Corner Guards

Corner guard material selection depends on your environment’s impact levels, vehicle types, and aesthetic requirements. Both rubber and galvanised steel offer excellent protection, but each excels in different applications.

Rubber corner guards feature flexible, impact-absorbing material that deflects vehicle strikes without transferring force to the protected structure. The rubber construction bends on impact and returns to shape, making these guards ideal for areas with frequent light-to-medium impacts from passenger vehicles, shopping trolleys, or warehouse equipment. Rubber guards are typically lightweight for easier installation, create less noise on impact compared to metal alternatives, cost less upfront than steel options, and are available with high-visibility yellow chevron striping and reflective panels for excellent day and night visibility. These characteristics make rubber corner guards perfect for residential car parks, retail shopping centre parking, office building car parks, and areas where noise reduction matters.

Galvanised steel corner guards and stainless steel corner guards provide maximum protection in heavy-impact environments where rubber guards would deform or fail. The rigid construction absorbs massive impact forces from trucks, forklifts, and heavy machinery without bending or permanent deformation. Steel guards offer superior longevity in industrial settings, provide strong corrosion resistance, are virtually maintenance-free over their 20-30+ year lifespans, resist vandalism and intentional damage, do not degrade from UV or chemical exposure, and can be powder-coated in safety yellow or custom colours for visibility. Steel corner guards are essential for industrial warehouses and factories, transport depots with truck and heavy-vehicle traffic, loading docks where forklifts operate, underground car parks with delivery vehicle access, and any high-impact zone where protection failure could compromise structural integrity.

Classic Architectural Group manufactures corner guards in all three materials with custom sizing to suit specific column dimensions, and professional installation services across Australia. Our team provides site assessments to recommend the optimal material based on your traffic patterns and protection requirements.

Strategic placement of corner guards protects the most vulnerable and expensive-to-repair structures, prevents vehicle damage, and improves traffic flow. Here are the critical installation locations where corner guards deliver maximum value.

• External corners at a building’s entry and exit points are the highest-impact zones in any car park. Drivers entering tight spaces or manoeuvring around external walls frequently misjudge clearances, causing costly facade damage, broken render, and structural repairs. Corner guards at these locations protect building corners while clearly marking turning points for drivers.
• Structural columns and pillars throughout car parks require protection on all exposed corners, particularly those adjacent to parking bays, traffic aisles, or turn zones. Even minor column damage can compromise load-bearing capacity and trigger expensive engineering assessments. In multi-level car parks, ramp columns face a high risk from drivers accelerating or braking on inclines.
• Internal wall corners at pedestrian corridors and walkway intersections need protection from door strikes when passengers exit vehicles in tight spaces. These corner guards prevent paint damage and drywall repairs while defining clear pedestrian zones, improving safety in high-foot-traffic areas near lifts, stairs, and building access points.
• Loading dock walls and warehouse corners endure constant impact from reversing trucks, trailer overhang, and forklift operations. Without robust steel corner guards, repeated impacts cause cumulative damage that requires frequent wall reconstruction. Installing guards on dock approach walls, bay entry corners, and warehouse aisle intersections eliminates this maintenance burden.
• Dividing walls between parking bays benefit from corner guards at the aisle-facing edges where reversing vehicles may clip corners when backing into spaces. This protection is especially valuable in angled parking configurations where drivers need to manoeuver into tight spaces.
• Electrical room corners and utility infrastructure areas housing switchboards, meters, and service equipment need corner protection to prevent expensive damage to critical building systems and ensure uninterrupted operations.
• Tight turning points and blind corners on multi-deck ramps or circulation routes should be equipped with corner guards with high-visibility reflective striping to improve driver awareness and prevent collisions.

Classic Architectural Group provides professional site assessments to identify all high-risk corner locations, recommends appropriate guard materials and sizes, and installs corner protection systems to Australian standards across car parks, warehouses, and industrial facilities nationwide.

Corner guards are specifically designed for straightforward retrofit installation on existing structures, making them an ideal solution for protecting vulnerable corners in operational car parks and warehouses without major construction or downtime.

Installation methods vary by material, but all follow similar principles. Rubber corner guards typically feature pre-drilled mounting holes along both wings (the flat surfaces that sit against the wall or column faces) and are installed by positioning the guard over the corner, marking the mounting hole locations through the pre-drilled holes, drilling holes into the surface, and securing with mechanical anchors, bolts, or heavy-duty screws suitable for the substrate. Some rubber guards are also available with industrial-grade adhesive backing, though mechanical fixing is recommended for high-impact applications to prevent detachment under repeated vehicle strikes.

Galvanised and stainless steel corner guards follow similar installation procedures but require more robust fixings due to their heavier weight and the higher impact forces they’re designed to withstand. Steel corner guards’ rigid construction requires precise positioning during installation to ensure even contact along both wings.

Surface preparation is essential for successful installation regardless of material. Corners must be structurally sound, with no crumbling concrete, loose render, or prior impact damage that would prevent secure mounting. Damaged corners should be repaired with concrete patching or render repair before installing corner guards. Clean surfaces free of oil, dust, or loose material to ensure optimal adhesion and secure mechanical fixation.

Custom sizing capabilities mean corner guards can be manufactured to exact heights and wing widths to suit specific column dimensions, ceiling heights, or protection requirements. Standard corner guard heights range from 800mm to 1200mm, but custom heights up to full column height are available for maximum protection. Wing widths are typically 80-120mm, but can be customised for wider columns or specific aesthetic requirements.

Installation timeframes are minimal compared to other protection methods. A typical corner guard installation takes 20-40 minutes per location, depending on substrate hardness and access, meaning entire car park levels can be protected in single-day installations without closing facilities or disrupting operations.

Classic Architectural Group manufactures custom corner guards to exact specifications, provides all necessary installation hardware, and offers professional installation services across Australia. Our experienced installation teams ensure proper fixing methods for long-term performance and compliance with structural requirements.