Why are signs so EXPENSIVE?!?!?!

[MCRoads]

Just... why?

[Max Rockatansky]

Price of metal?

[MCRoads]

Price of metal?

I highly doubt a 30x30 in peace of metal with some vinyl on it costs $60 plus shipping... less than 30x30 because the corners are cut off to make the stop sign...

[Max Rockatansky]

Price of metal?

I highly doubt a 30x30 in peace of metal with some vinyl on it costs $60 plus shipping... less than 30x30 because the corners are cut off to make the stop sign...

Most 24x24s I've seen from sign makers cost around $60 before shipping.  I assume the cost alluminnum doesn't stay flat.  Throw on the cost for vinyl and payroll for someone to make the actual sign as cost factors. 

[Scott5114]

Road signs are made of 80 mil (0.080" thick) aluminum. By comparison, an aluminum can is about 4 mil. Gives you an idea how much aluminum is really in a sign.

[kalvado]

https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-aluminum-sheets/=1cr0nt2
General purpose metal from mid-volume industrial supplier

[hotdogPi]

24 in * 24 in * 0.08 in * 2.7 g/cm³ * US$1.05/lb = US$4.72

Signs cost more than that.

[jeffandnicole]

You have metal, then you have the design on the metal (Do Not Enter, a state route number, etc). Then you have the reflective portion of the sign. You have to consider people are making those signs and inspecting them, so there's salaries, building costs, machine expenses, benefit costs, etc. If the sign has rounded corners, the sign was already made with square corners and the corners were rounded, so that metal was still used and is trashed.

I'm surprised you found a 30x30 sign for only $60. Most that size are over $100.

[DaBigE]

Try and order a roll of reflective sheeting (no, it's not just vinyl) from 3M or Avery...you'll see why signs are not cheap. You're also paying for the warranty as well. Digital printing should eventually bring prices lower as the technology and warranties improve, and more DOTs trust them over traditional sign manufacturing methods.

[paulthemapguy]

Try and order a roll of reflective sheeting (no, it's not just vinyl) from 3M or Avery...you'll see why signs are not cheap. You're also paying for the warranty as well. ...

This.  You're paying for a piece of infrastructure that's supposed to last for 10+ years...and high-prismatic sheeting isn't cheap like paper, as a lot of research and development has gone into developing highly reflective materials.  You're not going to be able to read just any old sign driving around at night.  This sheeting material is fancy stuff.  I'm going to go measure the reflectivity of various signs at work today, actually!  I need to tell the sign department which signs to change out, because that sheeting/facing material deteriorates over time, making the signs impossible to read at night.

[seicer]

Curious how you read the reflectivity of a sign?

[DaBigE]

Curious how you read the reflectivity of a sign?

With a Retroreflectometer

[MCRoads]

These prices are from Rice Signs.

30x30 in STOP signs is $44.01*
30x30 in DO NOT ENTER sign is $61.47*
36x12 in ONE WAY signs (both ways) cost $36.63*
24x24 in I-40 OKLAHOMA shield costs $70.50*

There are really big price differences...

* these prices are with standard free shipping and no tax.

[hbelkins]

Several years ago, Kentucky experimented with using some sort of non-metallic material for its signs. I suspect it was fiberglass. That idea was abandoned; I'm not sure why.

Do any states still use wooden signs? I know Arizona was as late as the early 90s.

[DaBigE]

Several years ago, Kentucky experimented with using some sort of non-metallic material for its signs. I suspect it was fiberglass. That idea was abandoned; I'm not sure why.

Do any states still use wooden signs? I know Arizona was as late as the early 90s.

Many of Wisconsin's unisigns and ground-mounted destination signs are wood. Most standard details from WisDOT give the option.

[SectorZ]

Several years ago, Kentucky experimented with using some sort of non-metallic material for its signs. I suspect it was fiberglass. That idea was abandoned; I'm not sure why.

Do any states still use wooden signs? I know Arizona was as late as the early 90s.

Massachusetts a long time ago used wooden signs. I believe almost all are extinct in the wild. There is a broken one still out there that I cannot remember where it is.

[seicer]

Ohio had wooden signs until recently on US 52. They didn't seem to hold up as well as the metal counterparts.

Kentucky did use fiberglass extensively - I remember seeing them in the northeast and east parts of the state in the late 1990's.

[WillWeaverRVA]

VDOT uses wooden signs, but only for temporary assemblies until a permanent assembly is installed.

[roadman]

Several years ago, Kentucky experimented with using some sort of non-metallic material for its signs. I suspect it was fiberglass. That idea was abandoned; I'm not sure why.

Do any states still use wooden signs? I know Arizona was as late as the early 90s.

Massachusetts a long time ago used wooden signs. I believe almost all are extinct in the wild. There is a broken one still out there that I cannot remember where it is.

Massachusetts phased out the use of plywood for permanent signs in the 1980s, although you will sometimes still find the odd straggler out there in the wild.  Plywood is still used for larger specialty temporary signs for work zones, but most of the "standard"  TTC signs are now either aluminum or "roll-up" vinyl - the latter are used only for short tern day operations.

[odditude]

These prices are from Rice Signs.

30x30 in STOP signs is $44.01*
30x30 in DO NOT ENTER sign is $61.47*
36x12 in ONE WAY signs (both ways) cost $36.63*
24x24 in I-40 OKLAHOMA shield costs $70.50*

There are really big price differences...

* these prices are with standard free shipping and no tax.

STOP vs DO NOT ENTER: you have a significantly larger area covered by sheeting on DO NOT ENTER

Interstate shield: complex cuts, large amount of waste (disposal of waste has cost involved), 3 different types of sheeting with lots of waste on each...

[DRMan]

I think this guy is going to find that his signs are very expensive indeed:

http://www.unionleader.com/crime/construction-subcontractor-said-to-have-a-thing-for-signs-arraigned-allegedly-struck-statewide-20180507

[JoePCool14]

They're expensive things to produce, from the materials themselves, to the research involved, to the labor of actually constructing it. It's more complex than it seems on the surface.

By the looks of this thread, I get the impression that you're looking to buy some signs. If you are, I'd personally suggest Road Traffic Signs. Their prices are decently low and the signs themselves are really high quality. I won't lie, I've bought a few just to... have around.

I usually purchase the smaller sizes where possible to keep costs down.

[traffic light guy]

Would be pretty damn funny if the city said screw it, and put up writing on paper instead of actual signs

[formulanone]

I think this guy is going to find that his signs are very expensive indeed:

http://www.unionleader.com/crime/construction-subcontractor-said-to-have-a-thing-for-signs-arraigned-allegedly-struck-statewide-20180507

We didn't know he was kleptomaniac, but when they examined his home, all the signs were there.

What's the jail term for grand theft nautica?

[US 89]

Do any states still use wooden signs? I know Arizona was as late as the early 90s.

Utah installed wooden signs as late as the mid-2000s. They aren't installed anymore, but you can easily find them in the field, especially in rural areas where they probably outnumber newer metal signs. In addition, any freeway that hasn't been reconstructed or re-signed since 2007 or so will have wood BGSs.