Latest project = The biggest thing I've ever made. TA-DAAAAA!

So I know I've been awol a little more than usual lately, but it's because I've been working on a new sign for my business.

There's been HUGE drama with the neighboring business throughout the build process that borders on complete insanity - but at any rate, I got my portion done to the 99th percentile today, which makes it done enough to share.

So without further adoo - here's our newly redone sign. For sizing perspective - that crossbar is 8" square tubing that's 10 feet long and weighed over 200 pounds. The top of the sign is a little over 14 feet in the air. I have a little more caulking to do, but beyond that, it's done and I'm pretty proud of it, so thanks for the look.

Huh. Looks kinda like a little red x to me.

That's really awesome, broseph!

sherlock9c1 wrote:

Huh. Looks kinda like a little red x to me.

I used the image hoster thingy from here, so I don't know why it's not showing up for you. Don't sweat it though. It's just a sign.

Looks pretty sweet. What happened with the neighboring business?

Ok, believe it or not - this IS the cliff notes.....

Our businesses share the same building on a fairly busy 5 lane road. When I bought Harmony, we didn't have a sign. In looking into the sign rules, I learned that multiple businesses on a same parcel have to share a common support structure. He had his sign already up, which was only a couple 4x4 posts with a sheet of plywood on each side. There was no way those posts would support an additional sign, so I was forced to plan, design, engineer, and build around his existing sign.

Also, the guy is a very grouchy dude by nature. When I tried to discuss sharing a new sign pole with him so that I could have one too - he just kept saying that I wasn't allowed to touch his sign - that he thinks is made out of solid gold. So in order to advertise my biz, I had to install 4x6 wolmanized posts NEXT to his posts that also run through his sign and had to be turned the wrong way support wise. I knew at the time it wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing and I was trying to be a good neighbor and get along with him. This was all a couple summers ago.

So early this summer, he pointed out that over this past winter, my 4x6 poles had twisted, causing his sign to bow out "like crazy" - and that I HAD to fix it. Well, you're not going to untwist OR unbend a pair of banana'd 4x6's - so I started talks with the landlord, the township, various suppliers, and various local sign companies about putting up a whole new sign for BOTH of our businesses - as well as working through many different design iterations to optimize the final result, etc.

When I stopped in to talk about it with him - that included specific details about how I would be carefully relocating his sign onto the new pole at MY costs, I didn't get that far. He immediately went into a tyrade about what a MFr I was for not doing anything to fix his sign, and that he was giving me 10 days to fix it, or he was going to cut my sign down - BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Me - no you're not and we both know it.
him - I'm going to get a lawyer
me - and tell him what, that your sheet of plywood that's been outside in Michigan for 20 years has a little bit of a bow to it? I'm not here for all this BS drama. I'm here to be goal oriented, move forward, and talk to you about putting up a new sign since mine cannot be repaired.

Then he warned me that he's liable to just snap and end up killing me with his bare hands if I didn't GTF away from him.

So I laughed at him to his face and pointed out that people who actually do that don't give warnings, and assured him that it wouldn't be a good decision on his part, nor would it work out in reality anywhere near the way he's rehearsing it in his head. I thanked him for his time and assured him I'd try again later when he seemes more approachable.

Then I went directly to the township and attained a permit to build a new sign - and I made it perfectly clear that I was only doing so because I was being forced to, that building a new one was the only way for me to have a stable sign since mine couldn't be repaired, and that they could expect alot of drama from the other business owner who is off the deep end with no sense of reality. They appreciated the heads up but mentioned that his legacy with them had preceded my story - so we shared a laugh, and I was out the door with my signed permit.

Since I'm not really the type to get motivated by yelling and/or empty threats (especially from people that I don't answer to), I waited about 3 weeks before starting on the project. I wasn't going to tear my existing sign down until I had the help to assemble the pre-built pieces of the new one that I'd already built - but we kept getting postponed due to the weather.

