Brandon Industries

For the next few weeks, let’s take a look at where you can find our streetscape products, and how they’re benefitting neighborhoods and communities around the nation. We’ll start in Florida.

Winter Garden Village Florida Streetscape Project

Winter Garden Village is a high-end, full-service shopping district that serves Winter Garden, Florida — a thriving community of 30,000 not far from Orlando. It’s the home of restaurants like Chipotle, Macaroni Grill and Chili’s, and anchor stores like Super Target, Best Buy and Lowe’s. And the center hosts regular events like car shows, wine tastings, and design displays, meaning thousands of people visit the center every day. Proper signage is critical.

The open-air shopping center covers more than 1,100,000 square feet, and the streetscape we installed helps all of it fit together.

What We Installed:

Decorative Street Signs – Perfect to enhance Winter Garden Village’s center-wide vintage theme. The signs are inviting and professional, and draw attention to the important information they aim to communicate to arriving shoppers.

Fluted Poles – Strong. Sturdy. Attractive. These 4-foot OD poles add personality and charm.

Slip Over Bases and Acorn Finials – Perfectly accent the the signs, and add a touch of elegance.

Various Sign Trims – Complete the cohesive look that exists throughout the shopping center. These extra touches show a sense commitment to detail and excellence.

Check out more pictures of our work at Florida’s Winter Garden Village Streetscape.

At Brandon Industries, we’re making it easier than ever for you to stay in touch with us. Why?

Because access to information matters when learning how to improve your neighborhood through effective streetscapes. So we’re using technology to keep you up to date about the latest sales, new product information, installation advice, opportunities for live support and feedback, and the latest studies showing how innovative streetscapes can both improve property values and community safety levels.

Here’s how we’re doing it:

1. Live Support — For full confidence that you’re getting the streetscape that matches your community’s vision. For simple questions and answers, there’s our Streetscapes FAQ. But sometimes you just need to talk to someone live. You can do that here, and be certain that you’ll get streetscape support and advice for as far into the future as you need it. Our live support provides instant peace of mind. This feature is also available by using the LIVE SUPPORT ONLINE link at the top of every page on our site.

2. Brandon Industries Facebook — For news and updates, plus a chance to be a part of the Brandon Industries community. Hear from other Brandon customers who’ve successfully seen Brandon’s streetscapes transform their neighborhoods, and exchange ideas about which community improvement approach to take. Also, you can leave feedback for us about ways you think we could improve our products and services. We’d love to hear from you.

3. Brandon Industries Twitter — For instant news and updates about sales, new products, changes and new blog posts.

4. Streetscapes Blog (of course) — For installation demonstrations, product catalog updates, and the latest things we’re learning about neighborhood improvement, light pollution, safe streets, and environmentally friendly communities. Check back often.

Still not satisfied? Contact us the usual way, and we’ll get you all the information you need.

Sign Pole Installation

Before placing your order you need to contact your local authorities about all applicable ordinances and codes to make sure that the installation will comply. The clearance height to the bottom of the lowest sign is typically 7 feet. Your location may have additional requirements and specifications with regard to sign dimensions, vinyl types and more.

Before you begin your installation you must contact your local utility companies. Wait the required amount of time for them to survey. Respect the locate marks and dig with care. Failing to do so may result in property damage, injury or even death.

1. Sign Pole Installation
2. Dig your hole according to local codes and soil conditions.
3. Insert the pole with the holes or channels properly aligned with the roadway.
4. Level and brace the pole in place.
5. Create a form for the cement footing to be slightly above grade. This will serve to protect the finish of the pole from soil and lawn equipment. See Example A
6. Fill the hole with cement according to manufacturer’s instructions.
7. Recheck with level and adjust as needed.*
8. Return after the concrete is sufficiently cured to install signs and other components to the pole.

NOTE: At this time it may be wise to install regulatory signs such as STOP signs and YIELD signs as a matter of public safety. Weather conditions may dictate that other components not be installed until after the cement has had time to cure.

Fluted Sign Pole and Smooth Sign Pole installations require holes to be drilled for mounting the signs, trims and brackets. Be sure to include the thickness of the sign trim when determining the clearance height of the lowest sign. When using a hand drill it is recommended that the holes be measured and drilled from each side of the pole for better alignment.

