Signs of the Times - April 2017 - 28

SHOP OPS

of sapphire blue and bright yellow.
Each wall section and column was
to feature multiple layers of full-color
dimensional PVC logos and silver
accent stripes. The four columns
would each have 40-in. flat-screen
TVs mounted on one side. To add
to the complexity of the project, all
walls and columns needed to maintain electrical outlet accessibility to
power the workout machines. Oh,
and of course they had a four-week
completion deadline, which just
happened to fall smack in the middle
of the Christmas holidays.
SET IN STONE
After committing to the timeline, we
immediately thought of our favorite
fabrication material, aluminum, as
the perfect choice for this wall-wrap
project. However, keep in mind, there
were to be no penetrations of the
underlying stonework. So, after some
brainstorming with our designer, Dave

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

APRIL 2017

Nicks, and fabricators, Ron Roberts
and Steve Pass, we came up with
our plan.
The four wall sections protrude
from the main wall by 4 in. on two of
the sections, and 20 in. on the other
two. We "sheeted" each section in
0.125-in.-thick aluminum, built in
the shape of a "U," utilizing an interior
1.5-in. aluminum angle framework.
These wall sections were 63 in.
wide x 10 ft. tall. We made the wall
covers 67 in. wide to facilitate an
internal 2-in. mounting angle that we
could screw into the main back wall.
We slipped the U-shaped covers over
the protruding wall and then over the
mounting angle. Then, we fastened
the whole thing to the mounting
angle with countersunk screws to
minimize visibility. Each wall received
½- and 1-in.-thick PVC logos, routercut to shape, painted and attached
prior to installation.
The 3 x 10-ft. columns were a bit
trickier. With no fastening points
to work with, Ron fabricated the
covers in two 10-ft.-tall clamshelllike shapes. Each clamshell had to
be made with exacting precision,
not only to ensure they fit onto the
columns securely so no movement
would occur, but also to take into
consideration a 2-in. air space gap
we had to leave in order to allow

room for the A/V cables and power
routing for the TVs. To aid in the
sturdiness endeavor, 3/8-in. neoprene
padding was installed at various
contact points of the stone columns
inside the aluminum covers. So,
when we screwed the two halves
together, the neoprene pads compressed for a super sturdy installation. Having contact on the floor
and ceiling, as well as squeezing
the column tightly together, gave
us a solid compression fit that can
be easily removeable if they ever
want to return to the stone-column
aesthetic. After installation, the TVs
and dimensional PVC logos were
mounted to the columns. Finally, the
aluminum and logo elements were
prepped and sprayed in Matthews
Paint Satin Acrylic Polyurethane,
using the school colors.
We hit our deadline with one day
to spare, and the client was pleased
enough for us to consider this another
element added to our bag of tricks.
The lesson learned? If the project
is not a sign, but you know how to
build it, factor in some learningcurve time and money, and if you can
do it, jump right in. Sign company
capabilities fit projects of all shapes
and sizes, so learn to stretch your
abilities - and see how you can
broaden your reach.

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