Signshop Creates Massive Letter Set for University of Kansas

GRANDMARK SIGNS (Lenexa, KS), a member of the Sign Biz Inc. network, recently completed their biggest project yet: the first set of free-standing letters for the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS).

The Crossing at KU is a mixed-use development with retail, dining and living spaces. The shop was contacted about the job by WilClair, a local sheet metal fabricator that partners with GrandMark for certain projects. They used Adobe Illustrator to create shop drawings for the structural engineering company to sign off, based on concepts provided by the architect. “The key requirements for the letters is they had to be aesthetically pleasing while holding up to the expected abuse from the weather and human element,” says GrandMark founder and president Joe Tindall.

The depth of the signs changed from 24 in. to 30 in. during the design process, Tindall says. Once designs were finalized, the shop used two different Miller welders, with the Multimatic 235 as the main welder, a waterjet and their ShopSabre Professional CNC Router to construct “THE CROSSING@KU” letters. “The internal structure of each letter and symbol took a great deal of time to fabricate. Each letter and symbol has an internal skeleton and the faces were made using 3/8-in. thick aluminum. The returns used .090 aluminum,” Tindall says. The team then primed and painted the letters and symbol with the Matthews Paint System.

The sheer size of the characters presented a few issues for GrandMark. The larger letters stand at 5 ft. high, 30 in. deep and weigh 325-375 lbs. while the @ symbol and “KU” letters stand at 8 ft. high and weigh 525-750 lbs. according to Tindall. They had to use their Toyota forklift and heavy-duty casters to move the letters and symbol into the shop. Afterwards, because the characters could not fit inside the shop’s spray paint booth, the built a temporary shelter to protect the letters and staff alike during painting.

Rosie Ralston, lead fabricator for the project, stands next to the “U” letter for scale. Photo provided by Joe Tindall, GrandMark Signs.

Installation required a 2020 Isuzu 16-ft. box truck to transport the characters and various hand tools, a 2017 RAM 5500 truck with a 60-ft. Elliott lift and material handler, and an 80-ft. crane. GrandMark fastened the letters to the ground by square steel posts embedded into concrete. “We had to be very precise to ensure that each letter and symbol lined up exactly with the ground posts,” Tindall recalls. They developed two sets of templates on plywood sheets, which were routed on their ShopSabre router to ensure they were identical. One template set was used to set the posts into concrete, the other helped make sure the receiver holes in each letter and symbol lined up with the ground posts.

And that was just the first set of letters, one of two to face the two busiest streets in Lawrence. “They were constructed and finished to last for years and will continue to get major exposure,” Tindall says. The second set, which is identical to the first, is under way.