Signage for General Contractors: Keeping Signs Off the Critical Path

Signs are a small line in the budget and a common reason a turnover date slips. The sign needs its own permit, power at the right spot, structure behind the finish, and an inspection. Miss one and the building opens without its name on it.

This is a practical guide for general contractors and superintendents who want signage to be a non-event.

Start the sign permit when you start the building

In most Texas cities a sign permit is separate from the building permit, and electrical signs need their own electrical permit. Review times vary by city and by sign type. A monument sign near a right of way or a sign in an overlay district takes longer than a wall sign.

Ask the sign subcontractor for a permit schedule in the first month. J&A prepares drawings, applications, and engineering when required, and tracks each permit to approval. See permitting.

Three things the sign needs from other trades

• Electrical. A dedicated circuit and a junction box within reach of each illuminated sign, controlled by a photocell or timer. Location matters more than amperage.
• Blocking and backing. Wall signs and channel letters need solid backing behind EIFS, metal panel, or stone veneer. It has to go in before the finish.
• Foundations. Monument and pylon signs need a footing, conduit to the base, and a clear location away from utilities and easements.

A one page coordination sheet from the sign company, issued before rough in, prevents most change orders.

Submittals that do not bounce

A complete sign submittal includes shop drawings with dimensions on the real elevations, materials and colors, attachment details, electrical loads, and UL information for illuminated signs. When the submittal is complete the first time, the architect approves it the first time.

Site readiness and installation

Before the crew mobilizes, confirm access for the lift or crane, finished surfaces, live power, and any required safety orientation. A site survey before fabrication catches the dimension that changed in the field.

J&A installs with its own crews and equipment. See installation services and project management.

What to require from a sign subcontractor

• A Texas Electrical Sign Contractor license. In Texas, electrical sign work requires one.
• UL listed electric signs, so the inspector accepts them.
• In house fabrication, so the schedule is not in a third party's hands.
• One project manager, weekly status, and photos.
• Closeout documents: warranties, as built drawings, and a service contact.

J&A holds Texas Electrical Sign Contractor license SC-19112 and builds UL 48 Listed signs in its own plant in Mineral Wells.

Bidding a project with a sign allowance? Send the sign pages and the schedule, and we will return a scope, a price, and the permit timeline.