Paint
ORDERING
1. Contact stinky@isawthe-sign.com, with the scope of your project (please read #3 of our FAQs below for what information you’ll need to provide).*
2. We'll send you an estimate based off of the information you provide.
3. If you accept the estimate, we require a 50% deposit in order to schedule the work.
4. Once we receive the deposit we'll send you a receipt and set up calendar dates to get rollin’ with your signage!
5. Once your signage is complete, we’ll send you a final invoice. Failure to complete payment within 30 days will result in 2% of the total amount due charged per day until payment is received. We don’t like doin’ that so pay on time, ya hear?!
*Please keep in mind that I Saw The Sign is a super small team, so it may take us a couple days before we can get back with you (especially if we’re onsite at other jobs that week!). Your patience is a gift. We are always working to get back with our clients ASAP!
FAQ
1. How long does it take to get a sign?
It really depends on the season. Spring to Fall tends to be pretty busy for us, and we could be booking anywhere from 4-8 weeks out. Wintertime has a few more lulls and can typically book with just a few weeks notice. This means that we can get started working on your sign about 2-10 weeks after we receive a deposit.
*But then again, the sign biz is wildly sporadic around here! So always contact us to see how the calendar is looking. Sometimes you just might luck out with early availability.
2. Your calendar is booked out but I really need my sign next week!! Can you fit me in?!
Alright, alright. It’s not guaranteed that we will always be able to do it, but we always try our hardest! If it’s a project we feel we can fit in on top of our fully booked week, we will do our best to schedule you in. However, this will require us working overtime so we charge a 50% rush fee.
3. What information do you need to generate an estimate?
• Sign dimensions
• The exact wording on the sign
• The design file (preferably a pdf, eps, or ai)
• Do you want gold leaf? Is this sign being painted on glass? Or on another surface?
• Single or double sided?
• If you'd like a double sided blade (projecting) sign, do you need us to provide the bracket and hanging hardware?
• How many colors do we need to match? You can provide examples, or we can do the color matchin’ magic.
• If we are painting directly on a wall, we need to know the wall surface (i.e., brick, smooth drywall, rough stucco, corrugated metal, etc.).
• If we are painting directly on a wall, we’d also like to know the dimensions of said wall and how your sign will positioned so we can know our point of access (i.e., do we need to rent a lift, use scaffolding, extension ladders, etc.)
• If you have any photos of the site where the sign will be located, it's helpful to send those along to us.
4. How do you price your signs?
We price our signs using an hourly rate. We estimate our projected time for pattern making, prep work, painting and/or gilding, construction, and color mixing. Then we figure in material costs and travel costs if we're working on location.
Detail is more of an issue than size in terms of pricing; the more complex a design is, the more time it will take to execute, regardless of its size.
Surface substrate also goes into pricing; the rougher the surface is, the more time it will take to execute (i.e., smooth drywall will take half the time as corrugated metal).
5. Can you work with a budget?
We’d love to work within your budget! If you’re giving us design and our estimate is out of your budget, it may be a matter of reducing size, positioning, or simplifying the design to tailor that price down. Please don’t hesitate to ask us!
6. I need materials for city approval of my sign, such as a shop drawing or site mockup. Is this included in the estimate?
We always provide you with mockups of your signage before execution, however I Saw The Sign does not make shop drawings or handle any sign permitting. We’re small fish, and we try to keep our focus exclusively on our craft!
7. Alright, I’ve got the design ready. What do you need from me?
If your design is in digital format we'd like the artwork as a vectorized file (.eps or .ai work nicely), to the exact sign dimensions, with all the type "outlined". If the sign is very large, such as wall lettering, then the art should be to a 1 inch = 1 foot scale.
8. Can you match colors?
Yes. We can use the Pantone coated chart for reference, or whatever examples or paint chips you can provide. We mix by hand and eye and we can get damn near exactly the color you want, but we can't always promise scientific precision!
9. Is the deposit refundable if I decide not to go ahead with the sign?
If you need to cancel your sign, with more than a week's notice, deposits are refundable minus the labor/design time already spent on the project and the cost of materials already purchased.
If you do need to cancel with less than a week's notice, you will forfeit deposit.
If you need to delay a project less than three business days before the confirmed start date, we will have to charge you $500 per delayed calendar day. We lose the opportunity to reschedule other projects on such short notice, and that leaves us unable to generate income on those days we would have been working for you. So do us a favor and don't delay last minute!
10. What materials do you paint on?
We do it all, baby!! Pretty much. We can paint on almost anything. If you have a weird project in mind, just ask and we’ll see if we can make the magic happen.
11. Do you install signs?
Sometimes! It really just depends on how intensive the process is. Always feel free to email us to see if your installation is within our wheelhouse.
If it’s something we are able to do, we’ll incorporate the installation into your estimate. So just let us know ahead of time!
12. I don't live in the Nashville area. Do you travel? Can you ship me a sign?
Yep! We do indeed travel. Just let us know where you’re located and we can send you a Travel Budget in addition to our estimate. If you’re wanting us to ship you a dimensional sign, we’ll box ‘er up and charge you a box & handling charge.