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blown off in the wind!
Hi All,
I thought i would post this on here to see if any one has any comments on it.
We fitted 3 large 2m x 1.5m renobond signs onto a building about 6months ago and we had a call from the customer sayng that one of them has been blown off in the wind over last weekend. To be honest I am astonished as these signs were fitted correctly using the self tapping screw bolts (like on robert’s demo) and we used about 30 of them fixed to every ridge of the building making sure it was as flush to the building as possible. The signs are situated about 30ft in the air and we have had worse winds which have uprooted trees in the surounding area and not affected the signs. I was just wondering where we stand and is there anything else that could of been done to prevent it comming off in the future. In my eyes it is something that could not be forseen and if a freak gust of wind some how ripped the sign off it should be down to the buildings insurance to sort out.
If you have any comment it would greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
Stephen
C&S Designs UK LTD -
6 Replies
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If there was a tornado or some act of God , you might get away with caliming it wasnt your fault. However if the sign came off in gusty conditions that did no damage to anything else , I would just bite the bullet and go re-rig it and make good.
It will undoubtedly give you good PR and make you look really great in the customers eyes , so It would be worth the cost to you. (write it off as “school fees”
You might try some blobs of marine silicon sealant behind the sign in conjunction with heavier duty screws with oversize washers to keep the sign in place and the silicon will key it to the back surface. The problem is not the sign coming off , but more of what you could be liable for if the sign hit someone and caused injury. -
the silicon is a good additive to the fixings.. the fixing on the other hand should ‘not’ have come away. 😮
the fixings you have used (tech-bolts/screws) were introduced for te construction of these metal cladding buildings. these are actualy the screws that these buildings are held together with.there are two things to check for..
1. look at the screws you have. if the threads are tight together then those are for tapping into the steel frame construction.
if they have open threads then they are the ones you want for the soft metal cladding.
2. look at the spot the sign came down from..
is all the screws still in the building? or is there some screws still in the building? if they are then it maybe that you have screwed in too tight, threading the screws grip. if this happens at one side the sign can come loose and start to flap at one side. because di-bond/rynabond/alucolour is very soft, the possibility is that the flapping increases with the high winds and rips the metal away from the existing screws.these screws should not come loose. they are designed with large heads with metal washers with rubber underneath to absorb any movement.
the only aditive i would use is silicon like rodney mentioned.hope this helps mate..
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When i work for a large sign company, they would have metal work behind to fix into, (1/4 inch thick aluminium squares to give the tech bolts more to fix into and spead the load) Or larger signs ie illuminated boxes would have some type of channel metal work behind the cladding.
Simon
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your right simon. if you can get a plate fixing on the inside then that is another option but not always possible.
if the sign is large then you should be able to hit/locate a few fixings into the steel frame work for added strengh.this sign below is about 50metres long by 3 metres high. all fixed the same as steven has to a metal cladding building with tech screws only…
im geussing its been up about 5 years now..only the REIGART SIGN
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In answer to your original question Stephen, often my response in a case like this is to regard it as “Storm Damage”.
If you are satisfied that the sign was correctly fitted in the first place then you cannot be held responsible for structural damage caused by high winds. However, if you have any doubts that the sign may not have been fitted properly then it may not harm to offer to replace the sign at your own expense.
I’ve been in similar situations before in which I have had signs damaged in very high winds. In cases where the storms were so severe that damage had occured (e.g lost tiles on houses etc.) I have told the client that this is “Storm damage” and they have claimed on their insurance. In cases where a sign has blown out (or should I say been sucked out :wink:) in moderate windy conditions I have replaced the sign free of charge.
This is a difficult one to decide – only you can make the judgement to decide what is fair to both you and your customer. Best to place yourself in your clients position and decide what you would consider to be fair and just.
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Hi All thanks for your comments, To be honest I am 100% sure that the sign was fitted correctly and we used the correct fixings. We could not fit a plate onto the opposite side, as inside they have a top floor offices. As I said the other two signs are still up and show no sign off damage and their original signage was fitted using the same fixings . I will have to put it down to storm damage as thats all I can think it could be. It wil have to be an insurance job but I will have to do it bit cheaper to make them happy.
Thank again
Stephen
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