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External sign material help
Hey guys
Been asked to put a 4ft x 8ft board up, nothing major, just going onto some wooden posts that are already in place.
I’m intending to make the sign out of composite and was originally going to screw it to an old wooden score board, i’m now told this may be in bad condition so they have asked if I can provide a new backing.
I’m thinking 3mm composite on it’s own will be too flimsy and to put a wood backing to strengthen it, just wondering what kind of wood i need? would it need treating? or is there something else i could use?
Thanks
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9 Replies
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19mm Marine ply would do the job, fix that to the posts, then screw the composite to the ply.
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Use sign channel on back of ACM and then universal clamps to fix to posts.
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David, do you need to treat marine ply, also where’s the best place to get it?
Gary, they’re wooden posts, would this not look strange?
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Local timber merchants will sell it. Slapping some clear varnish or paint won’t harm it, or it can go up as it comes as I think it’s treated for external use.
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Thanks David. I think this is the best option in this case, goes with the wooden poles. Just thinking ahead now, is there an edging that could finish this off? I.e like a dado rail but works externally
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Not that I know of.
Could you make the backing board say 2in smaller, so the wooden backing isn’t visible at the edge and it’ll look to be floating on the posts?
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quote Daniel Evans:Gary, they’re wooden posts, would this not look strange?
Only from behind, difficult to say without seeing the job.
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Why not get 6mm ACM that stuff is pretty strong…
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As Simon says a thicker ACM panel would probably do.
Marine ply is probably overkill unless they are going to submerge their new sign in salt water, if it’s just for a backing board then Far Eastern should be good enough, it’s an external grade & half the price of Marine. I wouldn’t personally fit any plywood product externally without some kind of treatment even if using marine ply I would give it a coat to seal it. If you want to edge it then just use a wood profile, your local timber merchant should be able to sell you this as well as the plywood. They generally have a rack with different profile soft & hardwoods, bit of hockey stick profile round the edge shouldn’t cost to much extra 😆 😆
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