Grand Ole Opry, Brand New Face

This article originally appeared at our sister publication, Big Picture.

THANKS TO THE TEAM at a local Minuteman Press franchise, the Grand Ole Opry House looks as good on the outside as the music sounds on the inside.

In fact, the music never stopped, even while the full vinyl wrap of the front this Nashville institution was still ongoing. The Minuteman crew had to pack up and leave by 3 p.m. to make room for regular live shows. The weather didn’t always cooperate either, recalls franchise owner John Taylor. “We should have been able to install it in roughly one week with a crew of three,” he says. “It ended up taking two.”

Nonetheless, the entire project took only seven weeks. The first week focused on surveying and providing templates to guide construction and art. While awaiting approvals, the Minuteman team began prepping the stamped concrete surface for the 3M IJ-480 exterior vinyl (printed on an HP360 Latex printer) and 3M 8520 matte overlaminate (applied with a GBC roll laminator). From there, they hung and registered the 58-inch-wide panels together. Next came a boom lift with heat gun, torch, roller, and a single installer with “very tired arms” to heat and press the vinyl, Taylor says.

For the Minuteman franchise, the project marked the latest chapter in an ongoing partnership with Opry House owner Ryman Hospitality Partners. “We’ve done projects from Nashville to New York City for them,” Taylor says. As for the new front of house of the Opry, “My favorite reaction was from a security guard who said, ‘I haven’t seen this many people stop and have their pictures taken in front of the building in years and years!’ He’s been there over 15 years, so that was so gratifying to hear him say that.”

• Expansive
  The two-part installation process required use of the team’s 55-foot boom truck for the first phase of installation and a rented, 45-foot boom lift for the second.
• Challenging
  In addition to shutting down early for shows, the installation crew had to block off their work area to allow for regular tours of the iconic building.
• Illusory
  The material beneath the vinyl is not wood, but stamped concrete. Mimicking rough-cut cedar, it features deep woodgrain and more than half-inch depth difference between the faux panels.

Advertisement