Thank you for the time to reply. Do you have a picture of how you set up your trucks to hold the posts in transport?
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Installing 4x4 realtor signpost
- Thread starter Cto
- Start date
Thank you for the time to reply. Do you have a picture of how you set up your trucks to hold the posts in transport?
Moze
Precision Sign Services
Make little shelves out of wood with L brackets and line them up at the bottom of where the sign should go. When you lift the sign up, it will hold it in place perfectly level. No second person needed.
Paint your fasteners for that Texas quality finished look
That's pretty much what I've done my whole life, but now that I'm getting older and still doing these things, I'm tending to take some of these easy gimmicks and use them also the last year or two. Slinging a 4x8'x3/4" MDO board ain't all that easy anymore.
Not saying it's wrong, to each their own...but I'm curious why you attach them after you install the posts? I typically screw the faces to the posts while everything is laying on the ground. Super easy to square up and then you can just tip the whole assembled thing up and let your posts slide into the holes. Concrete, level, plumb and done.
If you're doing stacked 4x8's, you can just attach the lower panel, tip the whole thing up, slide the posts in the holes, concrete/level/plumb and stake it, then rest your top panel on top of the lower panel and screw it to the posts. A horizontal 2x4 stringer towards the top on the back of the posts helps in standing it up.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Yup your right, if I have a flat surface BEHIND the holes I'll do the frame and sign on the ground and then tip it over. Horizontal 4x8's can be dicey to tip over by yourself however. Ya'll may think it's silly, but I have some back issues so I'm not going to aggravate for a week just so I can lift up a heavy sign. It's a cleaner motion for me to lift the panel straight up with my arms than bend down and lift the entire sign from the ground and get it up over my head as I'm walking to get it in the holes... that's way too risky for me.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
That's all fine and dandy, but how do you do this, if you're simply replacing a 4×8, 4×4 or any size....... do you take the old posts out ?? What if they're cemented in ??
Of course it's easier to do it your way, but how often do you have nice flat spaces where you're putting up a sign out in the field ??
Of course it's easier to do it your way, but how often do you have nice flat spaces where you're putting up a sign out in the field ??
Moze
Precision Sign Services
No lol, I don't take the old posts out. I run a screw into each post, just underneath/against the existing panel, leaving just enough out so it extends past the panel. Then I take the screws out of the existing panel and the screws I put in the posts hold the weight of the panel. Easy to take the old one down and easy to put the new one up.
I'm in Texas.....everything is flat here. I've never had a situation where I couldn't do it that way.
Moze
Precision Sign Services
Not silly at all....I have back issues as well. For me, bending over/digging the holes bothers me way more than lifting the faces. I'm usually feeling it the next day.
Johnny Best
Active Member
I received my PHD (post hole digging) at a young age. If I am digging in hard ground then laying the 4x4x8 on the ground and attaching the panel to them dig the holes, then pick up the posts and sign and slide it in the hole sounds niffty. But, if you have sandy soil and with brute strenght, lift up posts and 4x8panel, and slide it in the holes and having them cave in is not my idea of haveing a productive day. Might work with a smaller panel where you can lift it up and place in or have a helper lift up the whole thing with you.
But digging one hole at a time has always been faster and easier for me. I do not have a bad back and can bench press prison weight. And like my father use to sing when we dug holes, "you never get rich from a'digging a ditch, your in the Army now".
But digging one hole at a time has always been faster and easier for me. I do not have a bad back and can bench press prison weight. And like my father use to sing when we dug holes, "you never get rich from a'digging a ditch, your in the Army now".
Moze
Precision Sign Services
I wish we had sand......everything around here is Houston Black....AKA Black Gumbo. It sucks to dig in.
That being said, I would think in sand it would be worth bringing a couple of plywood strips to put in the holes that the posts could slide down against. I dunno....
That being said, I would think in sand it would be worth bringing a couple of plywood strips to put in the holes that the posts could slide down against. I dunno....
