Assembling a wall sign up on the wall

[gnubler]

I'm bidding out an exterior wall sign measuring 10ft wide x 3ft tall made of dimensional letters/logo attached to boards, framed out and mounted on an unseen backer, and the whole thing fastened to stringers on an exterior wall about 15 feet up. My plan is to assemble it at the shop and transport it in one piece to be installed with two people on a scissor lift. My installer suggested assembling it on the wall piece by piece, manageable for one person. For a wall sign I'd rather design something that can be moved and installed in one go, and also thinking ahead to whoever has to take it down someday.

Has anyone assembled a wall sign onsite and what were the reasons? Location, access, labor shortage, size, weight, etc.

 

[rjssigns]

Get as much done at the shop as humanly possible. Too many things can go wrong in a hurry when assembling on site.

Not sure how it works in your area but when pulling a permit for blockage of sidewalks, access points etc... it is for a set amount of time.

Personally I never liked being on site longer than absolutely necessary to do a clean, professional install. Get in, get installed, get gone.

 

[Ray Miller]

3' x 10'. Why on boards-plural ? Why not a solid piece of ACM or MDO ? What is an unseen backer ?

 

[Scotchbrite]

I know this doesn't apply to gnubler but we track in and out time separately to keep our workers comp rates as reasonable as possible, so we definitely try to do as much in the shop as possible. Not to mention what rjssigns brings up with unknown variables. Best to be on and off the jobsite a quick as possible to avoid issues with weather, traffic in and out of the business, etc. And for our customers' benefit, shop rates are lower.

 

[Scotchbrite]

3' x 10'. Why on boards-plural ? Why not a solid piece of ACM or MDO ? What is an unseen backer ?

This is discussion stemming from this thread: https://www.signs101.com/threads/be...for-dimension-durability.168649/#post-1567798

 

[Ray Miller]

I didn't notice that one and now I see it's the same OP. Just a continuation I guess.

 

[gnubler]

Thanks for all the input. I had the same inclination - get in and out of the install as quickly as possible for all the reasons listed.

 

[econolinesigns]

Assemble it in your shop, mount a "Z" Bar/French Cleat on it. Do a pattern, install half of the cleat on the building and then install the sign. Fasten it and your done.

 

[gnubler]

We've done cleat installs, but only interior. Can you do cleats on the outside of buildings, and is that in addition to fastening through the face?