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.

How to Change a Plastic Face on an Electric Sign

June 30, 2016 By Mark Hackley

How to Change a Plastic Face on an Electric Sign

Many times a sign customer needs to change out or update a face in an existing electric sign cabinet and calls Augusta Sign Company for help. Sometimes they need our help because they have become a new tenant of a space with a sign with a different name and they need it changed; sometimes the face is damaged; sometimes, like in the case of Vailes Home Improvement Services of Waynesboro, they have re-branded their corporate image, and as a result the old sign needed replacing.

The basic options are to: 1) remove the letters and replace with new graphics (if the sign is translucent plastic with vinyl letters on the exterior surface only), or 2) remove and replace the whole face, whether it be a flat face or pan face, like the one in the photo above, if the existing lettering is sprayed on the interior surface of the face.

When I letter plastic faces for electric signs, I recommend 3M translucent vinyls for the graphics on translucent white plastic. If the cabinet is slim with fluorescent lamps, most likely a custom pan face is needed; otherwise if the cabinet is thicker than 10″, a flat sheet of plastic could work for the face. (If the lamps are too close to the face, hot spots can occur. One way to resolve that problem is to re-lamp the sign with LED modules.)

Now that the faces are re-branded, the main sign over the door matches the advertising signs on the job sites, and the vehicles, and the sign at the road!

Mark Hackley is president of Augusta Sign Company of Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818

Signs for Colleges and Universities in Virginia

May 6, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Signs for Colleges and Universities in Virginia

So how in the world did Augusta Sign Company become involved in providing signs for colleges and universities in Virginia?

When I began my career in signage, I first worked in the sign shops of good-sized military facilities in Maryland: The National Naval Medical Center, and Andrews Air Force Base. These bases were essentially little cities of their own, and I quickly excelled at keeping the “business” citizens happy with their signs. In this setting the customers were managers of the Commissary, the Officer’s Club, the Rec Center, the Hospital, the University, the Research Center, the Air Terminal, Security, Roads and Grounds, you get the picture…very similar to my customers now in the civilian world.

Colleges and Universities are also like mini-communities: having their own internal security operations, buildings and grounds, engineering, marketing, library, rec center, houses of worship, administration, etc. One customer that I have helped since my days at Tree Street Signs is Eastern Mennonite University. This past year I have helped them with many projects: Branding a section of their new Science Center; Fabricating more than 20 light-pole banners as part of an ongoing rebranding; Changing the logos on their wayfinding sign system; Lettering the entrance to their Library. Over my entire career in signs, collegiate and healthcare customers have been my favorites. I typically work with facilities managers or marketing people and there is always lots of work to be done as they strive to keep their campuses looking great and well-branded. I’ve also managed sign projects with Ferrum College and Shenandoah University in Virginia.

If you need help with signs for colleges and universities in Virginia, give me a call anytime!

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company in Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818

Subdivision Sign Options

March 20, 2016 By Mark Hackley

Subdivision Sign Options

Subdivision sign options can range from brick monuments with metal letters, to stone bases with sandblasted cedar signs, to MDO plywood signs set in decorative iron work on a single post, which happened to be the type we just finished in Waynesboro, VA. Darren Crosier, owner of Crosier Landscaping in Staunton, approached Augusta Sign Company, formerly Tree Street Signs of Crimora founded by Mark Hackley in 1991, to help with a subdivision entrance renovation last summer, and we just recently completed the project.

The existing sign was identical but it set below the grade of the main road making it difficult to see. Crosier’s company was hired to re-landscape the entrance and along with it they were contracted to raise the sign from a 6′ height to a 10′ height above grade. Working with the City of Waynesboro, approval was granted for the changes. The sign renovation was a 3 step process:

Step One involved removing the old sign and replicating it. I purchased a sheet of 1/2″ thick MDO plywood, traced the old oval shape and cut the new shape with a jig saw and easing the edges all around with sandpaper. After priming and painting the oval, I traced the old graphics using paint thinner and brown Kraft paper, an old sign painter’s trick! The thinner makes the opaque paper transparent to do a tracing. After it evaporates you can apply black pencil to the back and trace onto the new sign or in this case onto beige vinyl that I hand-cut in the shop and applied to both sides of the sign, an exact replica of the previous sign. Step Two involved rehabbing the sign frame: I sanded, primed and repainted the ironwork structure with semi-gloss black spray enamel.

Step Three was obtaining a new 6″ X 6″ post and 2″ X 8″ boards to surround 5′ of the bottom, then stain with 2 coats of solid color oil stain made by mixing 70% Penetrol with 30% of the green enamel used for the sign.

The sign was picked up by the customer and installed by his crew, then I went back and made a few necessary touch ups after all the work was done.

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 22980

540-943-9818

How to Brand an Office Entrance on a Budget

March 2, 2016 By Mark Hackley

HOW TO BRAND AN OFFICE ENTRANCE ON A BUDGET

How to brand an office entrance on a budget is a logical question to ask. I was contacted by the Albemarle County folks recently to provide new branding and wayfinding for their newly renovated Executive Suite in Charlottesville. Working with their facilities management group, we were able to come up with an economic solution, yet add some pizzazz to a new office renovation project. The project will have a glass dividing wall, a three dimensional County Seal, and a column of directional signs when complete. I installed the seal today. The best tips: Use the plastic drywall inserts that thread into the sheetrock and accept screws; these are far superior to traditional toggle bolts for medium to lightweight wall-mounted signs and displays. Also, make sure to clean PVC well with alcohol and a scrub pad to clean off any oils that come along with most PVC plastic materials. This assures a long-lasting bond between adhesive tapes and the PVC substrate. Use spot lighting for best effect!

Mark Hackley is owner of Augusta Sign Company, Waynesboro, VA 540-943-9818