Help with large poll sign

[SUPALOSDOG]

Customer wants banners to cover both sides of this sign with new business name on it.. its 10' x 4' minus top corners. Sign height is about 15' tall.
any advice on how to approach this job. Her budget is $500.00...

I'm still working on my rates, but generally they aren't as high as most of the guys on this site...

Mr. Noob

 

[Ken]

Are we talking about the upper- most "blue" part of this sign?
What/how is the existing sign made?..It looks to have a dimensional aspect to it. Are you able to lean a ladder(s) against this sign face? If not, you are then looking at a bucket truck or similar and then the $500 budget is out the window. Even without hoisting equipment..you are too cheap. How much design effort is needed?
Ken
Ken

 

[onesource]

$750 min. helvetica bold and lift

 

[MVIP]

I wouldn't touch it for that budget. Did you remove the side panel? That sign is not safe if that panel is not in place.

Anyway get dimensions, call fellers they'll quote you on a banner, mark it up and give your client a reality check.

Aren't budgets made to be broken anyway?

Good Luck!
-Matt

 

[SUPALOSDOG]

thnks matt,

The sign isn't in good shape, the panel came off in bad weather. They turned down sign a rama? which quoted the same job at 600..

I like sticking to jobs that I know I can turn out without headaches,, this one looks like that kind of job... I get desperate when things are slow around here... so it's hard to know what to do..

haven't other sign shops gone through the same..

seems like I need a lesson or two in running a business.. but seems like experience is my teacher...

I get some help from this site, but sometimes... it can bum a brother out!... cause sometimes I friggin don't have a clue about what I am doing and then I see this and that about charging this such high amounts for banners, coro signs.. ect...
its just tough to price things out for me. waaa waa waaa...
thanks for your help guys...

 

[Ken]

So, are you thinking you will just attach a banner over the existing?
How do you deal with the rounded corners?
Ken

 

[onesource]

Just move on, if she's serious about her biz she'll do whatever to get her sign going and that's the bottom line.

 

[MVIP]

thnks matt,

The sign isn't in good shape, the panel came off in bad weather. They turned down sign a rama? which quoted the same job at 600..

I like sticking to jobs that I know I can turn out without headaches,, this one looks like that kind of job... I get desperate when things are slow around here... so it's hard to know what to do..

haven't other sign shops gone through the same..

seems like I need a lesson or two in running a business.. but seems like experience is my teacher...

I get some help from this site, but sometimes... it can bum a brother out!... cause sometimes I friggin don't have a clue about what I am doing and then I see this and that about charging this such high amounts for banners, coro signs.. ect...
its just tough to price things out for me. waaa waa waaa...
thanks for your help guys...

We have all taken jobs because we were slow. Always end up still broke, but now busy working on a job for like $3.00 an hour!

Just have to plan for the slow periods. Drive around dropping business cards or pick up the yellow pages and send some flyers!

Don't wait for business to knock on your door!

-Matt

 

[Cadmn]

point them back to sign-Arama I think this is a bigger deal than your giving it credit.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

You can make a banner thats almost like a bag that just slides over the whole sign, then you tighten it off at the bottom corners.

 

[Lunatic Taskbar]

I would be tempted to walk away from that one... Being slow is hell and all, but potentially doing something cheaper than its worth is worse than being slow. You don't want it to go wrong and to loose business because of a bad reputation. walk away from it. If the parts from the sign are missing, its never going to look good.

 

[Marlene]

Having a budget of $500 isn't realistic for a job like this. It's like saying we would like to buy a 4' x 8' Alumalite panel but our buget is $10. Knowing the budget is helpful, but the budget has to be in the price range of jobs like this, not just what the customer feels like paying.

 

[totalimage]

Just to give you my two cents to try and make it better.. We are located near you and have done work in Deland...The city is not going to let you hang a banner there or only for 30 days with a permit... You may tell your customer this so maybe you can get a sale of a new sign instead of a banner. Deland is going to require permits on everything you do...If you need any other assistance feel free to email us.

 

[Shovelhead]

"pole" sign

 

[totalimage]

I was wondering what you meant by "pole" sign and just caught it...."Poll" !!!! Great proof reader.....

 

[Gordy Saunders]

It's not a pole sign. It's a pylon sign.
Stick some double back tape in various stratigic spots on the back of your banner. Not a lot, just enough to hold it in place. Then screw the edges of the banner to the retainer. The retainer is that part of the sign that is holding the face panel in place. Where it's missing, just screw it right to the edge of the face panel. You're done!!!

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

well for $500 I'd try and make a banner...$6 sq mount between poles
....top area nope

font crazy

 

[Checkers]

God forbid one of those faces comes crashing down and hurts someone. The last person who touched the sign is going to get sued. So, is $500 gonna cover your legal expenses? I think not.
I would entertain a bag sign as chicago suggested, but the $500 budget would barely cover the cost of the bucket truck and the time spent reinforcing the sign to prevent further failure.

Checkers

 

[synergy_jim]

no way

I wouldn't touch that job for $500.00

 

[Flame]

I'd be at $500 just for the banners, no installation. I'd wrap it around the sign, with a bucket truck, for maybe $250. Maybe.

So that's $750 minimum, or I wouldn't touch the job. That doesn't look like fun with the rounded edges, and you have to get up there to reach it. Tell her in your most professional manner that she didn't budget enough for the job, so you'd be glad to help her once she acquires the funds.