How to Install a Sign and Keep it Plumb

“How to Install a Sign,” you ask, “And keep it plumb?”

It takes some planning to make and install a large free-standing sign in the ground and install it where everything is relatively level and plumb. Augusta Sign Company makes many of its signs out of wood products. Many times wood signs are installed on wood or metal posts, and many times metal signs are installed within a wood or metal post system. But if you construct a fairly large sign that is going to be mounted relatively high in the air, how do you keep everything level and plumb?

Since I operate a small one-man shop with an occasional helper, I have to keep the fabrication and installation as simple as possible. I aim to assemble the post structures first on the ground, on my shop floor or tables, disassemble them, then assemble them again in the field when I know that everything will fit together nice and square. Most of the time the land in which the sign will be erected is not flat, so I have to take into consideration that either one hole will be deeper or one post will be longer to compensate for the difference. Once the holes are dug and the poles are hoisted in place, I attach my own clamping system, one of Augusta Sign Company’s ingenious intellectual properties, that keeps signposts plumb in both directions (forward-to-backward; and side-to-side).

The projects shown below are two examples of how I achieve plumb signs using these special plumbing tools. It makes it possible for one person to install posts quickly. Once the concrete sets and the the bracing is removed, you have a nice straight and level and plumb sign product on display for years to come!

Mark Hackley is the owner of Augusta Sign Company located in Staunton serving Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro, Virginia in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley! 540-943-9818