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Pine Ridge Estates Signage
Turning An Old Barrier Into A Sign
aka... Making Lemonade from a Lemon
June 2020 |
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When we purchased our home in
Oklahoma in 2018 we did not know who owned the
narrow strip of land between our property and the
cattle pasture along the east boundary. After
pulling out our survey paperwork from when we bought
our house, I discovered that WE owned the
narrow strip of land. It also comes with a small
berry bramble....hum!!! |
We are unable to build anything
here because it is a utility easement. My husband
keeps it mowed and that is it. Which means, we
also own the old ugly ass barrier that was wrapped
in barbed wire.
The left post of this barrier is made of cement.
Who knows how deep into the ground. |
Old barrier on the south east corner of our
property |
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To remove this barrier, you would
need at least a Bobcat or some other type of
equipment to get it out. AFTER first
contacting Oklahoma 811
http://www.okie811.org/......of course.....
because of the buried utilities.
Too much of a hassle to remove it. We are in a
rural area, after all. The barrier just kind
of blends in with the surroundings. I can
however give the barrier more purpose.
The small town we live in has a lot of new homes
being built. Each little cluster of homes is
named "something estates" The little
"estate" cluster we belong to, Pine Ridge Estates,
has only 9 homes along a straight stretch of road.
The builder did not bother to give our house cluster
an estate sign.
So I decided to use the barrier as a sign post for a
sign that says "Pine Ridge Estates". The other
thing I decided to add was the street name.
Why? Because the side street that has a Stop
sign, lost the street name sign on top of it.
So unless you are from this area, you would not know
what street you just came to.
We often saw people just sitting in their cars at
this Stop sign for longer than normal.
Probably on a GPS system in their car or phone
trying to figure out where they were. The GPS
system will probably not catch-up in this area for a
few years (if ever). Better I just tell them
what street they are on and end the confusion. |
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Intersection with missing street sign on top of Stop
sign |
Sign Materials
The Board
After measuring the space between the posts on the
barrier, which is 92", it was time to select and order the
materials.
I already knew what material I wanted to use for the
sign board. Composite decking material.
Unlike wood that requires periodic maintenance, no
matter how well you prep it, this new composite
decking which is almost like plastic, does not rot
or need any maintenance. |
The decking boards are not wide enough. But
the fascia boards, that are made to match the
decking, are 11.25" wide. Perfect for this
project. The fascia boards only come in one
length, 12 feet. The surface has a faux wood
texture which looks like wood.
The last time I purchased this type of decking board for a
project, I bought it at Lowes. They no longer
carry it in-store. Neither does the Home
Depot. I made a trip to TH Rogers in Fletcher,
OK and they did not have any in-store either,
however they could order a board for me and have it
the next day.
I could have also ordered it from Home Depot or
Lowes BUT they are farther away. In order for
me to get a 12 foot board home in my SUV, 4 feet of
it has to stick out of my passenger window tied to
the side view mirror. The wind hits it. Better
to only drive a few miles slower on back roads than
to get on a freeway with a flapping board.
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Deck board - too narrow |
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Fascia board used on sign
MoistureShield Vantage Wood Composite
Decking |
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I ordered the color that matches
the rusty brown color of the barrier which was
Seasoned Mahogany.
https://www.moistureshield.com/products/composite-decking/vantage/ |
The Lettering
When it comes to lettering, I have a little
advantage over other folks....a Graphic Arts
degree... which means I have worked with lettering
extensively.
In this case, I just applied these principals to a
different medium.
After looking online for different lettering
options, I decided on stainless steel lettering.
The stainless steel would be more durable outdoors.
If it rusts in a few years, I can paint the letters.
The stainless steel also looks a little more classy
and professional looking.
There are quite a few online stores that make custom
lettering. You may need to compare them to see
if the prices are the same and they have the fonts
you want.
The company I selected was CraftCuts
https://www.craftcuts.com/
What I liked about this company
and some of the others, was their software that
tells you how long your word string is in inches.
This way I could get the largest lettering possible
that would fit on the 92" board minus a couple
inches for a margin on the side.
After looking at fonts, I decided to mix up the size
of the lower and upper case letters.
