Brad Hominick Helps Canadian Village Stand Tall With Vertical Monument Sign

Brad Hominick, president of an eponymous company, designed out-of-home signage for 20 years for what is now CBS Outdoor before starting his own sign-design and fabrication shop in 2000. Two years ago, he transferred his design expertise and knowledge of structural engineering into the production of his first monument signs, which entailed two entry markers for Ontario’s Terrace Bay Township.

Earlier this year, his portfolio earned him the job of developing a unique monument sign for Nipigon, a logging and fishing community of approximately 1,700 residents near the Nipigon River and Lake Superior. Firedog Communications, an advertising firm from nearby Thunder Bay that the township hired to coordinate the project, contracted with Hominick to develop the sign.

Firedog’s Henry Suarez developed the original-concept artwork and print files using Adobe Illustrator. Hominick scaled the artwork for the project, and said he had complete creative autonomy to develop the monument.

Hominick hired a structural engineer to design the sign’s 4-in.-sq., tubular-metal internal support structure, which he MIG-welded to form, and the sign’s concrete footings. Hominick selected Douglas fir for the monument’s construction because of its resistance to the elements, and ordered the material from a local lumberyard.

He cut the wood components with a 10.25-in.-diameter circular saw, a 3-ft.-wide bandsaw, a reciprocating saw and a hand planer. Hominick laminated the timber layers together with epoxy, and cut panels with a bandsaw. He fashioned curves with a 5-in.-diameter jigsaw blade. Using self-tapping bolts with countersunk heads, Hominick joined the wood components. He also sanded the bolt heads to be flush with the wood surface, and glued on wood plugs to conceal the hardware.

To embellish the 14.5 x 12.5-ft., 9-in.-thick timbers, Hominick used a two-part, polyurethane stain typically used for log homes. To further fortify the wood, he used a single coat of UV-protectant varnish. To fabricate the sign components, he outsourced custom production to Gemini. He said the fish were fabricated from flat-cutout, 3/8-in.-thick aluminum, and the Nipigon logo and slogan were built from ½-in.-thick acrylic. All are clad with plotter-cut vinyl; the logo and fish cut-outs were pin-mounted on 1-in. standoffs.

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To secure his construction, he augured two, 2 x 8-ft. holes, set Sonotube® concrete forms, which contain rebar cages and anchor bolts, and filled the holes with concrete formulated to 3,500 psi. A crane was required to erect the monument into place.

A local landscaping firm created the surrounding river-rock setting to help emphasize the rustic environment. And, a playground-equipment manufacturer produced the netting, which serves as a backdrop detail, to Hominick’s specifications.