Attaching Forex to pillar or fence

[Derek Heron]

hi warren hope this helps
http://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … highlight=
derek

[David Rogers]

Link fence or wood slat?

Link – good ‘ol zip ties.

Slat – SHORT (so they don’t go through the back) wood screws with domed caps.

Foamex isn’t great on fences…but it’ll do for a wee while.

Sun, cold & kids tend to kill it)

Dave

[Warren Beard]

Thanks guys

Good link Derek, cheers.

What is an alternative to foamex that is cheap, it won’t be seen behind the supplied plastic numbers but because the numbers are thin and flimsy they need some support. I will have to check on how high they will go as it will be in a nurseries garden with lots of small children.

cheers

Warren

[Warren Beard]

Sorry guys, don’t know if this makes a difference but I meant Forex and not Foamex. Is there a difference?

cheers

Warren

[Craig Bond]

Isn’t Forex the fluted board?

[Peter Normington]

The name is confusing warren, foam-x is actually an interior product, paper coated foam board. forex is a trade name as is foamex. What you are talking about is upvc board?

Peter

[Peter Normington]

quote CRAIG BOND:

Isn’t Forex the fluted board?

No thats corex and other branded names,

confused?

Peter

[Phill Fenton]

Correx is the fluted board.

Forrex is similar to Foamex and other PVC foamboards such as foamalux.

I would use a Dibond equivalent (Aluminium/Polyethylene composite) for this Warren. It will be a bit more expensive but is much more durable

[Phill Fenton]

Sorry – Peter posted his reply while I was still writing mine 😕

[Craig Bond]

Sorry your right – I know Foamex as foamex – not sure where forex has come from???

Ok Phill I thought so!

[Warren Beard]

sorry for the confusion guys. It is from Europoint and this is the description.

FOREX CLASSIC
A lightweight expanded rigid PVC board produced by one of the worlds leading manufacturers with a
reputation for innovation and quality. Forex Classic is suitable for long term exterior use and has BS476 Part 7
Class 1 fire rating for exhibition use.

Will this be suitable in 5mm thickness and with the clips from Screwfix for the cable ties?

cheers

Warren

[Craig Bond]

Ok so it is foamex then

[Peter Normington]

Warren that will do, and contrary to a lot of opinion, it will last for years, vandals will not care if its plastic, di-bond or aluminium…

I always give the options to the customer, and to be honest, on smallish signs, the cost difference twixt plastic and dibond should not be an issue, and I try and persuade the use of dibond.
but on average, composite sheet is 3 times more expensive than foamwhatsit, so if you apply the x times cost theory to dibond, it becomes un-affordable 😉

8 x 4 foamex £25 (times 5 cost) £125
8 x 4 composite £75 (times 5 cost) £375

So give the customer a good job, within his informed budget,
that way you will cover all the angles.

Peter

[Warren Beard]

Ok then if Forex and Foamex are the same then will this be suitable in 5mm thickness and with the clips from Screwfix for the cable ties? The signs are 700mm X 500mm.

cheers

Warren

[Warren Beard]

Thanks Peter, those sticky clips from screwfix you use, will those work well? and would they work better on Dibond?

cheers

Warren

[Peter Normington]

just make sure the surface is clean, before attaching the clips, they do stick, I have tried to remove them, after a time, and they pull of a piece of the foamex before the adhesive gives…
Peter

[Warren Beard]

Thanks Peter much appreciated.

cheers

Warren

[Phill Fenton]

I don’t know where you’re getting your composite material from Peter – but £75 a sheet is expensive – try shopping around a bit more 😉

Actually, I believe Correx is a better bet than Forex as this is more durable – PVC foamboard is very brittle and breaks easily. It’s ok if fitted in signtrim but I wouldn’t recommend using tie wraps to fix it to a fence long term.

Correx is even cheaper than PVC foamboard but also looks cheap.

I would give your customer all the options weighing up the pros and cons of each along with you own recommendation as to which material you believe is most suited to the task

[Peter Normington]

Phill, ok sorry price was of the top of my head. and for 5mm white 10 x 5
I can also get foamexwhatever for a tenner a sheet,
so same formulae applies..

Peter

[Warren Beard]

Hi Phill

I thought about Correx but because I will have to cut it in to the shape of numbers I thought it would be weaker than Foamex.

am I wrong? 😕

[Phill Fenton]

Sorry Warren. I hadn’t realised you were planning to cut the backing material to the shape of the numbers – I thought this was going to be a square or rectangular backing board. I wouldn’t use Correx for this

Perhaps you should consider buying in router cut lettering instead (In either composite or PVC foam or even acrylic) – cutting the shapes out will be a time consuming exercise.

[Warren Beard]

Hi Phill

That would have been the plan except the school has given me some plastic letters they already bought from somewhere and want me to hang them on the fence 😕 I thought I would use the letters to draw the shape and then jigsaw the shape out cutting it short by about 5mm so you don’t actually see the backing, then hang on fence with the cable ties. a cheap solution I thought!

Warren

[Phill Fenton]

It depends on how much you value your time. I suspect you will be underpricing yourself if you are prepared to cut these by hand rather than buying them in.

I have a motor driven fretsaw that I paid over a hundred pounds for…I bought it especially for, and only only ever used it for one job. Ever since then I buy these things in once I realised how time consuming fret cut lettering would be.

[Warren Beard]

Hi Phill

I didn’t think it would take too long because I can afford to be quick and somewhat messy as the edges won’t be seen, saying this I have never cut Foamex with a jigsaw before 😕

I suppose I am going to have to rethink it a bit and see if I can think of something better.

cheers

Warren