So Why Do 9 Out of 10 Home Builders Prefer Sturdy Wooden A-Frame Directional Signs?
Imagine traveling back in time to the year -1993.
A time when the housing market was exploding… in and around Southern Nevada.
A time where new asphalt was cutting through, once desolate and dusty, tumbleweed filled fields… as far as the eye can see.
Where train cars and convoys of 18 wheelers were rolling into town 24/7. Stacked so full of lumber and building supplies that they inched barely below maximum transit heights.
Heights high enough to scantily scrape the tops of underpass highway or railway bridges.
A time where nail guns were tapping out echoes (not cock-ling roosters) of a new day’s dawn.
Yes, my friend, a time when Las Vegas couldn’t be knocked of its perch as thee number one growth city in the world.
But what does this have to do with wooden A-frame signs?
Well, just like most industries, business tends to constantly evolve. Better solutions are introduced which make life easier on us all.
And the home building game was no exception to this evolution.
After-all, there were plenty of want-ah-be sign and graphic company’s springing up like wildfire –across the newly minted plains, of Southern Nevada, back then.
It was no different than the gold rush of years long swept away.
And the sign shops, which offered better sign solutions, quickly rose to the top of the home builder’s insatiable supply chain list.
The Wooden A-Frame -With Boxed In Side Panels
Bolted To The Top
And the wooden A-frame, with boxed in side panels, bolted to the top of the home builders must have procurement list.
But why would a wooden A-frame sign make such a difference to these developers and their potential home sales?
What a brilliant question, right?
After-all, one may tend to think that maybe a space age type of formed plastic A-frame signs would emerge victorious?
However, this was not the case.
Sure there were many breakthroughs in new A-frame designs, and all of it. Even today.
Yet nothing was able to replace the cost and effectiveness of a solid, and sturdy, and heavy set wooden A-frame sign.
A-Frames Made From Splintery Nasty Plywood
And Slapped On Paint Were Low Grade
But here’s the kicker…
Many wooden home builder directional A-frame signs back then were made from two splintery sheets of lower grade plywood, slapped on paint, and vinyl applied text.
These prehistoric wooden A-frames signs were adjoined by 2 chains. Chains which draped along the sides of the two wooden panels. And extended outward when the two flat sections of nasty ply were dragged out and set up at the home builders entrance(s).
Then were stood up, leaned and pulled back until the chains were tense, and left to direct traffic into the new home site.
But as soon a slight breeze or westerly wind gushed up, these A-frames would topple. And topple fast. So they needed to be set up over and over again.
And many times the sales agents, who were manning the properties, would awake a dreary soul from their much needed slumber of a hard weeks work. And request that someone come out at 6am and set the A-frame sign(s) back up.
After-all, these sales agents weren’t world class body builders who were capable of raising a fallen heavy A-frame sign!
He Crawled Into Work On Monday
-A New Efficient A-Frame Sign Was Designed
Then one day an idea was hatched to make the wooden A-frames more efficient
One of the sign installers, we’ll call him Ben, crawled into work on a Monday morning.
He was dragging. He was worn down. He was piling up of OT… week after week.
The kind of OT needed… just to keep pace with the shear number of home builder sign type installs and orders which were flying out of the back of the sign shop –daily.
Plus, he was being beaten upon by the treacherous Vegas sun almost every day of the year.
But why was he dragging on a Monday? After-all wasn’t he just coming off a relaxing, recharging, weekend?
Well, not so much. You see, Ben was the lead-man. The head-honcho of the install department. And all the home builders and their sales agents had his personal number.
Which means… he was the only one they called for help.
So as Ben steadied his sore, and aching, young, but worn body into the Monday morning planning meeting -He spouted beneath his breath…
“why don’t we just add wooden side panels to our wooden A-frame signs and put some wheels on them… so these sales agents can wheel em’ out and in as they see fit… and save us time from running all over the Vegas Valley to re-set up all the fallen wind swept signs.”
And just as he shared his wishful words, the management team perked up. And it wasn’t because of the coffee.
You could hear the words “what did you say” reverberate throughout the musty morning meeting room. Everyone looked at Ben and glanced back at each other. It was like a light switch was thrown.
So the tattered young lad stood up and said it gain… “We need to design a better home builder A-frame that doesn’t blow over.”
And he was dead to right on his assessment.
High Chatter Aside
The New Wooden A-Frame Style Set The Market Ablaze
So by the time that high chatter filled meeting was over… The new A-frame design was in the works.
And within days a new home builder wooden A-frame directional sign design was ready to roll. And would soon set the home builder market ablaze with orders.
The new A-frame design included…
- Replacing the side chains with set-in-place wooden end caps
- Inset locking stainless steel castor wheels around the base
- A top cap panel to complete the solid build
- Thinner yet stronger and smoother hardwood faces
Which means, the sales agents, the home builders staff could now wheel the wooden enclosed A-frame directional signs to their entrances and to their turns within the community to direct traffic to their development, and sales offices, and model homes, and all of it.
And as you may see in the photo depicted above. These durable wooden A-frame signs would last from the day of the grand opening until the last units were sold.
But the best part was, Ben and his battle tested install crews were wide eyed and bushy-tailed come Monday mornings.
And these types of wooden A-frames directional signs are still in high demand among the home builders, even today.
Precision Made CNC Routed
A-Frame Signs Are Built To Last
And the good news is… these A-frames signs were designed right when CNC routers were making their debut.
Which means the sizes, end caps, open handle areas, top caps may all be precision routed to millwright specifications.
Which means, these A-frames assemble with perfect fit.
And due to the heavy nature of a fully encased wooden A-frame sign… the odds on one blowing over are slim to none.
Everyone’s happy.
Contact Signs West Outdoor Today
For Sturdy Wooden A-Frame Directional Signage
So if you want to add some sturdy wheeled wooden A-frame directional signs to your new or existing home builder development or master plan community, then contact SignsWestOutdoor today.
The originator or the hardwood boxed in wooden A-frame is at your service.
Call Signs West Outdoor today at (702) 879-8250.
Or visit signwestoutdoor.com online now.
Until next Month… Try not to blow over.
P.S. And remember, there are lower priced copycats out there, which is okay. BUT whatever you do, you may want to avoid “plywood” A-frame signs. Because the roughshod pitted sign face can reflect a downward image of your classy homes. And the sun bakes protruding cracks into the porous plywood -fast. But most of all, who in their right mind wants bloodletting splinters sticking them every time they try to reposition or move one of these A-frames?
