Need Help Acrylic letters mounted with spacers

[Chillyredfox]

Hi everyone!

Newbie to installs and looking for advice on drywall installing

I have 8 letters in 1/2 inch acrylic about 7 inch high. Mounting them to an interior drywall wall which will have a moss wall feature. The letters need spacers as it needs to be 1.5 in - 2.5 in from the wall to either clear the moss or possibly inset snug with moss (undecided yet)

My question is I see installs with Molly type anchors to the drywall with studs but then how do they screw in to the back of the acrylic when you screwed to the anchor already.
I see people that use a threaded back acrylic to then add spacer and set with silicone through the wall without an anchor. Is that correct standard?

Basically I’m confused at the best way to secure

Thank you all so much for any advice!

 

[Ryze Signs]

Usually we install flat cut outs just as you described. Studs are threaded into tapped acrylic letters, or attached with glue pads. Then we drill the hole pattern in the drywall add the spacer (usually a piece of 1/4 or 3/8 PEX tubing) then silicone the stud in the hole.

2.5 inches is a pretty long standoff. Could you possibly mount all the letters to a backplate that screws to the wall then gets covered by the moss?

 

[Chillyredfox]

Thanks for your reply! The length of the stand off I am a bit worried about - agreed. I believe I can provide a mounting template to the moss guys so it could be possible to do a back plate. Sorry to ask but how does the mounting plate work with securing to the letters?

Thanks again!

 

[signbrad]

Setting studs into holes with silicone to hold them is industry standard. A typical stud length is three inches, which normally allows sufficient penetration into the wall. If you feel that, in your case, a penetration of 1" or 1-1/2" is not sufficient, use a stud longer than three inches.
Gemeni, Inc., sells studs in various lengths.

2-1/2" from the wall is a somewhat long standoff, but not unheard of. You could run nuts onto the ends of the studs, stopping them 2-1/2" from the back of the letters. The nuts could serve as "stops" at the wall surface, helping to prevent the letters from sagging. I have installed letters this way with a standoff of four inches from the wall.

There is rarely a need for any kind of "anchor" on the end of a stud.

Brad in Kansas City

 

[Evan Gillette]

Agreed, if needed you can also run painters tape from the face of each letter up to the wall as temporary support while the silicone sets up but usually not needed as long as your holes arent sloppy.

 

[Chillyredfox]

Setting studs into holes with silicone to hold them is industry standard. A typical stud length is three inches, which normally allows sufficient penetration into the wall. If you feel that, in your case, a penetration of 1" or 1-1/2" is not sufficient, use a stud longer than three inches.
Gemeni, Inc., sells studs in various lengths.

2-1/2" from the wall is a somewhat long standoff, but not unheard of. You could run nuts onto the ends of the studs, stopping them 2-1/2" from the back of the letters. The nuts could serve as "stops" at the wall surface, helping to prevent the letters from sagging. I have installed letters this way with a standoff of four inches from the wall.

There is rarely a need for any kind of "anchor" on the end of a stud.

Brad in Kansas City

Thanks Brad!
The nut idea is smart ….. they won’t see what’s behind the letter due to the moss so I think that’s a great idea! Thanks for the tips!

 

[Chillyredfox]

Agreed, if needed you can also run painters tape from the face of each letter up to the wall as temporary support while the silicone sets up but usually not needed as long as your holes arent sloppy.

Thanks Evan! Thats good to know! It could get tricky with the tape on the moss so great tip!

 

[Ryze Signs]

Thanks for your reply! The length of the stand off I am a bit worried about - agreed. I believe I can provide a mounting template to the moss guys so it could be possible to do a back plate. Sorry to ask but how does the mounting plate work with securing to the letters?

Thanks again!

I was thinking the plate would have countersunk screws going through the back into the letters. You would have to mount your letters first and the moss guy would have to work around your letters which may not work for him.

 

[TEN]

Sticking brightly colored zipties into the stud holes just as place holders to be able to find the holes easily really helps when trying to slip the studs into the holes. May want to wear gloves if it is actually live moss to prevent from touching the moss. 1/2" thick acrylic is going to be a little heavy for 2.5" standoffs. I think it is doable, what is the moss attached to? Most I have seen have the moss attached to a backer then the backer is attached to the drywall. Being able to nut the studs on the back of the backer would be much more secure way to mount them.

 

[Chillyredfox]

Sticking brightly colored zipties into the stud holes just as place holders to be able to find the holes easily really helps when trying to slip the studs into the holes. May want to wear gloves if it is actually live moss to prevent from touching the moss. 1/2" thick acrylic is going to be a little heavy for 2.5" standoffs. I think it is doable, what is the moss attached to? Most I have seen have the moss attached to a backer then the backer is attached to the drywall. Being able to nut the studs on the back of the backer would be much more secure way to mount them.

Thanks for the tips! Great idea! As it turns out the thickness has now changed to 1/4 acrylic and 2” standoffs And yes they are using coroplast sections to apply the moss to and then screw the coroplast panels to the wall. Nutting the studs to the backer for support is a great idea! Thank you!