee safety is paramount. However, during unenjoyable but safe weather, such as light rain or strong heat, these structures can help make employees feel more comfortable and allow them to continue working.

6. Offers Permanent Solutions

Unlike other quick fixes, hail canopies developed by a reputable retailer such as VPS provide permanent solutions for businesses looking to protect their assets. These hail canopies are made of durable materials and comply with building codes to provide businesses with the best protection.

Nationwide Hail Damage Repair Cost

Hailstorms can lead to extensive and costly damages. In fact, hailstorms cause around $1 billion in property damage each year in the United States. Uncovered cars often suffer from hail damage. Hail damage may look like dents, chipped paint, broken windows, and more. 

Several factors can impact the expense of repairing hail damage. The size and speed of the hail, plus the angle the hail hits the car or other object, can impact the severity of the damage. Of course, the more extensive the damage, the more expensive it will be to repair. 

Hailstones can range in size with smaller pieces similar to the size of a pea — about ¼ inch in diameter — and larger pieces resembling the size of a grapefruit at 4 ½ inches in diameter. The largest known hailstone in the United States was 8 inches in diameter and weighed 1 pound 15 ounces. Larger hailstones pose more risk as they can cause bigger dents and more severe damage. Larger hailstones also tend to fall faster. Hailstones with a diameter over 1 inch can fall as fast as 40 miles per hour. 

However, smaller hailstones are still dangerous as they tend to fall at speeds between 9 and 25 miles per hour. Therefore, even small hailstones can leave dents on cars and break windows. In fact, small hail can cause damages that require up to $10,000 in repair, so it's best to keep all assets covered during any severe weather. 

For business owners, hail damage can be expensive as well as time-consuming. Cleaning up and repairing damaged areas and inventory can interrupt business operations. Severe cases may cause production to stop completely, while more mild cases disrupt the normal workflow. Additionally, if a significant number of inventory is damaged, it may take days or weeks to replenish stock in order for businesses to properly serve their customers. 

Industries That Can Benefit From Hail Protection

Hail protection structures are suitable for a variety of industries. While any business or organization can benefit from a hail protection structure, a few specific industries stand out as prime industries for a hail canopy, including:

• Car dealerships: Auto dealerships house a lot of valuable inventory, most of which is exposed to the elements. Car dealerships can avoid catastrophic losses by simply installing a hail protection structure. 
• Commercial parking lots: Employees and customers will feel more comfortable parking in a lot with covered parking since they know their personal vehicle will remain safe from weather damage. Hail canopies can even add to the aesthetic appeal of a business's property.
• Airport parking: The last thing travelers want to worry about on their vacation is returning home to a damaged car. Customers who are able to park under a hail canopy are more likely to have a better experience with the airport.

• RV parks: RV parks help keep RVs, campers, cars, and customers safe while they enjoy their time camping. Customers and their personal property can stay safe during extreme weather. They can feel more comfortable during their stay since hail canopies also provide protection from the sun, keeping RVs and campers comfortably cool during warmer months. 
• Boat storage locations: Like cars, boats can become damaged during a hailstorm. Boat owners are more likely to prefer a boat storage business that provides adequate protection from the weather, so boat storage businesses can potentially increase and retain customers due to the added protection of a hail canopy.

Is Hail Netting Effective for Car Dealerships?

Despite the convincing name, hail netting is not the most effective tool for preventing hail damage at car dealerships. Hail netting is typically used in the agricultural industry to prevent hail from damaging crops. While hail netting manufacturers claim these nets are capable of protecting cars from hail damage, they rarely provide effectiveness and durability in the car dealership industry. 

Some of the disadvantages of hail netting for car dealerships include:

• Low durability: Hail netting is made of a lightweight material that can tear and rip over time. Unfortunately, these rips may not be noticeable until it is too late and damage is found on the inventory below — after all, even the smallest rips may be big enough for hail to penetrate. When choosing a protective structure, businesses should choose a structure that can withstand intense weather and force to ensure inventory safety.
• Short life span: Since hail netting has low durability, these nets are not suitable for permanent use. In fact, hail netting is intentionally designed as a short-term solution. Hail netting will need to be replaced fairly frequently, which can be costly and much more time-consuming than installing a permanent, durable structure.
• High maintenance: As hail netting is more likely to experience damage than a more durable structure, repairs and maintenance are likely. After storms, netting will need to be examined for damages, and any repairs will need to be addressed.
• Poor cost-effectiveness: Upfront, hail netting is a cheap and easy solution, but in the long run, businesses will spend more time and money on repairing and replacing the netting compared to purchasing a durable, permanent solution.
• Noncompliance with building codes: Most hail netting does not comply with building codes, which can leave people and property at risk of injury or damage.

Overall, hail netting is not strong enough to protect cars from hail — businesses need a more solid structure, such as a hail canopy. In the long run, it is better for car dealerships to invest in a solid, long-lasting structure to properly protect inventory, employees, and customers. 

The Process of Receiving a Hail Canopy From VPS

Unlike other providers, hail canopies from VPS are not one size fits all. VPS works closely with each client to create a hail canopy that takes into account the client's unique location, industry, design specifications, and other needs to ensure they receive a canopy that will properly protect their assets. 

VPS has been a leader in the industry for years, and no other provider can compare to the expertise, capabilities, or experience of VPS. Other companies may offer netting or canopies as a side product, while VPS specializes in this important structure to ensure clients receive the best of the best. While other companies may claim to offer high-quality hail canopies, no one can compete with the quality, durability, design, and ROI of a VPS hail canopy.

From start to finish, VPS works directly with clients to develop superior hail canopies. The key factors to creating the perfect VPS hail canopy include:

• Conceptual design: The VPS expert team uses their superior design and space optimization skills to develop a comprehensive conceptual design that presents realistic and ideal project designs based on the client's needs, location, timeline, budget, and more.
• Project design: A 3D model with engineering calculations is constructed for client approval. All designs will work to comply with both international and local building code requirements.
• Project management: The project management team will work to maximize the efficiency of the project and keep everything moving on schedule. This can help reduce costs and fast-track the overall process.
• Steel fabrication: The VPS state-of-the-art steel fabrication facility develops cost-effective, innovative, and durable structures that exceed the highest standards in the industry.
• Fabric fabrication: Fabric is a crucial component of effective and durable hail canopies. That's why VPS uses high-quality fabrics such as high-density polyethylene mesh, PVC, and PTFE to provide superior protection against hail, harmful UV rays, and more.
• Construction: VPS construction services include surveying, steel erection, drilling, reinforced pier installation, fabric installation, and finishing. VPS aims to provide project efficiency and minimal business disruption during the construction process. 

Overall, unlike other providers, VPS understands how to navigate and deliver in critical industry areas to successfully design and construct a high-quality, durable, and visually appealing hail canopy.

Contact VPS for Commercial Hail Canopies

At VPS, we continue to prove our expertise as we remain the industry leader in permanent modular hail protection for the automotive industry. Regardless of a project's size or special requirements, VPS can help all of our clients add additional safety and protection to their business. We are able to handle large and custom projects for a variety of industries and uses. When you're ready to give your business the hail protection it deserves, get started with our team by requesting a quote. We are ready and eager to service your automotive business or organization with hail protection today.