Pylon signs
Tall freestanding structures for roadside commercial visibility. Multi-tenant directories, gas stations, retail centres, office parks.
Pylon signs are commercial signage at its loudest — purpose-built to be legible at highway speeds from hundreds of metres. They are also the most heavily regulated piece of signage in most BC municipalities, with specific rules on maximum height, setback, and illumination.
Typical applications
- Multi-tenant directory pylons — 3-8 interchangeable tenant panels on a single structure, for strip malls and commercial plazas. Panels swap as tenants change.
- Branded totems — single-brand pylons for gas stations, QSRs, and franchise retail. Full face illumination, branded graphics, often with an integrated price/promo board.
- Way-showing pylons — smaller 2-4m pylons used for internal wayfinding in large retail centres and business parks.
Engineering
Every pylon requires a structural engineer’s stamp for BC permit submission. Typical footing is a reinforced concrete caisson, sized to local frost depth and wind load. For the Okanagan we design to 140 km/h wind and 1.2m frost depth; coastal installations use different criteria.
Electrical service is usually dedicated, run underground from the nearest service panel to a weatherproof disconnect at the base of the pylon.
- Commercial plaza multi-tenant directories
- Retail and restaurant roadside identification
- Gas station branded totems
- Office park and industrial park entrance markers
- Shopping centre primary signage
Monument signs
Low-profile freestanding ground signs. Stone, CMU, or clad steel. The permanent identity piece at an entrance or driveway.
Single-sided light box
Flush-mounted illuminated panel with acrylic face and metal frame. Standard storefront and interior brand panel format.
Face-lit letters
Translucent-face letters that transmit light forward. Highest daytime legibility. The standard for commercial and retail.