So earlier this week he barged into my store and started yelling at me again about how he's tired of being a nice guy, and that I have until Sunday to get my sign down or he's cutting it down, blah blah blah - and he's going to sue me for all the damage to his sign. (some 20 year old screw heads have popped off due to age and the slight twisting).

I assured him that the plan was to get it all done on Saturday, but only because the weather permitted and not because of his illusion of authority.

As promised, I was there ALL DAY on Saturday, and had a friend pop in to help me with some of the lifting, etc. So there I am on Saturday night up on a platform that I'd built - about 6 feet in the air - and next thing I know I'm getting yelled at by a woman this time.

Oh yea, they live in a rental house that's on the same property and is about 30' from our stores. I turn around and there's the guys wife standing in the driveway - in pajama pants - who then also went on an absolutely outstanding tyrade for about 20+ minutes - saying and claiming things of the wildest proportions.

Apparently, moving their 2 pieces of plywood isn't an option because it was made by someone who is now dead, I didn't get their permission to build the new one (didn't need it), she's going to tell the landlord on me (who gave me the pole), she's going report me to the township (who gave me the permit), she's getting a lawer (who will hang up on her), I'm lucky she hasn't vandalized my mailbox (federal offense), bending their sign is the exact same thing as if she were to smack one of my children since that sign is like their baby (wait, wut? ), and she has friends with trucks who are going to come pull my sign down by the pole, (that, BTW, is also filled with highway strength grade concrete and isn't going ANYwhere, ever - but I didn't tell her that).

So at any rate, this could be a very interesting week.

Oh I know all about those people. My great grandparents moved into a house in Jacksonville next to my aunt. Their two properties are separated by this little insignificant strip of land that's connected to my aunt's driveway, but it goes all the way back to the neighbor behind my great grandparent's house. This guy has fought with them tooth and nail over this stupid insignificant strip of land that's literally nothing but sand that is the way of the driveway for YEARS.

He put a fence up between the two properties (annoying) and then to be an extra-douche he had privacy slats put up, and netted the fence too.

Guy's a dick. Sounds just like who you're dealing with.

question 1: what does his business do?
question 2: Where is his sign now in relation to yours.?
question 3: Is his business well insured for flood or fire etc.?
question 4: How would such a calamatous event impact Harmony cleaners ltd.?
question 5: If i visit the other guy and help him with his public relations, can i get a discount on cleaning and preserving my wedding dress.?
question 6: when preserving a wedding dress do you employ the same methods as Lorne does to preserve things.?
question 7: if your sign were to be electrified with flashing strobe style lights in the 10,000watt range, would it cause anxiety to the other business if left on for 24hrs.?
question8: can you please take a pic of the sign with you on a ladder so we have some perspective.?

Nick
no tickee no laundry.

question 7: if your sign were to be electrified with flashing strobestyle lights in the 10,000watt range,

... and point the lights at the windows of the bitch in the apartment...

would it cause anxiety to the other business if left on for 24hrs.?

Too damn bad if it does! He's got the permit. The other businesses should be happy that their property is better protected with additional lighting and 24 hr exposure to prospective clientele.

The other business sells CDs and records. We share ZERO clientelle. Much of his customer base is the heavy metal, mall hating crowd who will probably never own a "dry clean only" item. Similarly, practically none of my customers would go to a store that constantly plays heavy metal music fairly loud to buy anything.

His sign is the one just below mine in the background - about 3 feet back.

Yes, you guys would get a discount on your wedding dresses.

I don't know the chemicals they use to preserve them since we send them out to a preservation company - but I can call to see if Lorne had a customer who wanted to be buried in her wedding dress, we could get a package deal.

We share the building, so flood or fire would hurt us both.

Huge megawatt strobe lighting sounds fun - but it also sounds expensive and obnoxious. I do plan to light the sign, but will be using lighting fixtures on the ground that point up.

It really seems to be a matter of him/them surrounding themselves with people who care if they're mad or yelling - and I'm just not one of those people, which seems to piss them off even more - which, again - I couldn't care less.

