A Great Year for Signs!

December 30, 2016 By Mark Hackley

YEAR IN REVIEW AT AUGUSTA SIGN COMPANY

Restoration of Wood Signs

Augusta Sign Company celebrates it’s first full calendar year in business! Hooray!!

I started and ended the year off doing what I like best: restoring old wood signs. Some of the signs weren’t worth restoring and needed to be replaced, but usually if they were built from woods like cedar, redwood, or mahogany, then restoration was the best option for my customers. MDO plywood signs that aren’t framed may not be good restoration candidates and replacement is usually best. Such was the case with a sign I replaced as a signage subcontractor for a local landscaper. Last January, I replaced the oval panel for the Claybrook Subdivison sign, and restored the wrought iron bracket. Recently I got a call for help from a customer for whom I made a sign in the 1990’s. He needed help reviving the pizzazz that his store sign once conveyed. To restore his florist sign, I re-stained and re-painted the entire 2-sided sandcarved western red cedar sign and brackets.

Permanent Outdoor Signs

Probably of all the signs I design, make and install, 85% of them are for permanent outdoor applications. When I formerly founded, owned and operated Tree Street Signs in Crimora, my motto was “Make a Lasting Impression”. I still carry that motto, and try to steer my customers to utilize only the best quality materials in their signage. That’s why I recommend framing for any sign materials with porous edges. Unframed edges will allow moisture into the panel over time. It doesn’t take Mother Nature very long to penetrate and destroy unprotected edges! For metal signs, I try to make sure the framing and support structures are strong enough to help the signs stand up to the sometimes harsh Augusta County winds and rains and other forces of nature.

If signs are lit, I try to consider how the signage will appear at night. If the sign is made up of dimensional letters on a flat wall surface, I pay attention to the background colors and letter colors to make sure shadowing effects during the day don’t impede readability. If the sign is internally illuminated, I try to make sure the colors are true at night by using high performance translucent vinyls for the graphics. I also select the best brands of acrylic or polycarbonate sign faces manufactured specifically for the fluorescent or LED lighting technologies designed for the particular sign application.

Sometimes a customer can save some money by using reflective graphics materials versus having to incur the expense to run power to an outlying site for a sign. Such was the case with signs constructed for the Augusta True Value retail store in Weyers Cave, Virginia.

Parking Lot Signs

Every month of last year I had lots of smaller fill in jobs doing parking lot signs or other non-main-sign projects. One private school customer had me make banners for its gymnasium, lettering for its school vans, and fire lane signs and striping for the parking lot after the fire inspector recommended them.

Vinyl Signs and Graphics

Lots of times I will make simple vinyl signs on my vinyl plotter or have signs digitally printed on sheets of vinyl and applied to various substrates. I printed the Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group brand on high performance 3M vinyl and applied it to 3mm ACM. The customer used the sign for a new office in Waynesboro.

Banners

Banners are another good filler type project at Augusta Sign Company. Throughout last year I made banners for many customers. Banners typically last about two years outdoors, so they are not the best material option for permanent signs. Yet, if you’re a start-up business or non-profit with limited capital for signs, banners can be a good option to get your name out there for a few years. If your banner is not being used for temporary advertising, you’ll probably need to investigate whether a sign permit for the banner is required.

Vehicle Lettering

When I owned and operated Tree Street Signs in Crimora in the 1990’s, I did my share of vehicle graphics. Lettering the vehicles for service contractors with fleets of commercial trucks was a large portion of the workload. Now that I downsized with Augusta Sign Company, my shop can only facilitate small vehicles. The fleet of cars I lettered for Valley Vital Care fit perfectly in my 14′ X 30′ garage. I can also handle decals and magnetic signs easily from my smaller shop, and have done many of these for customers over the past year. In warmer months from spring through the fall, I can also letter larger trucks and vans in my side lot, and I also utilize my customer’s places of business to install vehicle graphics year-round on larger units.

Signs for Churches

I remember being hesitant about jumping back into the sign business full-time after it had been about 15 years of just doing signs on a part-time basis. During my period of hesitancy, one thing pastors and counselors would tell me over and over was, “You can make a mission of your business.”

Maybe that’s what I am doing. I often enjoy sharing my faith story to customers. It’s no wonder that many of my customers last year were churches. I made or restored signs for at least 10 or 12 churches last year! God is good!

I hope you have a blessed New Year!

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company in Waynesboro, Virginia

Contact: 540-943-9818 mark@augustasigncompany.com

Building Letters for Natural Bridge State Park

October 11, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company provided building letters for Natural Bridge State Park. The Natural Bridge in Virginia, one of the geographical wonders in our area, recently changed hands and is now a public park versus having private ownership. A parent of one of my teacher-wife’s kids has an electrical contracting business, Roscher Electric, and he contracts for the Natural Bridge Park. A little bit ago, he contacted me to tell me the park needed new wall letters after the name change took effect, and wondered if I could provide them. Since my company is an eVA vendor, I submitted a quote and was awarded the job.

