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Channel letters mounted on louvers

imajenn

New Member
Does anyone have a mounting detail they can share for front-lit channel letters mounted on louvers? The letters must be directly attached to the louver panel without a raceway and be located between the horizontal frames at the top and bottom of the louver panel. Each letter must be individually fed from the rear sign of the louvers with wiring and other equipment on the interior side of the louvers.
 

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Gino

Premium Subscriber
You hafta have a raceway going into the uprights. Otherwise, there's nothing there to support anything. Or, run a strip down from the top and connect each letter to it's own fortified strip.
 

imajenn

New Member
We've done something similar to this. Hopefully 'interior side of the louvers' means behind them. Originally I was trying to imagine how you'd wire it all within those 1" gaps, let alone where you'd put a power supply.
Yes, behind the louvers.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
I've run unistrut behind them and bolts to attach the letters .. in fact, I'm going an install about 120 ft. in the air in a few weeks doing that method.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
This was the survey. Now that I'm seeing it the unistrut was on the front that the letters attach to, but would work if it was behind too. I'll post some pics when we install it.
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Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
That was the walkway so no harness needed. My brother in law (the one in the red shirt that looks like he's about to shit himself) is about to be shipped off to the Marines so he won't have the pleasure to come back to this job.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
But you're using the unistrut as a raceway, so it's just uglier. Up that high, no one will know the difference.
 

brdesign

New Member
I had a job similar to that for a parking deck but it was screened mesh panel instead of louvers. We mounted horizontal rectangular tubing between the vertical beams on the inside behind the panels. The screen panels were not flat so the installers had to cut round tubing onsite to make different length spacers for the long screws that when through the screen mesh and into the horizontal bars that acted as a raceway.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
13 letters... 33' in length total. The location is about 2 hours in the middle of nowhere so getting a crane that large would cost a lot of $$. Besides, the client has a lift onsite that we can use which is nice. I can work from the lift and my help with be on the catwalk. I don't see why we can't have it knocked out in an 8-hour day. I just don't think anyone will be able to read them from 120' in the air... but they previously had 36" tall letters on there so they know what they're getting.
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
13 letters... 33' in length total. The location is about 2 hours in the middle of nowhere so getting a crane that large would cost a lot of $$. Besides, the client has a lift onsite that we can use which is nice. I can work from the lift and my help with be on the catwalk. I don't see why we can't have it knocked out in an 8-hour day. I just don't think anyone will be able to read them from 120' in the air... but they previously had 36" tall letters on there so they know what they're getting.
For the survey, do you charge length(distance from shop) x height (feet above shop level) or just by the hour?
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
Update. Jburton, you got me thinking so I put the channel letters on tracks in the shop. I got three 10' sections now instead of individual letters. Another problem this solves was trying to mount all the letters straight without being able to use a pattern 120' in the air with the Texas wind blowing. Going to paint the rails black or grey to match

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Gino

Premium Subscriber
Two things tex.

Doesn't look like enough leds for the size letters. Also, the "O" looks level at the bottom and too much over the top. Should be equal above and below.
 

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
thanks. I'll check the "O" again. The brightness isn't impressive, but its OK I guess. I still say no one will be able to read this from it's intended viewing distance.

Everyone probably already knows this, but someone just showed me that you can test LEDs easy with a drill battery. They are 12v. Simple enough but I never made that connection.

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Gino

Premium Subscriber
At that size, it's not how bright they look in your garage, but how bright they are 125' in the air from a quarter mile away. Of course you won't read them, but ya better see the light. It looks like you should double up and make at least two, if not three rows.
 
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