What two weeks in the open actually does, and when a roof earns its money

The extra for a covered deck bay on this corridor is roughly seven dollars a day over an open surface bay. Over a long weekend that is a rounding error. Over three weeks it is real money, and whether it is worth spending depends on things nobody puts on a rate card.

What the open air does

A film, not corrosion. Two weeks on a surface lot here leaves a fine grey deposit that is part salt and part road grit blown off the freeway. It washes off. It also sits in the door shuts and around the windshield seals, and on a dark car it is visible from thirty feet.

Windshield haze. The film on the glass is the thing people notice, because the first thing you do after collecting the car is drive into low sun. A pass with washer fluid usually deals with it. Occasionally it needs a stop.

Bird traffic under a treeline. Two lots on this corridor sit under mature trees along one edge, and the bays under them are pleasant in July and unwise in any month. If we are quoting one of those and you have asked for a surface bay, the quote will mention it.

Nothing structural. Two or three weeks of this does not damage paint that is in reasonable condition. Anybody telling you otherwise is selling something.

When the roof is worth it

• A stay past about ten days. The film is cumulative and so is the annoyance.
• A dark car, or a car you have just had detailed. Both are the same reason.
• A soft top of any kind. Not for the salt, for the sun.
• A car with a cracked windshield seal or a sunroof that has been resealed once. A roof is cheaper than finding out.
• December through February. Rain rather than salt, and a covered deck means not sitting in a puddle for a fortnight.

When it is not

• Under four days. Nothing accumulates that a wash will not solve.
• Anything with a roof box. Every covered deck on this corridor has a height bar and the bar wins.
• A work vehicle or a car that already lives outside. It is already in the same air every night at home.

The height bar, since it comes up

Deck limits on this corridor run between six feet two and six feet eight. A stock SUV clears most of them. A stock SUV with crossbars and a box does not clear any of them, and the bar is a steel tube rather than a suggestion.

If anything is on your roof, the bay types page puts you on a surface bay and that is the end of the conversation.

What the desk does with this

The quote names the covered rate as well as the surface one whenever both are available for your dates, so the decision sits with you rather than with whichever number we felt like sending.

Tell us the length of the stay and what you drive on the reservation form, or call +1 (415) 906-2431. Monday to Thursday 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Friday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, Pacific Time.