Do you love to travel? Looking for a unique way to display where you’ve been? Have you ever seen one of these ‘directional sign posts’? We’ve seen a couple now in our personal travels and have been inspired to create our very own! So we did. And we’ve lived to tell the tale, so we thought we might share the process with you.
What you’ll need:
- wooden pallet
- saw (any kind will do, but be sure to practice safety first!)
- assorted acrylic paints & brushes
- outdoor clear coat
- 4″ x 4″ x 8′ wood post
- shovel/post hole digger
- cement/heavy duty flower pot/stone/rocks/sand/dirt
- a level
- screws (we used 1-5/8″)
- drill
- step stool/ladder
Step 1: Cut up your pallet
You’ll need to start by obtaining the pieces of wood you’ll be using for each place/directional sign you’re going to create. You can of course go out and buy new pieces of wood, but pallets can be found mostly anywhere these days for free! (This is after all a budget blog.) Not sure where to look? Check your local Craigslist or Facebook Yard Sale page; you’re sure to find some kicking around.
When cutting up the pallet, you’ll want to aim just before the joint where the horizontal pieces meet the edge pieces (pictured below). As with any time you are using tools, it is important to rock eye protection and gloves to minimize injuries 😉
How many pieces you cut is entirely up to you! If you’re undertaking this DIY directional sign post project in the first place, you probably have a few places in mind. It’s worth cutting all of the pieces available to you from the pallet so that you have extra. This way, you can continue to make more as time goes.
Step 2: Paint your signs
Depending on your preference and the condition of the pallet you used, you can start painting! If the wood appears quite dirty, you can use water or a wood cleaner to brighten it up. We used some weathered pieces for added effect. You can also prepare the pieces of wood with a base coat or two of primer for a cleaner canvas. As you can see, we went for the weathered look and painted directly on the wood. This approach tends to preserve a more organic, natural look.
If you are looing for some inspiration, there are plenty of examples of signs, fonts and accents available via a quick Google Images search for ‘directional sign post’. Kat is artistically inclined and free-handed all of the signs you see on our directional sign post. But don’t sweat it, you’ve probably undertaken this project with the knowledge that there was a level of craftiness involved.
You’ve got this!
Plus, it’s more personal because you’ve put your own, personal spin on it! Also, you don’t necessarily need to add pictures, you can simply use words. This is craft freedom at it’s best! Take ours for example, we refrained from putting the number of km/miles on the signs (like some of the ones you’ll see). Why? We have no doubt that the sign will be moving with us at some point, so this way we won’t have to repaint them when that happens.
Now, you may be asking how we decided on which direction to place the arrows… We totally winged it! And it’s clear by the current installation pictured, it ended up a little heavy on the one side. If you can, start by writing out the list of places you plan to paint a sign for and label them N, E, S, W (North, East, South West) so that you can use this to help determine the direction of your arrows. That being said, we plan to add plenty more places to our directional sign post and can consider where they are currently located when painting future ones. Ultimately, it should even itself out.
After you’ve put the finishing touches on your pieces, you’ll want to add a coat of clear to preserve your work. We opted for KRYLON COLORmaxx Clear, an indoor/outdoor spray on product, available at your local hardware store. Depending on how many pieces you plan to clear will determine how much product you purchase (we used one can for 10 signs). There are a variety of options out there, including clear weather coating, but we went this route and will plan to update this post if we see any issues with that decision.
Step 3: Install your post
Depending on where you are planning to install the post, there are a various number of ways that this can be done. So, it’s worth doing some research before starting installation. You can bury a couple feet of the post in the ground for a firm structure. Adding stone or cement to the hole can add some stability to your foundation. Cement however can make moving the post difficult if you ever choose to move it.
We opted to bury a cement pot and fill it with stones to weigh it down and stabilize the post within the pot. We then added sand to fill the empty space in the pot and to add extra weight.
Note: It’s important to continuously check in with the position/angle of your post using an angle throughout the installation process.
Step 4: Attach your signs!
We’ve reached the final step in this DIY project, attaching your directional signs to your post. You’ll want to have a step stool or ladder available to install the pieces at the tippy top. Unless you are very tall.
Note: You’ll need a fair bit of pressure on the post to get each screw in, so this is a good time to test the stability of your post. If it leans easily, you may need to re-evaluate your burial job.
Before attaching the first sign, you’ll want to get your bearings to make sure your signs make sense. We started by finding true North on a compass and using that to guide the direction we had the signs pointed. After that, you’ll want to start attaching them in a relatively random fashion, alternating between post sides (see photo). And voila! You now have your very own directional sign post!
Note: You can also use a hammer and nails but we used screws for ease of removal in the event of damage or relocation. It’s entirely up to you!
We had a lot of fun with this project and hope you do too! We’d love to see your final products as well. Drop us a line below to tell us about your experience went or shoot us an email with a photograph. We’d love to share your directional sign post as well 🙂
