The CEI Florida has been requested to be foam letters. The CEI is approx. 20" tall and the Florida cap height is about 15".

The general roofing area was requested in vinyl on my choice of substrate. It is approx. 2' x 4'

I was thinking 1 1/2" painted Gatorfoam for the letters and using alumalite for the flat sign. I see no problem in manufacturing the letters or sign.

I do see a possible problem with installing though!!! They don't want the foam lettering attached to the building with contractors adhesive, silicon, etc. They don't want it on any backer either!!! So I'm thinking cut out the letters from both Gatorfoam and alumalite, screw alumlite into metal building and use the adhesive to attach the letters on top of that.

HERE'S MY OTHER DILEMA!!!

It is around 15-20 feet up. I don't think I can install it without two people and scafolding or something. Plus I will need to pull permits. I think the best thing to do is hire an installer. How do I find one? How can I make sure they don't rip me off?

One more thing...

I haven't done big foam letters before. What should I charge for them?

i would not trust gator foam as an outside material. (with any cut-out you do in house there is always the question of sealing the materials.)

i would choose a material that is resistant to the elements.

as a one man shop i would sub this install out to a sign installer that is equipped to do such an install.

mark up your sub contractors installation fees,

buy the logos and lettering from another company such as... sorry i can't list a supplier of these products unless they are supporters of letterville.

do some futher research(trade mags and such) and you too will find that you can sell these types of sign jobs just like me.

the best to ya,

mark

I have also used Gemini letters extensivly. They have the ability to vacuum form custom fonts and logos. We have always used the Gemini pad mount for metal buildings. Adhesive is applied to the pad and the letter is glued in place.

the other approach we use is to carve the sign in 1" HDU board. The stuff is durable, easy to sand, paint, and is light. Install is simple because the sign is one piece.

Check in your area for install contractors. In Indianapolis we have a few companies that do nothing but install. If I were to install this one myself I would rent a lift. It is unsafe and a violation of O.S.H.A. rules to be above 6' on a ladder without fall protection. Good luck with your project.

Regards,

If you haven't already..I would "shop" around for a good price on the installer because I found one that installs off the ground for $100! It was a sign in the neighboring city and only the polycarb sign face but that was a real steal!
(14' by 4' and above the walkway in a strip shopping center). He was fully certified with all the bells and whistles and did a lot of subcontracting for that city. And his competitors were charging as much as $500 for the same job. I know the sign shop that uses him and they are very reputable. It was amazing what the price difference was.
I found Gemini to be the best company out there, the highest quality and I agree with the guys too. I am happy with their letters and they have a lifetime warranty on their letters, with lots of experience. Never recieved an order that had any mistakes either. They also provide spacing charts and lots of support and sound advice, which is another reason that I stick with them. Even if you are bidding now, this info will help you for future jobs.

[ October 20, 2001: Message edited by: Deb Fowler ]