Metal Gemini letters on siding - peaks or valleys?

[jtiii]

I'm not sure which is the lesser of too weevils -
I'm installing 14" stainless fabricated letters w/ closed backs 1" deep plus 2" spacing. Putting the studs in the valleys seems like it makes more sense, but will it make the drill template much harder to use? Drilling on the peaks I just need to keep the drill square. I might be overthinking this

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

You have more area to play with on the peaks and less stud exposure. You putting a washer and nut on the back side of the plywood?

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Assuming the is pbr panel and the plywood is sheathing, your picture is showing it installed upside down.

 

[weyandsign]

I wouldn't even worry about where they put the studs. Some studs on peak, some in valley, some might even hit right on the edge of the peak. Just never been an issue for me personally.

 

[Billct2]

Yep, we usually just let the studs fall where they may and have a spacer to make sure they are all the same off the wall

 

[2B]

are you putting a jam nut behind the plywood?
If so, let the studs fall where

if not, you are better off using a rail system
get some 1" U channel, Aluminum, paint the color of the sheet metal,
bolt the letters to the channels, 2 horizontal raceways, and self-tapping screws (again same color as the R Panel) through the channels into the ribs (high points) on the R panel, try to use the existing holes where the lap screws are to minimize the number of holes

 

[petepaz]

the only thing i would be concerned about is your studs are long enough on the peaks to get enough stud in to the plywood so it holds properly

 

[Zendavor Signs]

You have more area to play with on the peaks and less stud exposure. You putting a washer and nut on the back side of the plywood?

That is ideal if you can get to the other side. We have used a dob of silicone around the stud too.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

I banged my head against this sentence until I realized you meant 'backwards' more than upside down. I'm going to start calling it pbr panel though, I'm sure I'll get plenty of dumb looks, it's always referred to as R panel around these parts...

I slept through English class. The panels are nearly the same but PBR has a purlin bearing rib which makes it stronger

 

[jtiii]

You putting a washer and nut on the back side of the plywood?

That is ideal if you can get to the other side.

I cannot get to the other side.
It's new construction but nobody thought about the lettering until the nth hour so there's drywall up inside.
Do I need to tell them they either need to open the drywall up or we need to use rails?
I've done plenty of acrylic or plastic lettering with just a stud/pad or two top and bottom for weight holdin' and pads/adhesive for wall-stickin' but these are my first metal letters. Gemini told me they don't offer pads with metal letters, just spacer sleeves, but I don't get why pads aren't an option.
IMPORTANT ADDENDUM: I neglected to label the diagrams - those are side views! It's horizontal paneling

 

[jtiii]

I slept through English class. The panels are nearly the same but PBR has a purlin bearing rib which makes it stronger
View attachment 162825
View attachment 162824

Yeah oops!! It's not R or PBR - it's horizontal! Those are side views

 

[jtiii]

Like this

 

[Billct2]

Do they send stainless steel studs with ss letters? If not I would get them and nuts. I'd thread the nut on the stud then run it down to hit the siding when its leveled. That with silicone in the hole should hold if the holes are tight. Seeing it's horizontal siding I would try to line up with the high part.

 

[Texas_Signmaker]

I cannot get to the other side.
It's new construction but nobody thought about the lettering until the nth hour so there's drywall up inside.
Do I need to tell them they either need to open the drywall up or we need to use rails?
I've done plenty of acrylic or plastic lettering with just a stud/pad or two top and bottom for weight holdin' and pads/adhesive for wall-stickin' but these are my first metal letters. Gemini told me they don't offer pads with metal letters, just spacer sleeves, but I don't get why pads aren't an option.
IMPORTANT ADDENDUM: I neglected to label the diagrams - those are side views! It's horizontal paneling

I don't know.. I guess it depends on how heavy the letters are and how well you feel like they grab.

 

[jtiii]

Do they send stainless steel studs with ss letters? If not I would get them and nuts. I'd thread the nut on the stud then run it down to hit the siding when its leveled. That with silicone in the hole should hold if the holes are tight. Seeing it's horizontal siding I would try to line up with the high part.

Bill are you saying you feel that silicone on the stud in the 5/8" decking would be sufficient to hold these?

You'd also need to pair them with hanger bolts/furniture bolts (standard all thread on one end, lag threads on the other) and either run them into the decking

I'm thinking that if I used these, since these are only 14" letters, I'd probably just need one of these on the top and another on the bottom, and the rest of the studs could just have spacers and go through the metal and not into the decking. What do you think?

I am of course getting pushback about how much penetration I need to be doing into their building.
The architect is asking if I really need to penetrate the plywood or if I can just attach to the siding. I've never seen an expansion anchor that can operate in only 3/4" space, does anyone know if there's such a product?

 

[Billct2]

"Bill are you saying you feel that silicone on the stud in the 5/8" decking would be sufficient to hold these?"
First, I like JBurton's set up, never used that.
Second, it definitely depends on how heavy these letters actually are. But it's not like it's one stud holding the whole letter, I would guess you have 4, 5 or more studs per letter.
With a nut against the steel and a good blob in the holes and on the wall there is silicone in the plywood, and on both sides of the steel. And if the holes aren't oversize they create a lot of
holding power too. I have done jobs where we had to pull a letter back out of the holes and it isn't easy, the threaded stud grab the edges of the hole pretty good.