What’s it cost to produce this 5-by-12-ft. storefront sign?

This sign was for a small coffee shop at a nearby ski resort. They wanted a 3D sign that would create a warm, appealing look. I knew that cutout letters and an interesting shape would help achieve that, but I also thought that the texture and look of wood would add a lot.

We began by cutting the top left corner off the 5-by-10-ft. sheet of HDU board. We used it as an extension for the right end of the panel to get a little extra length. We bonded it to the main panel with epoxy then sanded the face smooth. We laid out the tree line using an overhead projector, then cut it using a ¼-in. Roto-Zip bit in a hand-held router.

I had planned to make the sign from HDU board and wanted to create the look of a background made of individual textured wood planks. I made a metal shield that was 8-in. wide to use as a template for the boards.

As I blasted, I moved it down the panel, creating one board at a time. I intentionally blasted the boards to slightly different depths. Then I blasted them each a second time, this time with the Grain-Fraim placed over the metal shield to simulate wood grain on each plank.

The blasting technique alone isn’t enough to create a realistic wood look. Spray painting highlights of black and ivory over the cedar brown base helps create a weathered appearance and enhances the texture. It doesn’t add much production time, either.

The plank effect turned out to be a practical way to bring the look and feel of wood to the project without the weight and fabrication time of using rough sawn boards. It made the installation very manageable and kept costs in line. The sign was so effective that they ordered a second sign just like it for the other side of the building.