posted July 10, 2009 10:10 AM
Yesterday, Mike and I completed a series of dimensional signs that we designed for the City of Fairfield, a small town of about 1,700 folks in Central Texas - about 120 miles from us.
Of course, we choose one of the hotest days of the year (107 with a heat index of 112) to install the last two projects.
All are Corafoam HDU (15#) with letters cut from 20#. Everything was sprayed with Coastal Enterprises FSC 88 WB primer and then finished with Porter Acrylics. Small letters are PVC sprayed with Krylon. Posts are redwood.
Everything was cut on our ShopBot.
The star on the Police sign was painted with Ronan Aqua Leaf water based acrylic (Rich Gold) and cleared with Ronan Aqua Leaf Guard UV (#WPC50 Gloss).
These two signs were actually installed by the city maintenance crew a few months ago.
The two that we installed yesterday will be in the next post...I got ahead of myself.
OK....here's the ones we installed yesterday. The "before" sign on this one was just vinyl on aluminum (2' x 16')
Our replacement was dimensional HDU 16' wide installed in three pieces. I failed to get an "after" photo before we left but this shows Mike installing the PVC letters over the seam in the panels. The heat must have effected my brain...at least that's the story I'm sticking to.
This sign was the last one of the project. It is basically a 2' x 8'. There was not a "before" photo because there was not a sign here before.
[ July 10, 2009, 10:30 AM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 10, 2009 10:52 AM
That's outstanding Raymond and Mike. What a transformation and terrific selling tool you've created. I absolutely love what you guys have done here. In case I didn't make myself clear, Holy Cwap I like what you've done!!!!!!!!
posted July 10, 2009 12:04 PM
What Rene said... you both talk funny to me..
-grampa dan
-------------------- Dan Sawatzky Imagination Corporation Yarrow, British Columbia dan@imaginationcorporation.com http://www.imaginationcorporation.com
Being a grampa is one of the the most wonderful things in the world!!! Posts: 8738 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 10, 2009 06:08 PM
This morning we received a call from the City Manager and they are wanting some ideas for a sign for their rodeo arena, so Mike and I drove back over there today to check out the area where they wanted the sign. They are also interested in some signage on the roads leading into town -"Welcome to..." stuff. So, it looks like we may have some more work after all.
Also, I took a photo of the Conference Center (spelled correctly) sign that I missed yesterday.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 10, 2009 06:41 PM
Si - there is a sign shop in Fairfield, but I don't know if they did the "Before" signs or not. Mike and I talked about stopping in to see him (or her) today, but decided against it.
I've often wondered if they would say, "Oh, you can't sell that kind of work around here."
These jobs all began by us doing some graphics on a new concession buiding at the school's football field. The painter for the contractor contacted us about doing the lettering and graphics because we had worked for him on several jobs before. Someone saw us painting, liked our work, and asked if we could replace the old sign at their city park....and the rest is history.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Brian Ooms for CVD -Custom Vinyl Designs Merrillville, In Posts: 244 | From: Merrillville, IN | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted July 11, 2009 06:54 AM
Love the new consistancy among the signs as well- good branding. Job(s) well done
-------------------- Catharine C. Kennedy CCK Graphics 1511 Route 28 Chatham Center, NY 12184 cck1620@taconic.net "Look at me, Look at me, Look at me now! I't's fun to have fun, But you have to know how!" Posts: 2173 | From: downtown Chatham Center, NY | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted July 11, 2009 11:28 AM
David - we don't normally do work that far away but these dimensional signs are an exception. After we figure a price we normally add about $500 for the trip back and forth. That wouldn't be practical for a MDO sign or something small.
In the past all of the preliminary work has been done by emails.
Good idea about the SignCraft article. I just may give that some thought.
By the way, thanks all for the nice words. One of the best payments of doing work like this is having our peers appreciate them.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 11, 2009 12:20 PM
Dave...that old man is just grumpy because his ShopBot came over on the Mayflower and he couldn't figure out how to make it work right. Then he went and spent a fortune on some Chinese thing and he's jealous that it won't do any more than my ShopBot.
I'll keep my paint shaker or pea shooter or whatever anyone wants to call it. It still does everything I want it to do. And it's paid for itself.
Thank Dave. Actually, that Crumley guy could make great signs with a dull screwdriver. Just don't believe everything he says....especially about me.
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 13, 2009 10:17 AM
Ray, you have given the place a look of class, what a difference. From ho- hum to WOW! Bill
-------------------- Bill Riedel Riedel Sign Co., Inc. 15 Warren Street Little Ferry, N.J. 07643 billsr@riedelsignco.com Posts: 2953 | From: Little Ferry, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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posted July 13, 2009 10:56 AM
I liked the befores better. Just teasing. Turned out fantastic. My fave is the shield-like police department sign. Dignified and authoritative. Just like you. Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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posted July 13, 2009 02:38 PM
In case you were interested in the prices for these:
Police(3' x 4' D/F) - $3,500 (no installation) City Hall (4' x 5' S/F) - $3,000 (no installation) Civic Center (2' x 8') - $3,000 installed Conference Center (3' x 16' overall) - $5,500 installed.
Total - $15,000.
Two trips - first to deliver the Police and City Hall signs, which were installed by the city crews, and then a second trip to install the Civic and Conference Center signs.
I might add that there are some rather nice signs in this little town, but I'm not sure who does them. The ones we saw were all are flat, vinyl or paint.
[ July 13, 2009, 02:42 PM: Message edited by: Raymond Chapman ]
-------------------- Chapman Sign Studio Temple, Texas chapmanstudio@sbcglobal.net Posts: 6306 | From: Temple, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 13, 2009 03:02 PM
Great job as usual Ray.
Signs like that help a town take a little more pride in itself. For the last few years, those "Welcome to:" signs have been showing up in a lot of the little towns around me......all cnc carved. It all started when just one town did it.
You might want to think about putting together a little brocure on this project and send it to the surrounding towns......hate to see you loose this kind of work to someone else.
Thanks for posting.....there is a lot here to learn.
Joe,
Makin Chip$ and Havin Fun!
[ July 13, 2009, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: Joe Cieslowski ]
-------------------- Joe Cieslowski Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery P.O.Box 368 East Canaan CT 06024 jcieslowski@snet.net 860-824-0883 Posts: 2345 | From: East Canaan CT 06024 | Registered: Nov 2001
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posted July 15, 2009 04:58 PM
Great work, from a talented individual.
-------------------- Len Mort Signmaker1.com 11 Juniper Drive Millbury, MA 508-865-2382 "A Good Business Sign, is A Sign of Good Business"(1957) Posts: 811 | From: Millbury, Ma | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted July 15, 2009 08:06 PM
Nice work and a big improvement.
The guy that first hired me in the sign business in 1971 lived in Fairfield but commuted a hundred miles each day to Dallas, where his company was based. He'd known me since I was twelve but took a chance on me anyway, and hired me when I was nineteen. He's retired and moved about twenty miles away from Fairfield but still calls me to sub an occasional job that comes his way.
Four and a half years ago, we did the following sign in Fairfield as part of a volunteer project. The faces are sandblasted Granite with 23K Gold and Palladium leaf, the structure is stone and cast stone.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted July 16, 2009 06:27 AM
Wish I'd dont this sign. I'd be blabbering about it all over the place, like Chapman does.
-------------------- Joe Crumley Norman Sign Company 2200 Research Park Blvd. Norman, OK 73069 Posts: 1428 | From: 2200 Research Park Blvd. | Registered: Sep 2001
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posted July 16, 2009 06:49 AM
awesome transformations! i love before and afters, man that was some shoddy stuff they had
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