HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR SITE HOARDINGS

By law, all construction sites in the UK require adequate hoarding panels around the work site for the safety of the general public. This sounds pretty boring, but your hoardings don't have to be! Did you know, site hoardings are the perfect place for outdoor advertising campaigns, and brand awareness?

Service Graphics are masters at printing and installing outdoor advertising hoardings for construction sites. Accordingly, we’ve gathered a wealth of knowledge which we wanted to share with you! Read on for answers to any and all questions and queries you might have about advertising hoardings...

Does every site need an advertising hoarding?

The simple answer is YES. It is a legal requirement for building site owners to provide a perimeter barrier to protect the public from the construction works going on within. 

How tall are advertising hoardings?

The standard height for a construction site hoarding is 2.4 metres. However, we regularly see extended heights of perhaps 3 -5 metres to cover shop facades, provide safe pedestrian walkways or cover scaffolding.



Depending on the height of a hoarding we would always recommend a site survey to ensure accurate sizes for artwork are taken and to ensure that the most appropriate materials can be specified.

What material are advertising hoardings made of?

Primarily the base structure usually falls into two categories. For short term security freestanding ‘mesh’ fence panels are usually used, while standard permanent hoardings use a combination of timber faced with plywood.

The good news is that both types of hoarding can be branded to produce high quality advertising or messaging. Banner sleeves or tensioned banners can be applied to mesh fencing while printed aluminium composite material (ACM) hoarding panels are the industry standard for the timber ply hoardings. At Service Graphics, we primarily work with hoarding graphics on printed ACM panels which we can even recycle post use.

What is ‘Kicking and Capping’?

Kicking and capping are the lengths of timber that run along the bottom (kicking) and the top (capping) of a typical timber ply hoarding.

Generally, we use these skirtings as a method to secure the ACM panels in place, effectively ‘sandwiching’ them to the plywood to increase structural stability and to reduce movement. Equally from a design point the kicking and capping can be painted to frame and work with the printed graphics panels.

Where can you get a survey?

At the start of every project, we always recommend a hoarding survey is undertaken. It’s the first step of our quality process and ensures that the ultimate design is fit for purpose.

Our surveys contain a list of 20 considerations and checklist points, all combining to give our project managers and installation teams the clearest possible brief as to what is required. This ensures that hoardings printed at Service Graphics are perfect – every time.

Everything from identifying rises and falls on the ground, to the positioning of breaks and returns that may affect graphic placement, through to condition checks and wind load factors are considered in our hoarding inspection checklist.

What makes a good design brief?

Some of the most frequently asked questions about hoardings involve the design requirements. Having a solid brief is paramount to a stress-free site hoarding! Our project managers are experts, so can help to fill in any blanks, but here are some basic top tips on what to include in your hoarding design brief:

• Site location?
• Expected life / duration the hoarding will be up?
• Approximate height and length?
• Status of artwork readiness?
• Details of any electrical illumination that exists or is needed?
• Details of any decorative features – 3D elements or living walls?

Can an existing installation be added to or matched? 

Yes – within ‘tolerances’. Caution should be taken as colours may drift slightly depending on the inks and the original printing system used. Over time direct sunlight can be a factor where we see colour drift on even UV stable print and inks.

Where we have carried out the original installation, we retain artwork and colour records alongside in-house colour matching technology to ensure that updates can be undertaken seamlessly.

What is the print process?

Large format printing is what we do best. We print your design directly to ACM panels using the latest UV printing technology for vibrant and long-lasting prints. You can find out more about our printers here! The panels are then sealed with a unique liquid laminate to provide the ultimate in anti-scratch and graffiti protection! Once ready, our installers deliver and install it for you.

What about maintenance?

Maintenance is crucial to the aesthetic and structural performance of a hoarding. Therefore, we would strongly recommend a regime of cosmetic and structural checks are in place for every advertising hoarding.

Cosmetically, a regular ‘clean’ will ensure that graphics and messaging are kept vibrant and to a high standard of site presentation. We suggest that this is undertaken every month to three months (depending on location and adjacent activities).

Structurally, both the base structure and the graphic overlay should be inspected to ensure that no part of the structural integrity of the hoarding has been damaged or otherwise compromised. Again we’d suggest monthly, six monthly and annual checks in place.

Service Graphics are able to provide bespoke maintenance contracts where we maintain your hoarding for you, keeping it clean and defect free.

We think that just about covers it (pardon the pun!). However if you have a different question or want further information – we’re here to help so don't hesitate to contact us today.

Topics: Brand Engagement, Sustainability, Hoardings, Construction