Wall letters come in many forms. The simplest method to add your brand to a wall is to hand paint the lettering right onto the building surface. In my day, I have provided direct hand-painted graphics for walls of AutoZone stores, Sam’s Clubs, Virginia Frame Builders, and others. These projects entailed lettering on various surfaces from cinder block to stucco, to corrugated metal siding. A step above flush wall graphics is dimensional wall graphics.

Dimensional wall lettering can be made of solid or molded materials, usually plastic or aluminum, but can also be cut from wood and other materials like stainless steel, etc. When a customer orders a set or sets of wall letters, I first take a measurement of the space requirements, check local code for area allowances, and then submit several design options. In the case of the Natural Bridge letters, the customer wanted to keep the same 12″ letter height and typestyle of the previous letters.

When the letters are complete, a mounting pattern is also provided so the installer can set the letters correctly on the surface, in the case of Natural Bridge, the letters were set in wood. Many times the surface is brick, stucco, or corrugated metal, each application having specific choices for mounting the letters, but usually letters are stud mounted with non-rusting metal studs set in clear silicone filled holes.

Roscher Electric got my letters and did a great job on the sign installation down at Natural Bridge! Thanks goes out to them for the referral.

Mark Hackley owns and operates Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980 540-943-9818. Contact him for all your signage needs!!

Augusta Sign Company on Waynesboro Economic Development Blog!

September 20, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Augusta Sign Company on Waynesboro Economic Development Blog!

Augusta Sign Company on Waynesboro Economic Development Blog! Many, many thanks to Courtney Cranor and the Waynesboro Department of Economic Development for featuring me in their monthly Grow Waynesboro blog about local entrepreneurs today.

Grow Waynesboro offers many services to entrepreneurs including grants, capital loans, start-up advice, etc. They also feature start-ups like this one and that is extremely helpful with marketing a new business. As a small business owner with limited capital, I really appreciate the exposure.

Here’s a link to the article…

Augusta Sign Company: Leaving a Lasting Impression on the Local Economy

Interior Sign Systems from Ordinary to Different

September 6, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Pretty Neat Interior Signs in Waynesboro and Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta Sign Company of Waynesboro makes interior sign systems from ordinary to different; simple white on brown rectangular signs to signs of custom shapes and colors. Most of the interior sign systems we make are made in-house from PVC material, usually 2mm or 3mm thick. The signs are typically mounted in wall-installed metal frames or hung from simple scroll brackets for an interesting look. The lettering is typically flush vinyl; cut or printed.

BLUE RIDGE AREA FOOD BANK OFFICE SIGNS

Here are a few recent examples of interior signage projects I have done around Waynesboro and Augusta County. The first project for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Verona, VA falls into the “ordinary” group. Not wanting their signs to be too gaudy, the director there chose a simple two-color monolithic design, white letters on brown. The system consisted of entrance way and hallway directional signs and office door signs intended to help new volunteers find their way around a little easier. Investing in better signage is a good way to spend extra year-end capital, and that was one of the reasons for the idea. Also, the Food Bank recently completed a large building renovation project and it was good timing to add new signage.

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OFFICE SIGNS

The previous year I had built several new exterior signs for Westminster Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro, VA. Continuing our relationship, the pastor called on me again for ideas on improving their interior signs at the church office. She had seen some neat signs on Pinterest and she shared the link with me as a good starting point. I chose to use 1/4″ thick white PVC with digitally printed graphics as the sign material and after discussions with the customer, decided to cut them in the same shape as their exterior signs to keep things consistent. The end product was really different. The hangers were plant hanging brackets I picked up at Lowes. All the office name signs were double-sided and were centered over the office doors; the directory was single-sided and inset into the existing reception counter, in view immediately as visitors enter the office.

If you’re in the market for interior signs, contact me anytime. Both of these multi-sign systems (30 plus signs for the food bank’s system and at least a dozen for the church’s) were designed, manufactured, and installed at a cost of less than $2,000. Considering the number of signs, interior signs are a cost effective way to spruce up your internal image for both staff and guests!

Mark Hackley owns Augusta Sign Company in the Tree Street area of Waynesboro, VA

540-943-9818

A Peach of a Sign System!

September 5, 2016 By Mark Hackley

A Peach of a Sign System!

Augusta Sign Company of Waynesboro was approached by the owner of a long-established peach orchard in the Charlottesville, VA area to update a store sign; also provide new signage for their newly added cidery and wine tenants.

The first step was to provide a cost estimate to remove and replace the two-sided exterior plywood oval store identification signs with their updated branding, add tenant panels for two upcoming tenants, and add new signage at the new tasting room building. Once approved, patterns were made so the new signs could be mounted on existing iron framework. Signs were constructed in the shop and new wall scroll brackets were ordered to hang signs over the entrances to the two tenant stores.

On installation day, the old signs were removed and replaced at the main entrance by the road. Then we hauled a new plywood sign lettered with high-performance 3M digitally printed graphics up to the roof to install on the gable end of the big new barn with great stores inside. We finished it off by hanging the tenant’s individual branding signs over each entrance door. Fortunately, I only had to make two or three trips to the local hardware store during the day’s installation. The new signs look great and our customer was happy. That’s always good news.

Mark Hackley is the owner of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, Virginia

Contact: 540-943-9818

Go out and get some luscious peaches! Visit the Chiles website here.