posted
I like them. It saves quite a bit of headache. Here's a subdivision we did a couple years ago. The developer hired a stone mason. We just did the carved signs and installed them.
posted
From what I can tell, its stone veneer. I had to bust one to make room for another sign for the division and I didn't see anything that looked like concrete.
posted
We are doing two monument signs right now. I did a concrete block base. The top part we did faux plank work (hand carved) with our fiberglass reinforced concrete mix. We did this in place.
On the bottom of the signs we are doing the stone work. We are using a product called 'California Stucco stone. The rock looks real convincing but it is lightweight concrete.
It is less expensive than real rick and much more reasonable.
It also takes much less skill as a mason to put it all together.
The beauty of this stuff is that it doesn't require special structure to hold it up. For instance you can put it on a house (plywood backing) with diamond lath. No special construction or reinforcing is required. I have some jobs that go back more than 10 years and they are still looking good.
Other brand names and a wide variety of stone types are available at your local brick and block supplier.
-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: 8760 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Thanks Dan, That's what I'm looking for! Have you made any framework, for this, from pressure treated wood? Does it warp later and cause cracks or does it work OK? I'm a woodworker but have no experience with block laying.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7405 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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Unless the sign structure is protected from the elements I would use block.
Until I did these signs I had no experience with block laying either. Never too late to learn a new skill. You could sub out the block work and footing (footer for our US friends) too (as I have done in the past)
I found a block layer at work. A few minutes watching taught me just enough to be dangerous. The walls I built weren't the straightest but I covered them up anyway. The big sign I did was in an arc... something many blocklayers would baulk at.
A level and a string and trowel and wheel barrow are all the tools you need.
I love new challenges and tackle them all the time.
-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: 8760 | From: Yarrow, B.C. Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I worked as a stone mason for my father for quite a while, my father taught me the trade in hopes that I would get into it, I still dabble with it at times, and I still have the touch. It's interesting about the discussions that happen here about the art of hand lettered signs. I talked to my dad yesterday about this thread and he cringed at the use of these veneers, I guess real rock work is fast becoming a dying art as well. I have at times had to use them, and I guess for the "newbie" rock guy, they are a decent alternative, but I see them as the "vinyl" of my old profession. Rick
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1540 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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