Where we work around Fort Collins

Local conditions

Fort Collins sits on the northern end of Colorado's Front Range, inside the stretch of the plains that storm forecasters call Hail Alley. From late April through early September, afternoon storms build over the foothills west of Horsetooth Reservoir and push east over town. A single storm can leave thousands of cars along Harmony Road and in the Midtown lots with cracked or pitted glass.

Winter brings a different problem. The sand and magnesium chloride that Larimer County and CDOT spread on I-25, US-287, and Mulberry Street get thrown up by every truck ahead of you. A chip you pick up on the commute to Loveland in November will often spread into a full crack on the first sub-zero morning, when the defroster warms the inside of the glass while the outside stays frozen.

Gravel is the third culprit. Trips up the Poudre Canyon on Highway 14, out to Horsetooth or Lory State Park, or along the county roads toward Laporte and Bellvue all mean loose rock on the surface. Most of the chips we repair in Fort Collins start as a tiny star from a pebble thrown by an oncoming pickup.