There are some wonderful sign making materials on the market that can be utilized to produce signs that will many last years, justifying the high price tag some of these types of signs have to command. From special dimensional foams, to plastic and metal laminates, to gold leaf itself, these materials are tailor made for the sign industry.

There are also, however, modern building materials available at your local home center that feature extreme outdoor durability, excellent paint holding characteristics, and life spans, even out in the elements, that are almost unbeatable. And, since these materials are made for home construction, and made in tremendous quantities, their cost is very reasonable. But signs made with them can be very handsome and outdoor durable as well. In this “Shop Talk” we’ll look at a simple sign job produced with home center materials, yet still projects a “high end” look, and will likely outlast the client and his sign maker.

PRESSURE’S ON

All of us are familiar with pressure treated lumber, and know its strengths and weaknesses. Though strong, it can be dimensionally unstable and very hard to get paint to stay on for long. This is because most of it contains a lot of moisture, and even the kiln dried versions may still warp. But, for a braced or internal frame, which will not be visible, it is still a viable sign making material which is strong and easy to work with using nails or screws.

For this sign, we chose treated lumber for the internal frame, assembled very quickly and with no wasted motion using a nail gun we have for carpentry projects. The frame was made from 2x6 lumber, ripped in half, to make pieces roughly two by three inches in size. The longest pieces were eight feet long, and the short vertical members were approximately thirty inches in length.

The face of the sign was made of a type of material that has been commonly available for just a few years. It is the concrete-fiber board made by James Hardie that is usually used for new home siding and soffits. This Hardi-Panel board, 1/4'' in thickness, will not warp, burn, or rot, and it also holds paint extremely well. The texture mimics natural wood grain, and it comes in different widths including 4x8 sheets like we used for this project. One day I may build a house where the exterior is made of this product. I just can’t see what would ever make it wear out.

But, for now we are making signs, and this one would need something to trim it out, and be outside forever. We could have used more treated lumber for this, but again, it will have predictable paint problems. So, we used another new product from the home center, and this one is normally used for outdoor decks. The material is made from wood fiber encapsulated in a polyethylene base, and formed into one-sided boards. The exact material we used is called “ChoiceDek” manufactured by A.E.R.T. It is not structurally strong, but is impervious to the weather, will not rot, and is very paintable.

The main top and bottom boards, most likely to weather and rot, were made of this. The smaller vertical trim pieces, which would finish the fit where the sign met the brick columns, were made from exterior soffit board, pre-primed and ready for paint, cut into 1 1/4'' wide strips, plus some quarter-round which we could only get in standard wood molding. The background of the sign, which would be painted a light tan color, would be framed by trim painted an antique green mixed to match the colors on the one-hundred year old building behind it.

The bottom frame member, pre-painted and made from “ChoiceDek”, was secured to the brick structure, then was set on and screwed to the bottom member and the brick columns using lead anchors as attachments in the brick.

The letters and graphics, also needing to last virtually forever, were designed according to the customer’s business card, and then cut in plate aluminum on a water-jet CAD machine. We carefully drilled and tapped these for #10 aluminum studs, and permanently finished by powder coating. The star in the design would get an additional silver metallic vinyl graphic applied at the last.

ASSEMBLAGE…

Though the treated lumber frame was put together at the shop, most of the sign was assembled on-site. An eight-foot piece of 6'' wide decking was laid on the brick base where the bottom of the sign would go, and anchored into place. The treated lumber frame was set on this, screwed into the decking member and anchored directly into the brick pillars on each side using lead anchors and lag screws.

(Construction note: The bricklayers our client had hired to build the brick structure had asked us for a plywood template the same size as our sign, but I merely told them the size, plus an inch or so, including how tall the pillars should be. This was a mistake. Masons are used to bricking “up to” something. And, though you would think they would know what a level and square are for, without a template to brick to, they failed to get the pillars perfectly vertical and square with the base. Having determined this before we built anything, we actually modified our frame and sign face pieces to match their error. But next time, any brick mason doing work which we’ll be fitting a sign to will get a template whether they ask for one or not!)

The other decking member was screwed to the top of our lumber frame. Then, we set the sign face pieces in place—two 4' x 4' pieces side-by-side to keep the grain running vertical, instead of one 4x8 piece running horizontal. They were pre-drilled and secured with coated screws. Plenty of touch-up paint was available for coating screws, caulked joints, scratches, etc. The trim pieces, painted in advance, were cut to fit on-site using our Makita miter-box saw. Pilot holes were drilled and galvanized nails were used to secure the trim.

LETTER MOUNTS AND TOUCH-UP

When stud mounting the letters, we cut small spacers from some 1/4'' clear tubing, another home center item, and mounted all the raised letters, bars, and stars offset from the sign face approximately 1/2''. Clear silicone was used as the adhesive as is usually the case with stud mounting letters.

Lastly, any final touch up painting was done with care, and the sign was finished. And finished for good, as this type of sign will endure all the elements can throw at it for many, many seasons. This sign, costing approximately $2,500 including custom fabricated plate aluminum letters, was constructed from locally available materials, which were very easy to work with. But it will give our client their money’s worth many times over.

And, as I watch this project weather, I’ll be taking notes for that house I may need to build someday. But my guess is that this “life-time sign”, made from home center materials, will become a positive test of the durability of some of the newer materials available to today’s sign builders, or home builders. After all, both professions need to produce finished products built to last, and fortunately, that may be easier to do today than ever before.