Channel Sign Pole (Patent Pending) installations do not require drilling. Traffic signs and trims are attached to a channel by sliding the nut or bolt into the channel and tightening.

Installing Street Sign Blades Into Sign Trims
Slide Double-sided street sign into trim and use set screw to hold into place.

Mailbox Installation

When selecting the location for your custom decorative mailbox, it is critical that you plan carefully as the letter carrier must be able to access the mailbox from the street without leaving his/her vehicle. Check with your postmaster for current installation requirements. For developers and builders i is important that the distance from the curb be the same on all mailboxes for the sake of uniformity.

Bolt Down Pedestals & Posts

If there is no cement where you wish to install your mailbox:

You will need 3/8″ diameter anchor bolts with nuts and washers.

Mailbox Installation Fig. A

Make a template of the bottom of the pedestal indicating the locations of the four holes in relation to each other. The accuracy of this template is crucial to insure ease of installation. Dig a hole of the desired diameter for your pedestal or post and a minimum of 6′ deep. Construct a frame and place it over the hole before pouring your concrete. Adjust the height if the frame to achieve the desired height above the road surface. Finishing out your concrete above ground level will help prevent lawnmowers and edgers from damaging the bottom of your post. Make sure the frame is level.

Mix the concrete according to its direction and use it to fill the hole. Level the surface of the concrete. Use the template to place the bolts into the wet cement. Take great care that the bolts are in their proper positions. Before the cement is dry, we recommend that you place the pedestal over the bolts to insure that they positioned properly (fig. A). Once the cement is dry, remove the frame. Place the pedestal over the bolts followed by the washers and the nuts. Tighten the nuts with a wrench to hold the pedestal securely in place.

If there is cement where you wish to install your mailbox:

You will need 3/8′ diameter expansion bolts.

Carefully mark the cement with the locations of the holes to be drilled. Using a 3/8″ masonry bit, drill holes in the cement to a depth in accordance with the expansion bolts you have selected.

Mailbox Installation Fig B

Place the expansion bolts into the holed and verify that the holes line up with the holes in your pedestal. Using a hammer, tap the expansion bolts into the holes you have drilled. This will wedge the bolts into the cement. Set the mailbox pedestal over the bolts and fasten it securely by tightening the nuts down with a wrench.

Direct Burial Poles & Posts

The first step is to anchor the direct-burial post into the ground with concrete. Adjust the depth of the post hole to achieve the desired height above the road surface. Finishing out your concrete above ground level will help to prevent lawnmowers and edgers from damaging the bottom of your post (fig B).

Note:  Before the concrete sets completely, make sure that the post is straight and that the mailbox will face the street.

Mailbox Installation Fig C

Mailbox Assembly

Top Mount Mailbox To Pedestal

Set the mailbox on the pedestal. With the door open, align the two holes in the bottom of the mailbox with the two threaded holes on the top of the pedestal. With the bolts provided, fasten the two parts together. (fig. C)

Mailbox Installation Fig D

Top Mount Mailbox To Post

Carefully slide the optional decorative slip-over base over the post. If required, securely attach bracket(s) to the top of the post with the bolts. Next, align the holes in the mailbox with those on the bracket(s) and/or post. Securely fasten the mailbox into place with the nuts and bolts. Then attach the flag to the side of the mailbox as well as any lettering and./or house numbers. (fig D)

Mailbox Installation Fig E

Side Mount Mailbox To Post

Carefully slide the optional decorative slip-over base over the pole. Next, securely attach the bracket(s) to the post with the bolts. Align the holes in the mailbox with those on the bracket and/or post. Securely fasten the mailbox in place with the bolts. Attach the finial to the top of the post using the hex key provided. Then attach the flag to the side of the mailbox as well as lettering and/or house numbers. (fig. E)

Please Note:

Customers are required to contact the local post office before installing the box to ensure its correct placement and height at the street. Generally, mailboxes are installed at a height of 41-45″ from the road surface to the inside floor of the mailbox or point of mail entry and are set back 6-8″ from the front face of curb or road edge to the mailbox door.

Environmentally Friendly HID Lighting

There’s going to be no shortage of environmental problems for us to face in the coming years, and therefore no shortage of environmental legislation attempting to deal with them. We’re proactive at Brandon Industries, both to maintain a sustainable future for our Dallas-area communities, and also so you won’t have to replace commercial streetscape equipment every time a new product hits the market or a new environmental legislation hits the books.

