How we work
Four stages, on a single shopfront and on a two hundred metre hoarding run: survey, design, manufacture, install. Here is what happens at each, and what tends to make a project run late.
From enquiry to switch on
Most signage projects fail in the same two places: an artwork problem discovered after manufacture, and a consent requirement discovered after that. Both are avoidable, and both are why we survey before quoting rather than pricing from a photograph and hoping.
A straightforward fascia runs four to six weeks from survey to installation. Where advertisement consent is needed, add around eight weeks, though we run the application and the manufacture in parallel rather than in sequence so consent is not the only thing on the critical path.
What actually makes projects run late
Three things, in order of frequency. Advertisement consent that nobody checked for at the start. Artwork that turns out to be a low resolution file with no vector original. And access that was assumed rather than confirmed, so the installation day arrives without a permit, a road closure or a lift booked.
Related services
The stages
Enquiry
You tell us the building and what has to happen. We come back with a budget range and whether a survey is needed.
Survey
Measured on site: dimensions, substrate, fixings, power, access and the planning designation. About an hour.
Design and approval
Visuals against photographs of your building, with material and illumination options priced so you can compare properly.
Consent
Where advertisement or listed building consent is required we prepare and submit it, running alongside manufacture.
Manufacture
Produced to the surveyed sizes on commercial grade substrates, with the specification written down and kept on file.
Installation
Fitted by our own installers, with access, isolation and making good arranged in advance rather than discovered on the day.
Handover
Specification and maintenance notes provided, so a future repair is a same visit fix rather than a diagnosis.
Common questions
How long does a signage project take?
A straightforward fascia is four to six weeks from survey to installation. Add around eight weeks where advertisement consent is required, though we run consent and manufacture in parallel.
Do you survey before quoting?
For anything being fixed to a building, yes. Buildings are rarely square, substrates are rarely what they look like, and the power is rarely where you assume.
Who handles the planning application?
We do. We establish the designation at survey and prepare and submit the advertisement or listed building consent application on your behalf.
What happens after installation?
You get the specification and maintenance notes on file. That means a future lamp or driver failure is usually a same visit fix rather than a diagnosis visit first.
Want to start with a survey?
Tell us the building and what has to happen. We will confirm whether a survey is needed and what it costs before booking anything.
Middle Barn, Fairclough Hall Farm, Halls Green, Weston, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 7DP
Ten minutes from Stevenage. Visitors welcome.