light box sign start to finish

[petepaz]

i have a customer/friend who is opening a new store and needs signage on the building and one of the signs will be a light box/backlit sign for the front of the building
there is no existing box so i would be starting from the ground up
(there was some neon letters that he is going to remove ) there is electrical and he has an electrician to do all the wiring
so here is where you guys come in
what can you tell me that i need to know about the install and safety tip
also can i get the box already made or is it best to just build it
(i am close to N Glantz and Tubelite and they seem to have all the ingredients) size will probably be close to 10ft x 4ft
any tips /help would be great
thanks

 

[MikePro]

whoops, posted to wrong thread.
buuuuut since i'm here, first step is to look into requirements for said sign... like a permit and UL requirements.
good luck! when in doubt, outsource! plenty of suppliers, like the ones you listed above, make great cookie-cutter lightboxes in no time at all.

 

[signcrafters london]

N Glantz is a dealer for McGill cabinets. You can get a kit that you put together yourself, or you can have McGill assemble it and ship it to you.

 

[Mosh]

If you build it you will need to have an electical license in your area. To g et a complete kit you will pay extra for shipping, as it will be complete unit. They are simple to wire, just get a kit and have a lis eletrician wire it up for you, or break the law like I used to until that one problem that cost me $25K and then I got an electrical installed liscense.

 

[Custom Bob]

Do like I did. I bought (wholesale) a lighted sign from a local sign shop that builds them everyday and did the lettering myself. In my case the customer is doing his own installation.
I was going to buy a kit from Glantz. But after talking to the shop that builds these in my area it was almost as cheap and less aggravation.
If anything else I've now got a nice working relationship with this other shop.

 

[Pat Whatley]

Check your local requirements first to find out if you can even legally do it yourself. Chances are you're going to have to get an electrician to do the wiring and an inspector to inspect it and a certified installer to install it. You're probably going to be better off finding a fairly local shop that does that type of work to build you a cabinet and handle the installation. Check around and you can probably work out a wholesale deal so they handle the manufacturing, installation, and wiring (and removal of the channel letters at the same time) and you can mark it up and make a nice profit without the hassle and without the risk.

 

[petepaz]

thanks for all the info
very helpfull as usual
and we do have a lic. elect.
so i am square in that dept and the customer is working with the town as far as permits
all i have to do is work out the sign specs( i believe i have to give them a drawing with all the specs, done that before and then we are good to go)
thanks again

 

[Pat Whatley]

If you look in the tutorial section Techman did a step-by-step build of one a few years ago.