I would absolutely LOVE for everything to be neighborly and peachy - but if the choice is to have the sign that I'm entitled to have or have a happy neighbor - well then I guess the neighbor will have to build a bridge and get over it.

The original plan was to finish my sign, then build the setup to hold his sign too, then get with him about moving it over - but their words and actions have killed that mood. Even the landlord has told me "Eff that. You tried and he acted like a jerk. Let it be his problem that he's now in violaiton of the sign ordinance and let him worry about how it's going to get it mounted and moved over."

If I REALLY wanted to instigate drama, I'd barge into his store and let him know that I'm tired of being a nice guy and that he's got 10 days to move his sign over or I'm cutting it down. Kidding, of course. My sign is up and I don't really care about his. If he asks me to help with his deal, I gladly will - but I'm done trying to initiate civil and adult dialog with someone who continuously refuses to return the same. He demanded that I fix my sign, and he got his wish.

Bottom line is that his sign could look 10x better moved over to the new pole, framed in real nicely with a wooden "picture frame" type of deal - painted a bangin color of high gloss red - maybe even make it reflective. Hell, he could even frame it, then surround his whole sign with CD's - OR he can keep it bent and bowed on a couple of 20 year old 4x4's behind my pole. The stupid part is that I'm STILL willing to do the work for him because it's a cool project.

More like build a bridge and jump.

Looks good! Sorry it included so much drama!

That's sweet dude, you should be proud!!! It's superb, nice work!!!

My in-laws got a neighbor not unlike your. The biatch actually paid someone to come on my in laws property and cut some trees down, admitted it to police and they could/would do nothing about it!!! WTF is wrong with our country?

bewber wrote " I do plan to light the sign, but will be using lightingfixtures on the ground that point up."

From the ground they might be too easy to "accidentally" damage By other tenants. Consider getting them up higher.Additionally the sign most lit up will be the signs closest to the lights, the lower ones, not yours.

Lumens, like sound, is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.

Twice as far gives one quarter of the brightness.

lakeffect wrote:

Lumens, like sound, is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.

Twice as far gives one quarter of the brightness.

I think you know too much.....

Dave, I'm not installing the sun that lights in all directions. I'd be installing lights with a certain amount of directional control. Please also don't think that I'm not above installing something onto the light base that creates a shadow and hides the light from his sign.

I've also decided that I'm gonna go ahead and still build him a structure for his sign to set on/in. Whether I like them or not, it's the right thing to do. Them being dickheads doesn't excuse me from doing the right thing - and since I actually enjoy fabbing things, NOT doing it actually creates more drama and headache for me than doing it.

Bewber wrote:

Dave, I'm not installing the sun that lights in all directions. I'd be installing lights with a certain amount of directional control.

Trust me, I'm an Optics Major, or general or staff sergeant or something like that.

It just the way it works even with "control" of direction with any thing other than a lens. It acts as a point source. Comparing the light that falls on a one foot square, that is one foot away from the source, to a surface ten foot away, That new surface is actually 10x10 compared to the original 1x1. We now have 100 square feet sharing the original lumens, and you get 1/100 the brightness on any square. The only way around it is a lens that collumnates (focuses the light) parallel.

So the closest thing (their signage) will be the most brightly lit.

Bewber wrote:

I've also decided that I'm gonna go ahead and still build him a structure for his sign to set on/in. Whether I like them or not, it's the right thing to do. Them being dickheads doesn't excuse me from doing the right thing it.

You'll never feel bad about having the integrity to do the right thing John.

Keep the faith bro!

Dave


(P.S.now would ya jus' print the freaking stickers! )

lakeffect wrote:

Trust me, I'm an Optics Major, or general or staff sergeant or something.

well build some decent headlights for our cars then,. or at least design and build an add in reflector for the shitty capsule we have,.Jeeez,.

Nick

I think President Nixon best sums up my stance concerning my lunatic neighbors with his following quote - “Don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. You see, one can only be angry with those he respects.”