Hanging up a farm sign

[Lucassb]

So… at long last, my beautiful new farm sign was delivered, and I am dying to put it up at the end of the driveway. (I’ve only been waiting a few decades to see that after dreaming about it for literally decades, LOL.)

How do you all hang your signs? Our local Lowes doesn’t have any suitable posts, and I am not sure where else to look.

Also, in a related note … for those who are in more suburban locations, how do you locate/secure your signs? I noticed that there was a bit of a problem around graduation time here recently… some (stupid) teens drove around in a pickup and bashed in not only a few mailboxes but also trashed a few of my neighbors’ farm signs. These things cost a small fortune so I am planning to locate mine far enough from the street that it won’t be particularly accessible. Other things I should be considering???

[ohnoO]

How big is the sign? Is it designed to hang from two hooks on the top?
Could you use a fence post and then a 4X4 off one side with an angled “arm” to hold up the 4X4?
Then paint it a dark color to complement the sign—black, navy, hunter green, maroon?
If possible I would put it at least two baseball bat lengths off the road. It’s been my experience that the sign/mail box destruction is usually done from a vehicle window or truck bed with a baseball bat.

Or you could hang it in front of the barn where it’s safe and you can see it all day.

[ohnoO]

I think what you want is called a real estate sign post, or just an estate sign post.

[Bluey]

@ohnoO

How big is the sign? Is it designed to hang from two hooks on the top?
Could you use a fence post and then a 4X4 off one side with an angled “arm” to hold up the 4X4?
Then paint it a dark color to complement the sign—black, navy, hunter green, maroon?
If possible I would put it at least two baseball bat lengths off the road. It’s been my experience that the sign/mail box destruction is usually done from a vehicle window or truck bed with a baseball bat.

Or you could hang it in front of the barn where it’s safe and you can see it all day.

That last bolded, if you are not in business open to the public, you may want to reconsider hanging a sign on the road.
Better put it where it won’t attract attention, some that may be unwanted attraction, like suggested, closer to your house or barn.

We just did that, moved our fancy sign to the barn, not more on the main gate, where it was attracting attention we didn’t want and trespassers.
There is a small sign there now on the gate itself.

If you are open to the public, then you will want it to be seen, so it needs to be on the road.

For that some set a wood yard post, then bolt another horizontally and hang their sign from that.
Or set two smaller posts and sandwich the sign between them.

Careful if you dig holes, there may be lines going thru there, call digtest first, here 811.

[Lucassb]

@ohnoO

How big is the sign? Is it designed to hang from two hooks on the top?
Could you use a fence post and then a 4X4 off one side with an angled “arm” to hold up the 4X4?
Then paint it a dark color to complement the sign—black, navy, hunter green, maroon?
If possible I would put it at least two baseball bat lengths off the road. It’s been my experience that the sign/mail box destruction is usually done from a vehicle window or truck bed with a baseball bat.

Or you could hang it in front of the barn where it’s safe and you can see it all day.

It’s about 2’ x2’ I would say… and yes, designed to hang from 2 hooks at the top.

I was thinking a fence post was the way to go but so far, I haven’t found any that would be tall enough. Once you sink the bottom into concrete, they are only 5ish feet off the ground at the very most, which puts the sign only a couple feet from the ground. Sigh. I love the idea of painting the post to complement the sign. Any idea where to find a taller version?

We are definitely going to plant the post well off the road. I agree that the kids who trash these things are doing so from the bed of a truck or similar. Luckily, our driveway slopes down from the road so there is no way that you could reach the post from a moving vehicle. Hopefully, no one will take the time/trouble to actually turn down the driveway to have a swing at it (and I think that is pretty unlikely.)

I know it sounds silly but I really do want it out front. We are on a pretty quiet residential street with lots of small farms so it’s typical for the neighborhood.

[Lucassb]

@ohnoO

I think what you want is called a real estate sign post, or just an estate sign post.

Thanks, I’ll see if searching for that has better results!

[Lucassb]

@Lolliver

This is my sign. I have a tree with a branch that is at a 90 degree angle from the trunk, so I have the sign hung from the branch. It is hung with chains, as it’s pretty heavy!

Oooooooh that is beautiful!! Maybe I just need to plant a (big) tree!!! Ours is heavy too, and will definitely need chains…

[cutter99]

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“thumb”,“data-attachmentid”:10213836}[/ATTACH] We chose to intregrate our sign into the gate on the barn lane. Someone would have to come into the lane and pass by the house to do damage to it, yet it is large enough to be visible from the road, even though it is about 50 feet away.

[Palm_Beach]

OP, I agree you need to be back from the road a bit to keep the mailbox bashers and snow plows from damaging your sign. Since it’s just a sign hanging from the post, do you need to concrete the post? They are a bitch to dig out. I’ve never seen a sign hung higher than 5’, so I think you might be OK.

[et_fig]

@Lucassb

Thanks, I’ll see if searching for that has better results!

We had our sign made from horseshoes welded together. I was planning on using basically the estate sign post (basically the same thing a mailbox sits ontop), except they’re not tall enough.

