channel letter removal

[petepaz]

have a job for a customer they are moving into a new building and i am doing the signage but they want me to remove the old channel letters. here is the catch the old tennant would like them back so they asked me to remove them in good condition. i basically told them i would do my best but no guarantees. if they wanted that they would have to do it them selves so they are going to have me do it but i was just wondering what's the best way to do this? also if anyone who has done this has an idea how long it takes? i can get specs of the old letters if needed

 

[Techman]

If you give them to the old owners. GET PAID... You are doing an uninstall.

You are not doing a demolition removal if you try to save the letters. And make sure you get the transformer too. That is part of your booty.

It will take a few hours to get it done. I imagine you have to crawl around in a crawl space to remove the electrical components. Turn off the power..

 

[Gino]

• Are they on a raceway ??
• How many letters ??
• What size letters ??
• How hard is it to get behind the wall ??
• You'll be responsible for patching all the holes and probably painting them to match the wall color.

Really, they shouldn't get damaged too much in taking them down.

 

[petepaz]

no electrical, no raceway just stud mounted and shouldn't have to patch too much because i am putting 3ft x 30ft alum framed sign in that spot
also i will definitely be charging that's why i wanted to get a rough idea how long something like this could take. i was thinking cutting the studs
would be the best way but not sure, never did this before. also the old owner isn't going to re-use them he just wants them for sentimental value

see pic letters are approx 20-26" high

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

I saw a company not long ago doing a removal and they used a pry bar and screw driver and then they painted the wall and reinstalled them. Didn't take them long at all removing the letters.

 

[John Butto]

Those look like old stainless steel reverse channel, do they have standoffs with neon.

 

[petepaz]

i haven't gone up there with a ladder yet but i didn't see any electrical.
thanks for the info everyone
it shouldn't be too bad i just want to make sure i allow enough time/$$$ when i quote
the removal

 

[Gino]

Those look like old stainless steel reverse channel, do they have standoffs with neon.

They appear to just be stainless dimensional letters. I believe the term channel was just misused here. Probably like an inch or two deep with stud mounts cemented in the holes. They could also be hollow letters with long studs into the brick.

Still, no picnic to remove. It's not hard to do, just time consuming because of the many angles you have to contort to.... to get to certain studs.

 

[visual800]

wow cool old letters. I could snatch those down in about 30 minutes with bucket truck maybe an hour on ladder. Prybar should do the trick but I would damn sure get paid for it at least $250.00 for removal

 

[Billct2]

Yea, those are some nice letters. Should be an easy removal. Probably reverse channel with studs usually installed with an offset. Gentle work with a prybar.