The Energy Independence Act of 2007 embodies just this. The law restricts the use of probe start ballasts for metal halide luminaires. Beginning last January, all 150W-500W metal halide luminaires were required to contain pulse start ballasts that met an 88 percent efficiency standard. Retrofitting existing probe start ballasts wasn’t required, but finding replace probe start lamps in the future is uncertain. So we’re jumping ahead of the game, and making compliant pulse start metal halide fixtures available now.

Our Pulse Start ballasts feature:

• 50 percent longer lamp life, compared to traditional metal halide lamps.
• 33 percent more lumen maintenance.
• Better cold starting capability, and shorter warm-up times.
• Faster re-strike capability.

In other words, it’s eco-friendly efficiency lighting that doesn’t sacrifice performance.

High Intensity Environmentalism

Our High Intensity Discharge Lighting products stack up to stringent environmental standards in several other ways. The lights — arc types developed for outdoor and industrial applications — boast long lives, reduced maintenance costs, and high energy efficiency.

This means:

Concerning lamplife: Up to 1,000 hours of life (i.e. before replacement) for incandescent lights, 10,000 hours for metal halide lights, and 24,000 hours for high pressure sodium lights.

Concerning efficacy: Up to 20 lumens per watt (LPW) for incandescent lights (higher = more efficient), 90 LPW for metal halide lights, and 120 LPW for high pressure sodium lights.

Contact our Streetscape experts for more information.

Environmentally friendly streetscape lighting

Green streetscape options seem endless these days. There’s so much you can do that both improves the current look and levels of safety of your neighborhood, and helps preserve a clean, sustainable world for future generations.

Our pulse start ballasts increase energy efficiency by more than 88 percent. Even lowering light pollution through our Night Sky Friendly Luminaires is an eco-conscious act.

But the first step is using environmentally-responsible materials to build your streetscape. At Brandon Industries, here are two that we extensively use:

Recycled Aluminum

Aluminum is one of the more famous sustainable metals (as any kid with a soda can recycling business can attest), with nearly 31 percent of our nation’s aluminum coming from recycled scrap. Recycling simply involves cleaning and re-melting the metal, in lieu of the far more energy-intensive creation of new aluminum. According to the International Aluminum Institute, using recycled aluminum leads to significant cost savings, even when including hidden cost-factors like collection, separation and recycling.

We offer recycled aluminum in products like our Radarsign driver feedback signs, traffic signs, wayfinding signs and decorative mailboxes.

Powder Coat Painting

Traditional “wet” paints actually contain known VOCs — Volatile Organic Compounds — usually in the form of petroleum-based spirits that help paint air cure properly, and avoid a poor-adhesion phenomena called paint “lift.” VOCs work because the unstable compounds quickly vaporize (thus helping the paint dry), but that same property pumps toxic chemicals into the air for people to breathe.

Powder coating — used on most of our streetscape products — avoids this by eliminating the need for the VOC-laden drying solvent. Instead, it involves a free-flowing dry powder that can be more safely cured under heat.

Additionally:

• Powder coating is considered safe, and has little processing impact on the environment.
• The process has minimal waste, and over-spray is more easily recovered.
• You can clean up without chemical-laden solvents and paint washes.
• The process offers a welcome alternative to the hazardous chromium plating processes, which requires permits and extensive precautionary measures.
• It features low to zero VOC emissions, as well as low toxicity and low flammability.
• It boasts excellent corrosion and chemical resistance, which means the products lasts longer and lessens the need for energy-intensive replacements.

Contact us for more information about our eco-conscious streetscapes and products.

New guidelines for traffic sign retroreflectivity are starting to kick in, and this might mean it’s time for you to consider upgrading your signage and streetscapes. We can show you how:

What traffic sign requirements have changed?

Retroreflectivity, according to the recent Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), measures how well a material can reflect light back to the light’s original source. This quite obviously is a critical element for nighttime driving safety, as effectively illuminated signage both improves visibility and decreases accidents regardless of the time of day. The FHWA is simply installing a uniform standard of retroreflectivity (as well as design, placement, operation and maintenance standards), ensuring maximum safety across the nation.

The new rules apply to public roads, as well as private property where the public is “invited to travel.” It’s the most far-reaching guideline of this type to date, and applies to most regulatory, warning, street name, and both ground-mounted and overhead guide signs — whether permanent, temporary or portable. This means stop signs, yield signs, and speed limit signs — all of the custom traffic and street signs that we provide and that you need to create a safe environment in your community.

