Neon sign on tile

[grdshute]

Hi everyone
I have a customer who wants a neon sign (design is already done) but they want it fitted directly to a metro-tiled wall. Now I've seen neon fitted to tiled walls before and it looks brilliant but the place is brand new and I'm worried that one of the tiles will break. If I'm going to do this I'll tell the customer that it is fitted at their own risk but I was wondering if anyone has done this before. You can use a special drill bit for tiles but can anyone think of a less risky alternative or technique? Thanks

 

[J Hill Designs]

interior? I would use the window technique (acrylic face with neon behind it, interior transformer with regular plug, plug on ceiling

 

[Kwiksigns]

the tiles are gonna crack. better to cover them up if you have to drill

 

[grdshute]

interior? I would use the window technique (acrylic face with neon behind it, interior transformer with regular plug, plug on ceiling

I think I know what you mean. Do you have any pics to show me?

 

[grdshute]

I've been looking and I found this bakery in San Francisco with a neon sign screwed directly to the wall, so maybe the risk isn't so high?

 

[grdshute]

Found more images

 

[J Hill Designs]

Yeah its doable. people screw things into tile walls all the time.

depending on how 'high end' you want it to look, I would do a better job at hiding wiring, blockout paint the correct color, etc

the sign you posted looks way hoakey.

 

[Marlene]

Yeah its doable. people screw things into tile walls all the time.

depending on how 'high end' you want it to look, I would do a better job at hiding wiring, blockout paint the correct color, etc

the sign you posted looks way hoakey.

I was thinking the same thing. you might want to show it to the customer as it might make them change their minds as it looks sloppy. if they do say they are OK with it, hire a tile guy to drill for you as they have the right tool bits. another thing you may check into is local regs for exposed neon. we can't have any tht is mounted whre people can touch it. all of it has to have a clear plastic cover oer it.

 

[Billct2]

Those look really sloppy, be cleaner with a backer panel than that.
Drilling in tile is tricky, but doable, just need the right bits.
What's behind the wall? Can you run the power and GTO thru the wall?
Maybe a combo of some screws & some VHB/Silicone would work.

 

[Moze]

the tiles are gonna crack. better to cover them up if you have to drill

Why are the tiles going to crack? A decent diamond hole saw would work fine and isn't going to crack the tile.

I agree with the other comments though....better to cover everything up if you can. But regardless, drilling in tile isn't that difficult, you just need patience and the proper tools.

 

[Kwiksigns]

oh. perhaps when we did it once we did not have a proper bit. I know the client really didn't care and we advised him they were gonna crack but he was extremely difficult to work with so we just did it. so, get whatever moze said, he seems to have the right idea.

* and I might add, the entire tile didn't crack, but got a little flakey by the hole. I should have mentioned that

 

[grdshute]

Thanks everyone, brilliant advice. Not sure what the regs are for covering neon over here in the uk but I will try to find out. The neon is going to be in a high traffic area so I think a case is probably a good idea anyway. I was thinking about putting the neon on a box rather than directly to wall but I have a feeling the customer won't want that.

 

[Jburns]

Pretty Sure In N Out Burger Does this at their stores inside-- looks great.

 

[J Hill Designs]

Pretty Sure In N Out Burger Does this at their stores inside-- looks great.

yep - usually using PK housings for zero exposed wiring

 

[Westcoast Sign Guy]

I see a location of London so I'm guessing London England, not somewhere like Ohio?

If not then most regs are anything under 8' needs to be protected from hands touching or public accessible . Tile is tough especially for how many holes you will need to do, just tell em the tile will crack and you have to use a cabinet background or thin wireway with remote trannies behind the wall.

PK's are gone and no longer being manufactured, so the best place to try and find those is on a dusty shelf of some sign shop somewhere, so the next alternative besides a cabinet or sign structure where you can use (which offer a clean look) 200 housings is Masters Technologies Boot and Sleeving System. Not the easiest thing to use but it's what we're stuck with at the moment if you need Neon directly on a wall.

Not sure on your color choice of glass but it's best for have a matte dark background like black, or the same color as the glass.




Good luck, post your finished product!

 

[brentjosker]

Neon on Tile

I see a location of London so I'm guessing London England, not somewhere like Ohio?

If not then most regs are anything under 8' needs to be protected from hands touching or public accessible . Tile is tough especially for how many holes you will need to do, just tell em the tile will crack and you have to use a cabinet background or thin wireway with remote trannies behind the wall.

PK's are gone and no longer being manufactured, so the best place to try and find those is on a dusty shelf of some sign shop somewhere, so the next alternative besides a cabinet or sign structure where you can use (which offer a clean look) 200 housings is Masters Technologies Boot and Sleeving System. Not the easiest thing to use but it's what we're stuck with at the moment if you need Neon directly on a wall.

Not sure on your color choice of glass but it's best for have a matte dark background like black, or the same color as the glass.


Good luck, post your finished product!

What i would do in that instance is lay out the neon and standoffs on paper. mark out the location of the standoffs. Hang the paper on the wall transfer the standoff marks on the tile, with a small die grinder i would scuff up tile surface. i would then attached the stand offs to the wall with either a 100% silicone or 2 part epoxy, depending on how long you want it there, wait overnight and wammo, your in business, hang your tubing from your newly epoxy mounts. i would probably go with the epoxy!

 

[petrosgraphics]

do you have access to the backside of the wall? if so all of you connections can be done on that side. mount the tube supports to the to the tile wall using plastic shields and screws. drill through the wall in the area where your GTO wire will be going through, hole diameter will be determined by the type of sleeving you use for the GTO wire. make all your connections on the backside of the wall. after all is done use some nice looking wall mount spacers for an oversized piece of plexi to protect the neon. mount the spacers using the same method as the tube supports. mounting hardware will just be a little larger. this will be a very neat and clean looking install. a little time needed so price install accordingly

 

[grdshute]

Hey guys,
Yes London, England. Thanks for all of your help, it means a lot. We made the customer aware of the risk, then fitted the sign directly to the tile. We used the plan given and used tape for grip, then drilled very slowly using a special drill bit. As it was a large sign there were a lot of holes, but thankfully none cracked! The tile was white so our neon guy used standard black out paint, then added another white coat. Neon is honestly my favorite type of sign. Hopefully the new laws won't kill the neon industry.