For the exact font, I wanted something fancier for
the "Pine Ridge Estates" and a more simpler font for
the street name.
- The capital "P" - "R" - "E" - are 8" Cherry
Swash Bold
- The lower case letters - are 6" Cherry Swash
Bold
- Street name - 4" Basic Serif
The lettering was ordered on June 16, 2020.
Shipped on June 22, 2020 via UPS
Received on June 25, 2020
Items were packaged well. The box was received
in good shape. |
Miscellaneous Items
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The barrier was
pretty much a solid rust color, but it needed some
touching up. I went to the hardware store
looking for a rust colored paint. Found this
paint instead, made just for rusty surfaces in
exactly the color that I needed....rust.
The other item I needed was something to attach the
sign board to the barrier. The top horizontal
bar on the barrier was the same width as the poles
used on wood fences or chain link fences.
Looking at my own fence and the hardware used, I
knew what I needed to get.
The hardware is called an adjustable wood post
adapter and you find them in the gardening area of
the hardware store where they have the fencing
items.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/2-3-8-IN-ADJUST-WOOD-POST-ADAPTOR/1002916330
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Rust-oleum Rusty Metal Primer |
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To
attach the letters onto the sign board, I
decided to glue them on with Gorilla Glue
Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive.
The letter company does offer options of
mounting holes, but I wanted the lettering
to look clean with no screws on the surface.
However, I wanted the lettering to be
slightly raised on the surface for two
reasons: |
Adjustable Wood Post Adapter |
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1) To provide more of a
3-D look by creating a shadow underneath.
2) To make the letter edges easier to slip
plastic around, incase I need to paint the
letters in the future.
To do this, I placed little silicone bumpers
(the same ones used for cabinet doors) on
the back of the letters and then placed the
glue on heavy enough to fill the gaps with
the raised surface.
If I did not raise the letters, no shadow
would be created and the letters would look
flat.
You will see this shadow in the photos
below. |
Scotch
Bumpers |
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Material Costs for Pine Ridge Estates
Sign |
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Cost |
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1 - MoistureShield
Vantage Fascia Board - Seasoned Mahogany
12' |
$78.38 |
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Stainless Steel
Lettering |
155.86 |
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1 - 12 oz spray can Rust-Oleum
Rusty Metal Primer |
4.99 |
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6 - Adjustable
Wood Post Adapter $1.59 each |
9.54 |
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2 - packages -
Clear bumpers to stick behind letters -
60 pack |
17.92 |
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1 - Gorilla
Ultimate Glue 9 oz caulk tube |
8.98 |
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20 - approx - longer carriage
bolts than what came with the wood post
adapters |
7.00 |
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Total |
$282.67 |
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After cutting the large board to
92" and the smaller board to 36" x 6", the letters
were dry fitted on top of the board and moved around
until there was even spacing and they were straight.
I used pieces of masking tape to make sure the
lettering was level.
The letters where then glued on and left to set
overnight.
I quickly discovered that the carriage bolts that
came with the wood post adapters were not going to
be long enough to go through my sign board and
through the adapter on the back side of the sign.
So I bought some longer ones at the local Ace
Hardware. Gosh I just love the location of our
new house. Within 2-4 miles, I have two
hardware stores I can go to, that are not Big Box but
have everything I usually need.
Before attaching the carriage bolts, I gave the bolt
heads a couple of coats of the rust primer paint.
I then marked the location and drilled the holes for
the carriage bolts into the sign board.
On the ends of the large board I used the full
hardware of the wood post adapter. Everywhere
else I just used the U-bracket. For the ends, I
also had to buy a longer socket to tighten the
bolts in-between the poles.
For the street sign I found out after I drilled my
holes, that I would need to angle the U-bracket to
attach it to the angled criss-cross section of the
barrier. So I plugged up the first hole with a
short carriage bolt so I would not have a hole.
The end result is 2 bolt heads close together which
could just be considered a design feature ;)
The back of the bolts and nuts were given a coat of
clear caulk to keep away the rust....for a bit. |
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How the
sign is attached to the barrier |
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Shadow
under the raised lettering giving the sign more of a
3-D look |
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The plan is to place some bricks
around the barrier and plant some wild flowers.
When I get around to doing this, I will add a
photograph. |
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