For the technical details about the required retroreflectivity levels, check out our Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity fact sheet.

What’s the timeline for implementing new traffic sign retroreflectivity requirements?

• 2012: A method to maintain retroreflectivity must be in place and in use.
• 2015: Both warning and ground mounted guide signs must be in compliance.
• 2018: Street name signs and overhead guide signs must be in compliance.

At Brandon Industries, these new guidelines will be factored into all of our streetscape products, and we already provide multiple sign sheeting types that exceed these MUTCD requirements.

If you think your current neighborhood or community signage might be out of date and not meet these new rules, contact us. Our Dallas-Ft. Worth area experts will help you out.

For more information, view our retroreflectivity fact sheet.

Courtyard Lighting by Brandon Industries

At Brandon Industries, we design and install custom streetscapes for towns and neighborhoods with a larger idea in mind. So how, exactly, do these courtyard lighting fixtures enhance landscape designs—and boost overall livability of your neighborhood?

Here are three ways:

– Building Consistent and Unique Personality

It’s all about character and identity. Featuring distinct, dynamic styles, our antique reproduction lightening systems provide a sense of coherency to our streetscapes. On a large, neighborhood-wide scale, this simply matters. Visual “togetherness” gives neighborhoods a sense of home and place, and reveal a commitment to thorough and thoughtful planning.

Our extensive catalog of outdoor lighting fixtures makes it easy for neighborhoods to mix and match luminaries, lamp poles and bases, providing both cohesion and variety, and making it easy for residents to stick within the theme on their own properties.

– Maintaining Cohesion for Historic Areas

This sense of congruency matters even more for older neighborhoods. Our antique reproduction lighting allows neighborhoods to install modern, effective lighting schemes without distracting from the historic feel of the surrounding houses, parks and buildings.

There’s nothing worse for historic than modern touches stick out like sore, poorly-planned thumbs (we’re talking to you, satellite dishes). Contact us if you’re looking to modernize your neighborhood without undermining its charm. We’ll show you how.

– Boosting Safety

Effective street and yard lighting both deters crime and improves traffic safety—but there’s no reason to drown your yard in flood lights. Our antique reproduction luminaires effectively provide that extra element of safety to your property, and make it easy for police and neighbors to spot illegal activity—without turning your yard into an eyesore.

Let our Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex-area award-winning streetscape experts help you.

Here’s our dream scene for your neighborhood: Children playing outside. Rising home values. A vibrant, sustainable, committed community.

We know it might sound too simple, but it really captures the heart of what our products and services aim to achieve. Simply put, we’re more than just decorative mailboxes. When you design your neighborhood streetscapes with Brandon Industries, our goals are unwavering:

1. To Strengthen Safety

A recent study in The Netherlands showed a 30 percent reduction in traffic accidents involving injuries in neighborhoods that had improved their outdoor street lighting from “very bad to good.” Likewise, a study by the U.S. Department of Justice showed a 21 percent reduction of crime in well-lit neighborhoods compared to similar, but more dimly lit areas. Radar driver feedback signs and durable, visible traffic signs also contribute to safety. With Brandon Industries, you don’t have to make your neighborhood look (or lit) like a prison to keep crime and traffic accidents out. All of our products are stylish and a tasteful, and do their jobs effectively without becoming intrusive eyesores.

2. To Boost Property Values

A commitment to safety alone does wonders for property values, but we think our products and services take them even further. High-growth neighborhoods often suffer from poor planning and a mishmash of mismatching signage, outdoor lighting and mailboxes. We provide a visual cohesion that shows a commitment to diligence, excellence and proper planning. More to the point, our designs—modern, yet vintage—highlight desirable communities that care.

3. To Build Futures

Radar feedback signs powered by solar power. Solid, durable construction of street signage systems that last and save resources. Night sky-friendly luminaires. Low-maintenance mailboxes. We build streetscapes with the futures of communities in mind, and our products and services are consistently on the leading edge of sustainability trends. We’re a one-stop shop all of the above services and products, and can help you plan and implement a safe, value-boosting, environmentally-friendly, custom-built streetscape from start to finish.

Radar Speed Driver Feedback Signs featured on Atlanta news program.