Raceway-Mounted Channel Letters: A Tidy Install With Fewer Holes in the Wall
A raceway is a narrow enclosure that the letters are fixed to. The wiring and electrical parts live inside it, so the wall only needs a few attachment points instead of a hole for every letter. Signs built this way are often called raceway signage or raceway-mounted signs.
It is a practical answer for leased spaces, sign bands in plazas and facades where the landlord wants as little drilling as possible.
- Free site visit & measurement
- Design included
- 2-year warranty
- Own workshop in Calgary
What a Raceway Is and How It Looks
The raceway is a slim box mounted to the wall, usually behind and below the letters. The letters are attached to its face, and the wiring from every letter runs inside it to one power connection.
From the street the raceway reads as a thin horizontal line behind the letters. It can be finished to blend with the wall so the letters stay the focus. At night, only the letters glow.
Advantages of Mounting on a Raceway
Fewer holes in the building
The wall needs a handful of fixings for the raceway rather than one penetration per letter. Easier on the facade and on landlords.
Wiring kept in one place
Electrical components are organized inside the enclosure, which keeps the install tidy and service simpler.
Straight, even letters
Letters are aligned on the raceway, so the spacing and level are exact along the whole sign.
Easier to remove when your lease ends
When a tenancy ends, removing one assembly leaves less damage behind than individually mounted letters.
Good for sign bands
Plazas with a defined sign band often suit a raceway, which sits neatly within it.
When a Raceway Is the Best Choice
- You lease the space and want to minimize wall damage
- The landlord or sign criteria limit penetrations into the facade
- Access behind the wall is difficult, so wiring each letter separately is impractical
- The plaza has a sign band where a raceway sits naturally
Where the wall is clean and you want the letters to appear directly on it, direct mounting looks lighter. On busy or patterned facades, a backer panel gives contrast as well as a single mounting surface. For plaza rules in general, see landlord sign criteria in Calgary.
How It Is Built and Installed
Raceway sized to the sign
The enclosure is made to the length of your sign and the size of the letters, with room for the wiring and electrical parts.
Finish that blends in
The raceway can be finished to match the wall, so attention stays on the lit letters.
Pre-assembled in the workshop
Letters are mounted and wired on the raceway in our shop and the whole assembly is lit and tested before it comes to site.
Quicker on site
Because the sign arrives as one assembly, installation is simpler: the raceway is fixed and connected, rather than each letter separately.
What Affects the Price
Raceway mounting is an option on top of the letters themselves, and it is calculated for your project. Installation is quoted separately (about CAD $100 per hour plus GST as a guide), and a pre-assembled raceway often keeps on-site time down.
- Length of the sign and the raceway
- Number and height of letters
- Lighting style
- Raceway finish
- Height and access for installation
For a first estimate of the letters, see the channel letter calculator.
Working within a lease or sign criteria?
Send us your landlord’s sign rules and a photo of the storefront. We will propose a mounting that fits them.
Process and Timeline
Free site visit, design concept and written quote, then production 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.
We install the assembly ourselves; it is covered by a 2-year warranty on the LED lighting, power supply, sign structure, materials and installation.
Raceway Questions
Yes, as a slim line behind the letters. It can be finished to blend with the wall so the letters stay the focus.
Because it needs fewer holes in the building and is easier to remove at the end of a lease.
Halo lighting needs a wall surface behind the letters to light. Tell us the look you want and we will suggest the mounting that achieves it.
Often it shortens on-site work because the sign arrives pre-assembled. The installation quote reflects your specific wall and access.