Animal Instincts
As I was putting the finishing touhes on signage for a new animal hospital in Waynesboro several years ago, a little Terrier-type dog stopped over to wag his tail for me. To me, that was an indication that even the animal kingdom appreciates my work! Or maybe I was over-reading the friendly wag and getting a false notion that she was wagging at the new signs going up; Maybe it was just a great new spot to sniff around!
In summary, here is the way my company handled a neat sign project for the Waynesboro Animal Hospital in Waynesboro, VA: I initially got a call from the owners of the veterinary practice who were constructing a new animal hospital and they needed signage. Their archictect/GC partner had planned out where the signage would go and pulled the applicable sign permits required for the project. They just needed me to provide the lettering and installation for the signs. One would be located at the stucco wall over the entrance door; and another would be a 2-sided free-standing sign out on the main road at the edge of their nice, new parking lot.
After discussing several material options, they chose flat-cut-out acrylic (FCO). I designed the sign graphics to fit the applicable spaces, got customer-approval, and ordered the lettering. It took about 3-4 weeks to get all the lettering completed, and it was perfectly coordinated with the contractor’s crew who built the free-standing sign monument.
The stucco was barely dry when the lettering arrived, and it was time for the installation. I used scaffolding to install the wall letters in the morning, and then spent the afternoon installing the monument letters. The monument also displayed the hospital’s logo and logos of an affiliate organization that was important for customers to know about. For these, I used FCO and applied 3M digital prints to the outer surface. All the lettering was blind-stud-mounted. I made a pattern of where the holes would go and then inserted the studs on the backs of the letters into the holes and cemented them in with a special adhesive product.
Another Successful Sign Job
All in all it was a smooth project. I met with the customer prior to nailing down a final color for the letters to make sure he had the color plus the visibility he was desiring for the job. This involved bringing several samples of various colors. The final color choice was not just a random selection. I like to think of it as a pre-engineered choice! Maybe that was the reason for the wag…perhaps that Terrier was owned by a Virginia Tech engineering student! I think I do remember noticing a slide rule clipped to her collar.
Mark Hackley is President of Augusta Sign Company, Staunton, Virginia. Contact: 540-943-9818; mark@augustasigncompany.com