Need recommendation of materials

[Jtozier]

I am building three signs for our retail store. I will be using Woodland Manufacturing to cut out the white letters. I am looking for recommendations on thickness of letters and what material to pick.

I also need to pick a wood background. I was thinking some 1x6 cedar planks stained black, and natural cedar for the frame.

Then what would be the best material to mount everything to? A certain type of exterior plywood?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rick]

I usually make a section view to see the proportions of the letters to the panel.

My gut says:
1" thick acrylic on "HIGH COUNTRY"
1/2" thick acrylic on "GOODS"
1/4" thick on "EST 2014"
Matte finish on the lettering...

If you use wood, it will probably need maintenance. If you use penetrating oil, usually once a year, a good clear coat - every few years.

I would cleat the sign to the wall using steel angles.

Very nice design by the way...

 

[player]

With your font choice you could cut them out yourself and it wouldn't make a difference...

 

[rjssigns]

Have Peachtree City Foamcraft do the whole thing and forget about maintenance, termites, carpenter ants, rot etc... http://www.foamcraft.info/

 

[Jtozier]

Thank you for the idea of the variance in thickness of letters. Do you prefer to have a 90 degree angle on letters or have the edges slightly rounded?

What choice besides wood do I have for a backing, that will give a wood look? Also we are hanging this sign on a stone wall so that will be another challenge.

What type of exterior plywood is used for sign backing?


Thanks for the insight. In Big Sky, MT bugs really are not an issue. I have contacted Peach Tree City Foam Craft to see what they have to offer.

 

[Rick]

In my opinion...

In this case, there is no way a foam sign from the mentioned sign company will look anywhere near that rendering... it will look cheap.

Other ways of doing it are faux finish, digital print, let the wood weather on it own after you stain it. If you wanted a wood grain, HDU sandblasted with a grain frame, or 3D CNC then paint/stain how you want.

To me, nothing will compare to the real deal though digital print would look good from a distance... but may not last.

Adding a rounded edge on the main copy would look better, it's going to add more to the cost....

If made right. You may not need a backing...

Depending on the stone, Hilti Redheads or preferably wedge anchors through angles, attach angles to the back of your sign that line up to the wall angles, screw in from top and to bottom angle to angle. Done....

 

[Billct2]

I would consider something like Rick's suggestion. Have the while thing routed from HDU, including the grained background.
Leave a flat edge to mount some real wood to. That wood can be stained and sealed with a two part marine clear. I have
mahogany frames that have held up for 10 years with that type of clear. I also did a grainframed HDU sign stained flat black and it is over 10 years old and still looks good.

 

[oksigns]

+1 Rick said exactly what I was thinking. We gonna need some pics of this when it's done

I usually make a section view to see the proportions of the letters to the panel.

My gut says:
1" thick acrylic on "HIGH COUNTRY"
1/2" thick acrylic on "GOODS"
1/4" thick on "EST 2014"
Matte finish on the lettering...

If you use wood, it will probably need maintenance. If you use penetrating oil, usually once a year, a good clear coat - every few years.

I would cleat the sign to the wall using steel angles.

Very nice design by the way...

 

[J Hill Designs]

personally I would use 1/2" sintra for high country and 1/4" for the lower copy. 1" is way too thick with that thin of a stroke

 

[Rick]

personally I would use 1/2" sintra for high country and 1/4" for the lower copy. 1" is way too thick with that thin of a stroke

Okay better not trust my gut, trust J. Hills... had to draw it out and his recommendation balances out a lot better...

 

[J Hill Designs]

Okay better not trust my gut, trust J. Hills... had to draw it out and his recommendation balances out a lot better...

stick to circles, rickey

 

[Rick]

stick to circles, rickey

If I had it my way, everything would be circles!!!!!

 

[oksigns]

Okay better not trust my gut, trust J. Hills... had to draw it out and his recommendation balances out a lot better...

I see.. in that case, why not make the height even across all letters?

 

[Rick]

I see.. in that case, why not make the height even across all letters?

At some point, small and deep letters look porky when viewing at angles. The "EST" and "2014" might be hard to read or impossible to read unless viewing it dead on or at only the slightest angle...
Making the logo 1/4" is not enough dimension to make it interesting or not enough impact for the effort in making the type dimensional.

Other reason is varying thickness adds more dimension/visual interest to the layout.

 

[J Hill Designs]

At some point, small and deep letters look porky when viewing at angles. The "EST" and "2014" might be hard to read or impossible to read unless viewing it dead on or at only the slightest angle...
Making the logo 1/4" is not enough dimension to make it interesting or not enough impact for the effort in making the type dimensional.

Other reason is varying thickness adds more dimension/visual interest to the layout.

BOOM well said

 

[SignProPlus-Alex]

I you would ask my opinion. I would loose raised border. Make it 45 bevel. Main letters .75-1 inch PVC small letters painted or vcarved in.
Making frame flat will add more dimension to the letters.

If you don't care about wood. Make frame out of PVC. Wood grain easy to make and you can use same stain. For the background go with 0.63 aluminum or 3mm ACM.

 

[Jtozier]

Thank you all for the feedback. I really appreciate it.  So is the general consensus that wood will not be a wise choice? I still like the idea of having subtle horizontal lines behind the text, like this picture attached but opposite. Could I still do that with aluminum?