Create A Custom Outdoor Sign!

Bryan's Workshop
by Bryan's Workshop
10 Materials
$30
7 Days
Medium

This was a very special and meaningful project for me!

I recently opened an English and creativity school in Japan! I have been teaching English to Japanese students for over ten years and I believe that success in the learning process is greatly attributed to the creativity of the teachers. I'm bringing English and Creativity together to make something special.



My lovely wife Mariko helped me design a perfect school logo and this post is how I made that logo into a school sign. icon


You can check out my school here: bryanharper.tokyo

This is the finished sign!

The magical design powers of Mariko!

First, I planned out the size of the sign and height of the sign post. Measuring width by height:


The sign is 45cm x 60cm


The sign post is 7.5cm x 7.5cm. It's 167cm above ground and 55cm under ground. More on how to bury a wood post later on.


I stained the sign and post with an exterior oil based wood stain.

Now it's time to draw the logo! I used a tape measure and measured the trunk and all of the branches and then doubled it.

 

I started from the middle of the sign and continuously measured and drew reference dots with a pencil as I drew the logo with a white paint marker. I only drew the outline of the tree.

I painted over the outline with an outdoor white paint and tried to match the leaves up freehand.

You'll want to make a good footer for your post to keep it from decaying quickly in the ground.


The diameter of the post hole should be about 3 time the width of the post. The depth should be about 1/3-1/2 the height that the post is above ground plus 15-20cm of compact gravel for drainage. Making the post hole wider at the bottom like an upside down triangle is better too.


I poured some concrete over the gravel and then stuck the post in it. It was windy on this day and I have a huge cherry blossom tree by my house! Cherry blossoms everywhere! Just look at the pictures. It was a nightmare!...not the tree..the experience. I'm obsessed with cherry blossom trees. I had to cover the hole as I worked to keep the flowers out though.

I used a level to get the post straight and then screwed in long pieces of wood at the base to brace it. There are different ways to brace a post in wet concrete, so it's good to do a little research. I would've braced this differently if I had areas to hammer in stakes.

Dry time!

The horizontal post on top is 107cm long and is the same thickness as the post in the ground. I plan on making seasonal/holiday signs to hang on the shorter side of the top post. That's why it kinda looks like a 'T'.

I used heavy-duty brackets and 50cm long screws to secure the wood on top of the post.

I measured and marked the spots for the hanging hardware.

I wish I would've screwed these onto the horizontal post before securing the horizontal post into place. I wish I had a time machine!! To free both hands up to drill holes, I used double sided tape to stick these things under the post. It worked like charm. icon

The finished project!! I'm in love with this sign.


For more projects, check out Bryan's Workshop on Facebook and Instagram.

Suggested materials:
  • Wood post
  • White paint marker
  • Outdoor white paint
See all materials
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