baja sign with cleat and urethane paint

[dakers]

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26439&stc=1http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26440&stc=1http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26441&stc=1http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26442&stc=1
6'' thick hdu sign, cleat cut with battery saber saw, cut curve in cleat so sign would not slide. drilled holes in cleat and into sign and poured glue in there to make cleat strong, put stand offs above and below cleat so the sign would not wobble. sign approx 12ft long

[chiloquinruss]

I use the french cleat all the time but never thought of making that little tab for centering, great idea thanks! Russ

[MogulTx]

Not being a sign guy- this just occurred to me.... I am sure you guys have a perfectly logical fix for it.....

What keeps the sign on the French Cleat when it is out in the wind and weather? I mean is it just weight? And is the weight enough to withstand a good blast of stormy skies? Or do they sometimes come off the cleat?

Just curious as to how you handle this.

Monty

[dakers]

possible on a light weight short sign it could blow off but then you can put a retainer screw through the sign.
The hardest part is making sure the cleat on the stucco type wall is really going to handle the weight.
here is another sign we made using two cleats i think. I think we used the aluminum prefab ones about 20 years ago
we did put a retainer screw in this one.

You never really know what is behind some of those foam walls at first. in this situation we used the cleat because we knew what was behind the wall.http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26460&stc=1

[dakers]

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26461&stc=1on this sign we could have used a cleat. but we used 6 small aluminum angle brackets on the wall and the sign fit in between them and we put screws into the edges of the sign. it has been up for 20 years. the sign looks like it has not aged when i saw it from a distance the other day. the cons of using a thick cleat like we did for baja is the birds may like it. You would think snow would collect back there and cause issues but we have never had any issues with that either but we do attach the cleats very well to both surfaces.
we try to think in terms of decades for durability

[dakers]

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26462&stc=1
To be honest i probably do not know what i am doing with the many installs. We probably over think and over kill the solution. Example this sign is a color core sign approx. 150 pounds. it contracts and expands about 1/2''. so when i think about a cleat for this i used the same material so it would expand and contract with sign. it has two horizontal cleats. the cleats on the brick are also color core. i drilled oversize holes so the cleat can expand on the brick. I think i used alot of tapcons in the mortar joints about every 6''. then to attach the cleats to the back of the sign i recall using sheet metal screws staggered every 3''. McMaster Carr sells a self threading screw we have been using for color core lately that seems to work great. it requires a pilot hole. This is the second color core sign we have used cleats on and i am impressed because if you know color core it needs to float or it can buckle.
These signs look so flat on the wall i think the cleats are doing great but honestly i worry too much about making sure it will work and not fall on anyone.
When my wife and i started our business in 1973 i did not know anything about installation. Dug for 8 hours with a post hole digger and never knew there was such thing as a spud bar. Drilled in steel for hours and never knew the drill was in reverse. just burned holes. I think there are so many ways to install things and it is a life long learning process and some times by trial and error. We did not have forums back then to see what worked for someone else. I wish i could have read Joe's posts in 1973.

[joe]

Dick's correct to describe installation as being tricky. While French Cleats are called for in some situations, I try for brackets when ever possible. And I try for hidden brackets and cleats. Here's one of my favorite techniques. Works great on HDU.http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=26463&stc=1