They’re easy enough to buy a 4x4 or 6x6 and make them yourselves, that’s what we’re going to do.

[Lucassb]

@cutter99

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“thumb”,“data-attachmentid”:10213836}[/ATTACH] We chose to intregrate our sign into the gate on the barn lane. Someone would have to come into the lane and pass by the house to do damage to it, yet it is large enough to be visible from the road, even though it is about 50 feet away.

That is lovely! I already have the sign done, though…

[2DogsFarm]

You can buy treated 4X4 posts in 8 or 10ft lengths.
Home Depot:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-4…4354/205220341

https://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-4…8741/301913694

I’d love to see a pic of your sign. :yes:

I am still in the Dreaming Of stages for mine - which I want to sink into the berm that faces my road.
I’ll probably end up with the engraved concrete plaque-type I’ve seen - quotes are running ~$300 for those in a 3X3 size.

[Nestor]

My friends’ farm sign is actually embedded in a raised planter bed. It’s in a metal frame, so probably more than you wanted, but creating a raised bed gives you more “earth” to embed the posts in so the sign is hung higher. The bed was there when they bought it, they just redid the signs.

This is their farm (you can see the sign in their profile photo): https://www.facebook.com/meadowbrookfarmct/?fb_dtsg_ag=AdxyT1Wy_WXskZa5WiORV3uSIiTpAP7UCVPGLcyxf4bN7w%3AAdyHJGfmjZSP3k815iQ0KyHN9Qv8TCHuJXwHiAb9vT7uPw

[Guilherme]

Unless there is something unique that would make your sign very heavy it’s not a very big sign as signs go and two 4x4 treated posts would be very satisfactory. If you want a bit more you can do 6x6. These will likely be square posts but I bet with some Googling you could found round posts of the same size. You can space the posts out and attach with chains or you can put them to together and attach straight to the posts. You also put post out at the size of the sign and put a channel on the posts wood or metal) and slide the sign in. If it’s printed on both sides this might be the best way, along with the chain system.

It’s pretty much a question of where you have to put the posts (based on law and the lay the land) and what you like best.

Enjoy your new sign!!!

G.

[Lucassb]

@et_fig

We had our sign made from horseshoes welded together. I was planning on using basically the estate sign post (basically the same thing a mailbox sits ontop), except they’re not tall enough.

They’re easy enough to buy a 4x4 or 6x6 and make them yourselves, that’s what we’re going to do.

My sign is already made and I am really happy with it. I think we just need a taller post than a 6 x 6, because of how far we have to sink it into the ground (and yes, for those who asked, it does have to be set in concrete.)

[et_fig]

@Lucassb

My sign is already made and I am really happy with it. I think we just need a taller post than a 6 x 6, because of how far we have to sink it into the ground (and yes, for those who asked, it does have to be set in concrete.)

heh, a 6x6 is the diameter measurements. you can get them as long as the tree is tall! @2DogsFarm got it for you

[TCA_Arabians]

If it’s painted and engraved on both sides, I’m guessing you want it to hang perpendicular to the road so it can be seen by those coming and going. The recommendations above are all good. You might also look into rot iron with one rod going into the ground and the arm perpendicular to the post. HD sells those and you might find someone that specializes in rot iron.

You can do the same with wood. It’s just a bit more work to cut the pieces to fit into one another. That’s a real purty sign.

[Foxglove]

One word of caution --we are in an area that attracts tourists who drive the back roads to see Amish farms. More than ne beautifully carved sign has been removed --ie stolen-- from its post. One neighbor resorted to paddocking her sign to the post through the I bolts --someone used bolt cutters the second time. Then she bolted the sign directly to the posts --and someone unbolted it and took it anyway. She lost 5 signs in 25 years —My sign is attached to the fence but far enough off the road that one must park, walk up a hill, and be in view of the house to remove.

[clanter]

@Bluey

Careful if you dig holes, there may be lines going thru there, call digtest first, here 811.

might want to photograph the site after it is marked to prove where they marked… we hit an ATT fiber optics trunk cable once… they wanted $500,000 to repair the cable…yes a half a million dollars… that was until we showed them the photos of the site after it was marked …and by the way the cable was outside easement by some fifty feet…and the cable ran for nearly 3/4 of mile parallel to the easement but outside it … the land owner jumped in to tell ATT to pull the cable out of his property and here is the bill for having the cable on the land.

ATT and the land owner came to an agreement about the back lease and then a lease for the cable… ATT fixed the cable on their own as it was not where it was supposed to have been

[Lucassb]

Thanks, all…this was super helpful and I finally found a relatively local Home Depot in the next town so we are going to make a trip this weekend

PS @Foxglove that is CRAZY that people were stealing farm signs. Good lord. Those suckers are expensive!! I am planning to locate the sign where you’d actually have to turn into the driveway and be in full view of the house to get to it, so hopefully that will dissuade anyone from that kind of behavior. We are on a pretty quiet residential street so I’d not expect tourists or similar, and hopefully that will help too.