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Standoffs and hanging a 4'x8' sign

strypguy

strypguy

New Member
I have a customer that has a 4'x8' 1/8" plexiglass sign. They want it hung on the wall with one inch standoffs. It will be 4' long by 8' high. My question is how many standoffs do you think are adequate for this size sign. Also, I need a supplier with quality standoffs where I could get them in a few days?

Thanks for the help.

John
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
My first question is... WHY ??

At 1/8" thick, it is gonna bow and warp in the summer and become so brittle in the wintertime that it sounds like a rather bad suggestion for an outdoor substrate.

Second question is... WHY ??

Can't you talk them into another substrate ?? After all, you're the professional here, not them. You should've quickly suggested alumalite, dibond, wood or just about anything other than plexi which isn't even rated for outdoor sign usage.
 
CES020

CES020

New Member
Where did he say it was an outdoor sign? (it may be an outdoor sign, but I was thinking more along the lines of an internal sign with a customer name on it that goes on the wall behind their desk).
 
S

signguy 55

New Member
I'd rather wrap a corrugated trailer with 20,000 rivets than try to figure out how to hang a 4x8 sheet of plex without getting waves in it.

Seriously, you may do a 3' x 6' piece of something like MDO, 1/2" plywood or something to attach permanently to the wall to take the stress of the weight of the plex, then your standoffs on the edges would be decorative.

I sure would have used some other substrate. That's going to be a lot of weight no matter how you figure it.
 
Letterbox Mike

Letterbox Mike

New Member
I assume they already have the sign and they just want you to hang it, correct? I'd put 5 standoffs across the top and bottom and 1 centered on each end. When you drill your holes for them, drill them slightly oversized so the sign "floats" on the standoffs. Also, don't over-tighten the caps down. If you're accurate when you drill your holes, the sign will more or less hang there, you don't want to torque the caps down so that's what holds the sign up, that will cause it to warp.

I'd still use something thicker than 1/8" though, that' is really flimsy for that size. No matter how many standoffs you put around the perimeter, if you don't have anything supporting it in the center it's going to cup.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
CES020 said:
Where did he say it was an outdoor sign? (it may be an outdoor sign, but I was thinking more along the lines of an internal sign with a customer name on it that goes on the wall behind their desk).
Click to expand...

Well, a couple of things influenced this assumption on my end.


  1. Not many interior walls are more than about 7'6" tall.
  2. That alone would make it too large.
  3. That also would mean it would rest on the floor if they did in fact have an 8'1" wall.
  4. Not much sense in that.
  5. If the wall were to be very tall and could accommodate an 8' high sign, why are they chintzing out, using plexi instead of glass or something really nice ??
  6. If it were 4' tall I would've asked the question right off the bat if this were an interior or exterior mount.
Other than those immediate assumptions on my part as to how I came to my answer, I will wait to hear back from the OP.
 
HulkSmash

HulkSmash

New Member
I've done it.
With material that thin.. you want 5 on the top, 5 on the bottom, 2 in the middle on the sides... maybe even 3...
 
strypguy

strypguy

New Member
LOL... I love you guys. Yes, not my idea. Customer already has the plexi and I'm just trying to accomodate them.

I'll see if I can't get them to change their minds :). After I tell them they are going to need 12-15 standoffs they may get the idea!!

How about the standoffs. Do you guys know a good supplier?

John
 
Letterbox Mike

Letterbox Mike

New Member
I'm partial to Nova Display. They're expensive but extremely nice, and they have a good selection of sizes. Also very fast to ship and excellent customer service. Standoff Sytems also has a good selection, a little less expensive than Nova, but I don't like them as well. I like Nova's mounting method and their service is better.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
strypguy said:
LOL... I love you guys. Yes, not my idea. Customer already has the plexi and I'm just trying to accomodate them.

I'll see if I can't get them to change their minds :). After I tell them they are going to need 12-15 standoffs they may get the idea!!

How about the standoffs. Do you guys know a good supplier?

John
Click to expand...


Wait.... wait....... don't go away yet. Is it interior or exterior. Inquisitive minds need to know. :omg:
 
strypguy

strypguy

New Member
It's an interior sign in a salon. Just talked to them.They said they may go 24 x 48. How about this size using glass? How many standoffs?
It's an older building. Actually the ceilings in this place are really high.

Thanks for the help.

John
 
CES020

CES020

New Member
Gino said:
Well, a couple of things influenced this assumption on my end.


  1. Not many interior walls are more than about 7'6" tall.
  2. That alone would make it too large.
  3. That also would mean it would rest on the floor if they did in fact have an 8'1" wall.
  4. Not much sense in that.
  5. If the wall were to be very tall and could accommodate an 8' high sign, why are they chintzing out, using plexi instead of glass or something really nice ??
  6. If it were 4' tall I would've asked the question right off the bat if this were an interior or exterior mount.
Other than those immediate assumptions on my part as to how I came to my answer, I will wait to hear back from the OP.
Click to expand...

Or, it could be as simple as the sign is 4' tall, 8' wide, not 8' tall, 4' wide.

I wouldn't use glass. Just need to get thicker than 1/8" if possible. I cut a piece that was 4' x 8', 1/2" thick acrylic I guy hung like that. I cut it and put the holes in it, he did the install. I refused to install it.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
strypguy said:
It's an interior sign in a salon. Just talked to them.They said they may go 24 x 48. How about this size using glass? How many standoffs?
It's an older building. Actually the ceilings in this place are really high.

Thanks for the help.

John
Click to expand...
I stand corrected.

CES020 said:
Or, it could be as simple as the sign is 4' tall, 8' wide, not 8' tall, 4' wide.
In his opening post he said it was 8' tall

I wouldn't use glass. Just need to get thicker than 1/8" if possible. I cut a piece that was 4' x 8', 1/2" thick acrylic I guy hung like that. I cut it and put the holes in it, he did the install. I refused to install it.
Click to expand...

At 24" x 48"..... 1/4" thick...... nice chrome standoffs and one in each corner will suffice.
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
strypguy said:
It's an interior sign in a salon. Just talked to them.They said they may go 24 x 48. How about this size using glass? How many standoffs?
It's an older building. Actually the ceilings in this place are really high.

Thanks for the help.

John
Click to expand...

I've done several around that size for lobbies with a vinyl logo - they can look very nice. But we used 1/4" acrylic for the sign instead of 1/8". I think I would worry about using something so thin. We generally put a stand off every 18" - 24" so I'd put them in all four corners and then 2 more along the 48" side.

Just make sure you don't over tighten the standoffs and leave a little extra room when you drill the holes for the acrylic to breathe.

Edited to add: I don't think I'd have any problem using 3/16" acrylic either on something 2' x 4' interior
 
CES020

CES020

New Member
Gino, where in his opening post does he say 8' tall?

Either you're losing it or I'm losing it......
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
on stand offs, that thing is going to freak out with thermal expansion and contraction. do not put it on a wall that the sun can hit it. also, or just a few bucks more i'd at least put a cheap backer with it. but don't attach the backer, just seal it at the top so it will shed water away from it. the two will have different rates of expansion and rip any reverse graphics off. if the graphic are one the top, then get a can of loctite pro spray adhesive and stick some coro to the back.
 
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