A commercial sign has to deal with something you will never see in a rendering: wind.
For an exterior sign, looking good is only part of the job. The sign, its structure, attachments, and foundation must also resist the environmental forces acting on them after installation.
This is especially relevant in Florida. The current Florida Building Code incorporates specific wind-design requirements, and Miami-Dade and Broward counties are designated as the state’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ).
So, what does wind engineering actually mean for your commercial sign?
Where Does All That Force Go?
The easiest way to understand wind engineering is to forget about calculations for a moment.
Imagine wind pushing against the face of a large sign. That force has to go somewhere. For a wall sign, it is transferred through the mounting and attachment system into the building.
For a monument sign, the forces travel through its internal structure and into the foundation below ground.
For a pylon sign, the structural system and foundation have to support a sign that may be positioned much higher and exposed differently to wind.
Engineering helps determine how that complete structural path should work. That’s why the parts you don’t see can be just as important as the sign itself.
Different Signs Create Different Structural Challenges
A set of channel letters attached to a building, a monument at the entrance of a shopping center, and a tall pylon next to a highway are very different structures.
Size matters, but it isn’t the only consideration. The sign’s shape, height, location, installation method, structural configuration, and the conditions where it will be installed can all influence the engineering requirements.
This is also why there is no universal foundation, attachment method, or internal structure that works for every commercial sign.
The engineering has to match the project.
Why the Property Address Matters
If you’ve read some of our other articles, you’ve probably noticed that we ask for the property address very early in a commercial sign project. Here’s another reason why. Engineering isn’t based only on what the sign looks like. Where and how it will be installed matters too.
The location helps establish the conditions and requirements for the project. The engineer also needs to understand the sign type, its dimensions, the installation conditions, and the structure or foundation that will ultimately support it.
In other words, you cannot fully engineer an exterior sign in isolation from the place where it will exist.
From Rendering to Real Structure
The design team may create a beautiful monument, pylon, or set of channel letters, but eventually that design has to become a physical object.
That’s where engineering comes in.
Engineering may determine or influence structural components, attachments, supports, foundations, and other construction details necessary to turn the approved design into something that can actually be installed.
The rendering shows what the sign should look like. Engineering helps determine how that sign can safely exist in the real world.
In some cases, engineering findings require adjustments before the project moves forward. That is much better than discovering a structural problem after fabrication has already begun.
How Saul Signs Handles Sign Engineering
When engineering is required, Saul Signs coordinates this stage as part of the overall signage project.
Our process can bring together design, engineering coordination, permitting, fabrication, installation, and required inspections, so engineering isn’t treated as an isolated document created simply to obtain a permit.
It has a practical purpose. The designed sign has to become the built sign, and the supporting structure has to be appropriate to the project’s real conditions.
You don’t need to understand wind calculations, structural formulas, or engineering standards to order a commercial sign. (Neither do all of the sign industry personnel)
But as a property owner, contractor, developer, or business owner, it is worth understanding why engineering exists in the first place: Your sign doesn’t only have to look right. It has to be built for where it will stand.