How do you measure the exact size of a sign that is high up in the air?

[WhatsYourSign?]

Is there any way to measure the exact dimensions of a sign that is too high to reach with a ladder?

We rent bucket trucks for the installs but because we don't own the truck, it's expensive to rent one just so we can take measurements.

If there's a tool we can use to measure signs like this from a distance, that would be extremely helpful.


Thank you in advance!

 

[2B]

if the sign is wall.mounted to a known size (brick, cinderblock, etc.) use that for a reference.
otherwise

https://signs101.com/threads/measurement-app.140592/#post-1407815
https://signs101.com/threads/spike-measuring-device.132540/

 

[Bobby H]

You can use a tool like Spike (https://ikegps.com/spike/) for getting measurements of things well out of reach. We have one. It's good for ball park figures just for giving customers price quotes. But if you're measuring something like an existing sign cabinet to do a face replacement job there is no substitute for measuring it by hand. You gotta know the exact size of the sign along with the size/type of retainers and any other critical details. The Spike tool won't provide that.

 

[jwilde]

If close is okay... I would just take a photo as straight on as possible, then find an item at the same depth of field to measure for a point of reference (the larger the item the better). If there isn't an item, make one (have someone stand there...) Then put your photo into a design software and size it up to the item you were able to reach and measure.

Not sure the application here, but for instance, if it's on a building... take a picture of the front of the store... Size up the 36" wide door in the photo and then your sign that you can't reach will be scaled appropriately.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

Google satellite view will let you measure the top of the sign if close enough is OK to bid....Once you get the job, you'll have to spend a little $$ to get up there and verify...or remember it next time you have the bucket on another job. Round here I can get a 36' for $140 for 4 hours.

 

[Gino]

One way or the other, you are going to hafta go and make a physical measurement. guessing up front will get your foot in the door, but when it comes time to actually make the job, you're gonna hafta go there, twice.

 

[TimToad]

Very inexpensive and no recurring costs to use time and time again.

Good enough to get a pretty accurate measurement for at least quoting purposes.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/laser-measuring-glm165-40-187965-p/

 

[Moze]

You said 'exact' twice. If you need exact, you're going to need to get up in the air with a bucket truck. No other tool is going to give you exact.

If you want approximate, there are a number of different ways, some mentioned above. I use a 40' fiberglass measuring pole for pylons, channel letters, etc.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You said 'exact' twice. If you need exact, you're going to need to get up in the air with a bucket truck. No other tool is going to give you exact.

If you want approximate, there are a number of different ways, some mentioned above. I use a 40' fiberglass measuring pole for pylons, channel letters, etc.

View attachment 138507

wow....pricey!!!

 

[netsol]

Very inexpensive and no recurring costs to use time and time again.

Good enough to get a pretty accurate measurement for at least quoting purposes.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/laser-measuring-glm165-40-187965-p/

i have one of these & love it. we use it all the time

 

[GAC05]

Maybe a tape measure, duct tape and a easy to fly drone with a camera

 

[visual800]

for estimation I measure from halfway on the pole to about where end of sign is. I then take a pic far back and use the width of the pole to estimate size. IF I get the job then we will go up in the air and get exact

For a measurement I will not trust anything more than being out there with a tape measure I dont care what kind of device they come up with

 

[Reveal1]

We use Spike regularly. It saves much time and hassle doing estimates and cost around $500 when purchased. Did so on a large banner project (about 100' wide X 15' high as I recall) and later did a tape measurement and it was accurate to about 4"X under1" which is well under the 1% Spike advertises. Not enough to negatively impact most estimates, but potentially could cause production/install errors on sign faces etc. so we never produce without verifying exact size manually.

You will get distortion from the lens of your cell phone/tablet, so I would favor shooting from a little further out to minimize that effect. When I picked it up at ISA in Vegas a couple of years ago, I tried measuring the Hoover Dam; didn't work so well as we were too far beyond the 600 ft range of the device.

It's easy to get sloppy using the Spike tool to triangulate dimensions, so we make sure our designers take extra care to zoom in and set the measurement points as precisely as possible.

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

For estimates, I'm usually able to use something in Google street view to give me a reference to figure out the size. I'm very clear to the client that my size is an estimation and is subject to change once we go out and take exact measurements. We have a bucket truck, so once things move to a proof, I can schedule a quick swing by for measurements while the driver is out doing other installs.

