Channel Letters Mounted Directly on the Wall: Only Your Name on the Facade
With direct mounting, every letter is fixed to the building on its own. There is no raceway and no panel behind the letters, so from the street people see your name and the facade, and nothing else.
It is the lightest-looking way to mount channel letters, and it works best on a clean wall where the building itself makes a good background.
- Free site visit & measurement
- Design included
- 2-year warranty
- Own workshop in Calgary
What Direct Mounting Is and How It Looks
Each letter is attached to the wall separately and spaced exactly as in the approved design. Between the letters you see the facade: brick, stucco, cladding or paint.
Because nothing frames the name, the letters look like part of the building rather than a sign fixed onto it. In daylight the letter bodies throw their own shadows on the wall; after dark only the letters glow, or, with halo lighting, the wall around them.
Each letter needs its own fixings and its own electrical connection through the wall. That is the main difference from a raceway, where the wiring for all the letters runs inside one enclosure.
Why Choose Direct Mounting
The cleanest look
Only the letters are on the wall. There is no line of a raceway or edge of a panel to compete with your name.
The facade works for you
A good-looking wall, such as brick, dark cladding or a freshly painted surface, becomes the background of the sign at no extra cost.
Free letter placement
Letters and logo parts can sit at different heights or follow the architecture, because they are not tied to a shared base.
Natural fit for halo lighting
Halo-lit letters need a wall behind them to light up. Mounted directly on the facade, the halo forms on the building itself.
Nothing extra to build
Without a raceway or a backer panel, there is no extra structure to make, finish and maintain.
When Direct Mounting Is the Best Choice
- The wall is in good condition and its colour gives the letters enough contrast
- You own the building, or the landlord allows fixings for every letter
- You want halo-lit or front & halo-lit letters glowing on the facade itself
- The logo has separate parts that should sit freely on the wall
- It is possible to reach the back of the wall to run the wiring for each letter
Direct mounting is not always the right answer. If the landlord limits holes in the facade or the space is leased for a short term, a raceway needs far fewer penetrations. If the wall is patterned, uneven or a colour that swallows the letters, a backer panel gives the name its own background. Plaza rules often decide the question for you; see landlord sign criteria in Calgary.
What We Check on the Site Visit
Whether direct mounting will work is decided on site, not guessed from a photo. On the free site visit we look at:
- The wall material and its condition where the letters will go
- What is behind the wall, and how the wiring for each letter can reach it
- Where the power connection for the sign can be made
- The colour and texture of the wall, and how the letters will read against it by day and at night
- The landlord’s sign criteria and any limits on fixings
- Height and access for the installation
If something rules direct mounting out, we tell you on the spot and suggest the mounting that fits the wall.
How the Letters Are Built and Installed
Made for your wall
The letters are designed with the wall in mind: the fixings and the wiring exit of every letter are planned before production.
Tested in the workshop
Every letter is assembled, wired and lit in our Calgary workshop before it comes to site, so lighting problems are found on the bench, not on your wall.
Placed to the approved layout
On site, the positions of the letters are marked from the approved design, so the spacing and the level match what you saw in the concept.
Halo letters on spacers
Halo-lit letters are mounted on spacers a short distance off the wall, which gives the light room to spread and form the glowing outline. See halo-lit channel letters.
What Affects the Price
The price of the letters depends on their number, height and lighting; direct mounting itself adds no raceway or panel to build. Installation is quoted separately (about CAD $100 per hour plus GST as a guide) because each letter is fixed and connected on site.
- Number and height of letters
- Lighting style
- Wall material and what is behind it
- Height and access for installation
For a first estimate of the letters, see the channel letter calculator.
Not sure your wall suits direct mounting?
Send a photo of the storefront. We will tell you which mounting fits and confirm it on a free site visit.
Process and Timeline
Once the wall is checked on the site visit and you approve the design and the written quote, the letters are made in about two weeks. We handle all the sign permit paperwork: we prepare the drawings, specifications and documents and submit the application on your behalf. If you prefer to apply yourself, you get the complete package from us, ready to submit.
Our own team installs the letters, and the sign is covered by a 2-year warranty on the LED lighting, power supply, sign structure, materials and installation.
Direct Mounting Questions
Yes. Each letter has its own fixings and its own connection through the wall, while a raceway needs only a few fixings for the whole sign.
Yes, and it is the usual way: the letters sit on spacers off the facade, and the light forms a halo on the wall behind them.
It depends on the wall material, what is behind it and the landlord’s rules. We check all of this on the free site visit.
The fixing and wiring holes for each letter remain. If you lease the space, check what the lease says about restoring the facade.
There is no raceway or panel to make, but each letter is fixed and connected on site. Your written quote shows the full price for your wall.