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Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Most of my work is in the Tyler area.. they have sand there and its a dream to dig. 1-2 minutes and you've got 30" dug.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Are you pre-assembling them? Do you have a commercial pickup truck or one with a small bed?
Mine has a 4'x8' bed and fits the signs just fine. The posts I use are 10' long so they hang out 2' or so which is no big deal. If you have a bunch to haul or you have a small pickup bed, you might consider getting a small utility trailer. I have a 6'x10' and it's easy to store and drive around.
We have 3 2019 f150 crew cab trucks with the 6 foot or so bed. They are pre assembled posts. We built a cross member that nests in the bed pocket stakes that keep the posts off the tailgate but we still are unable to drop the tailgate so it's a bit of a pain to access the space under the posts. Just thought someone might have a better setup.
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
chester215
Just call me Chester.
Full sized trucks are easy if they have the pockets for the stakes on the top rail of the bed.
We cut the pallet dividers from pallets of 4x4's down to fit inside the pockets and stick up 3-4" past the top of the cross piece so the posts don't slide past the end of the bed. Cut a piece of plywood for the bottom and have it stick out past the back of the tailgate so the posts don't hit the tailgate. Then a 2x4 or 4x4 on the top screwed to the pieces coming out of the bed pockets and the plywood.
For small pick up trucks, remove the tail lights and lag bolt 2 4x4's vertically to the inside of the bed. Make sure the tailgate closes and cut the pieces long enough so the top of them is past the top of the bed and the bottom of the 4x4 rests on the bed. The length of the uprights will depend on the configuration of the truck. a 4x4 will be shorter than a 4x2 so you will need to test fit a full sized post to see if it will scrape on the ground, even when going up a steep driveway.
Then lag bolt a 4x4 across the top of the two uprights. You should put something to stop the posts from sliding past the end of the vertical piece, we use a large eye screw because we have them.
For the smaller pick ups you will need something from keeping the end of the post in the bed from popping up when on the road. You can use several ways we do this. One is with a tool box mounted to the front of the bed. Another is to put a cross piece somewhere screwed to the top of the bed. the last way we do this is to have a box for the panels in the front of the bed with 2- 4x4 spacers stacked underneath mounted to the bed. We also have generator racks from the past 20 years of trying different things that mount in the bed (one is pictured with a power inverter & deep cycle battery mounted in a box) that hold the front of the posts down.
We cut the pallet dividers from pallets of 4x4's down to fit inside the pockets and stick up 3-4" past the top of the cross piece so the posts don't slide past the end of the bed. Cut a piece of plywood for the bottom and have it stick out past the back of the tailgate so the posts don't hit the tailgate. Then a 2x4 or 4x4 on the top screwed to the pieces coming out of the bed pockets and the plywood.
For small pick up trucks, remove the tail lights and lag bolt 2 4x4's vertically to the inside of the bed. Make sure the tailgate closes and cut the pieces long enough so the top of them is past the top of the bed and the bottom of the 4x4 rests on the bed. The length of the uprights will depend on the configuration of the truck. a 4x4 will be shorter than a 4x2 so you will need to test fit a full sized post to see if it will scrape on the ground, even when going up a steep driveway.
Then lag bolt a 4x4 across the top of the two uprights. You should put something to stop the posts from sliding past the end of the vertical piece, we use a large eye screw because we have them.
For the smaller pick ups you will need something from keeping the end of the post in the bed from popping up when on the road. You can use several ways we do this. One is with a tool box mounted to the front of the bed. Another is to put a cross piece somewhere screwed to the top of the bed. the last way we do this is to have a box for the panels in the front of the bed with 2- 4x4 spacers stacked underneath mounted to the bed. We also have generator racks from the past 20 years of trying different things that mount in the bed (one is pictured with a power inverter & deep cycle battery mounted in a box) that hold the front of the posts down.
Attachments
Bradley Signs
Bradley Signs
Wrist breaker!
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Reminds me of one of these.................
We have one of those and we've had some really good times watching those lil' b@st@rds flying around on it.