If we didn't have a bucket truck and needed to rent one, I'd build it into my costs.

I'd also like to mention that this seems like a great time to build a business relationship with someone that does have a bucket truck and would be willing to help you out occasionally. Before we had ours, we teamed up with one of our clients (a tree company) to help us out. We'd work around his schedule, obviously, but it was a great help to us... and to him because we traded our services for his.

 

[appropriate1]

I just took a contract job from a designer in another state to replace some 3 x 10 faces 20 feet high. They expected a survey charge,
where you go out and measure the job and if it takes a bucket, you have to do it and hopefully can tie it with another job. Recently,
a union shop quoted a message center install for me and they charge $250 just to come out and look at the pole size and structural strength
and check the fuse box before they commit to the rest of the job. So, I guess the bottom line is build it into the cost or give it away for free.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

Very inexpensive and no recurring costs to use time and time again.

Good enough to get a pretty accurate measurement for at least quoting purposes.

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/laser-measuring-glm165-40-187965-p/

You will need a tripod with this. I use an inexpensive camera tripod that I keep in my truck.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

I also use a telephoto lens for taking pictures that I will later place into Photoshop and crop using the perspective mesh tool. With a reference measurement in the photo, this can be very effective. I use this method for vehicles and storefronts too.

If you are standing on the ground looking up, the height of the object will appear shorter once corrected in PS (horizontal distance does the same thing, but you can measure things on the ground for a solid reference). It is good to have a vertical measurement reference in the photo. The horizontal measurements perpendicular to the picture plane will be fairly accurate. Similar results can be obtained using a rectilinear lens (very expensive), but distortion caused by depth of field adjustments will still be apparent.

For best results, use a lens that produces a shallow depth of field (telephoto, not digital zoom which just crops the image). Wide angle lenses (like cell phones) will not work with this method.

This method, plus the laser measuring tool, gets me close enough for estimating. If precise measurements are needed (such as measuring for a replacement face), you will eventually need to measure it directly.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

Some members have recommended the Spike tool. Its limitation is the wide angle lens on your cell phone camera. For most estimating, it will be fine. The methods I outlined above are more accurate and just as easy, and if you already own a telephoto or optical zoom lens considerably less expensive.

 

[Johnny Best]

I use a Nikon 18-300mm, 70-200mm and a 35mm lens on a full frame Nikon camera. The two longer lens have either perspective, optical or barrel distortion at different focal lenghts. The 35mm is closer to what you see with your eye.
I am going to a sign that I know the size of and take a pic with each lens and see if your information by taking them into Photoshop and adjusting perspective mesh tool works.
But like you said, if replacing faces I strongly agree about measuring directly. An inch cut to big or to small will not work.

 

[kcollinsdesign]

I use a Nikon 18-300mm, 70-200mm and a 35mm lens on a full frame Nikon camera. The two longer lens have either perspective, optical or barrel distortion at different focal lenghts. The 35mm is closer to what you see with your eye.
I am going to a sign that I know the size of and take a pic with each lens and see if your information by taking them into Photoshop and adjusting perspective mesh tool works.
But like you said, if replacing faces I strongly agree about measuring directly. An inch cut to big or to small will not work.

A 35mm lens is a wide angle lens. Some consider either a 35mm or 50mm lens to be a close to what a human eye measures, but there are variables because of how the eye works (maybe 43mm on a full frame 35mm camera).

For this kind of measuring, the shallower the depth of field, the more accurate your image will be. This means a telephoto lens and standing further from your object. Barrel distortion (which we are trying to minimize) occurs progressively the wider the lens gets, with a fish-eye lens producing enormous amounts - often useful for artistic effect, but not what we are going after. Perspective distortion occurs naturally (just think about standing at the base of a sign and taking a picture looking up - the top is further away than the bottom at eye level, even though both are in the same plane relative to the ground). Once again, a wide angle lens exacerbates this, using the flattest possible telephoto is the best option. This will necessitate backing up quite a bit before taking the picture - the further away the better (until you run out of resolution and lose details). If it helps, just think about measuring the distance from your camera lens to both the top and the bottom of the sign. The further away you are, the closer these measurements will be (hence less perspective distortion). Note: this is essentially the technique for using the laser measurement device, and why it is important to use a tripod so the measurements are taken from the exact same point.