This article has appeared in Sign Builder Illustrated about banners and wind loads.
Chicago is known as the "Windy City". It received its nickname as a reference
to one of its long-winded political figures not to its notoriously bad windy
weather. Maximum wind gusts in Chicagoland can reach 80 to 90 miles per hour. (Winds in many other cities, especially along the Eastern Seaboard, exceed Chicago's levels.)
Working
as a construction manager for a family construction company, one of these Chicago wind gusts
blew down the walls of one of my projects, a large commercial building, even
though the walls were braced.
Although seven other buildings in the area that
were under construction were also blown down from the force of these high
winds, the lesson about wind loads was none the less painful and one that I remembered. It was a lesson
that applies not only to walls but also to sign faces and banners stretched across
streets.
Gale force winds can easily damage a vinyl banner. A 75
mile-per-hour wind produces nearly 15 lbs. per square foot of wind pressure at ground level and 21 lbs per square foot of wind pressure when the banner is mounted 15 feet above the ground. For a 4’ x 8’ banner, that’s equivalent to 460 lbs. of wind load at ground level and 671 lbs. 15 feet in above ground.
These tremendous wind loads not only can tear apart banner material, but can also bend poles used to suspend banners. The chart below will give you some idea of the amount of force that banners are subjected to.
ESTIMATED WIND LOADS ON
A BANNER MOUNTED 15 FT. ABOVE GROUND
|
||||||
Wind Speed
|
Pressure
per square foot at ground level
|
Pressure
per square foot 15 ft. above ground
|
Banner area in square
feet
|
|||
25 SF
|
50 SF
|
75 SF
|
100 SF
|
|||
70
|
12.5
|
18.2
|
454 lbs.
|
909 lbs.
|
1364
|
1819
|
75
|
14.4
|
21
|
522 lbs.
|
1044
|
1566
|
2088
|
80
|
16.4
|
24
|
594 lbs.
|
1188
|
1782
|
2376
|
85
|
18.5
|
27
|
670 lbs.
|
1341
|
2011
|
2682
|
90
|
20.7
|
30
|
752 lbs.
|
1503
|
2255
|
3007
|
95
|
23
|
33.5
|
837 lbs.
|
1675
|
2513
|
3350
|
100
|
25.6
|
37
|
928 lbs.
|
1856
|
2784
|
3712
|
How Do You Wind-Proof Banners
To wind-proof banners you have a few options. Some sign people, believe that any banner, larger than thirty square feet, needs wind slits. Wind slits, also called wind pockets, are semi-circular or crescent-shaped cuts in the banner substrate. These slits vary in size from three to five inches in diameter, spaced about eighteen to twenty-four inches apart. The wind slits allow some of the air to blow through the banner, which alleviates some of the wind load. To prevent tearing of the banner material, you can stitch the ends of the slits.Other Options to Wind Slits
Not everybody agrees that wind slits are a good practice. Many
manufacturers will not warranty their vinyl banner materials, if wind pockets are cut in
their substrates, because the slits weaken the banner. According to Butch “SuperFrog”Anton of SuperFrog Signs and Graphics in Moorhead, MN, “wind slits are a joke.
They detract from the appearance of the banner, they weaken the banner
material, and they don’t do much good in relieving the wind pressure. At best,
wind slits only reduce wind load by 10 to 15%.” Anton recommends that if you
want a more wind-resistant banner, use a
heavier weight banner material and improve the way you are installing banners.
If you use a rope to install a banner, interweave the rope from
one grommet to another, either along the top or the bottom of the banner. This
method distributes the wind load over a greater area, than when you just tie
the banner at the corners. Tension on the ropes holding the banner in place
should be taut, so the banner doesn’t flap in the wind. Flapping banners often
rip.
An even better method to install banners is use bungee cords,
which stretch under wind load, and can prevent the banner from tearing. Ropes are too rigid and less forgiving that
bungee cords. The bungee cords will allow the banner to bounce in the wind.
Compared to ropes, bungee cords won’t loosen up and slacken, so they won’t
require retensioning.
If you are installing a banner against the wall of a building,
pull the banner tight so the wind can’t get behind it. Using screws with washers, fasten the banner
to the wall through every one of the grommets.
Grommets should be spaced
twenty-four inches apart. Before
drilling any holes in an underlying wall or building surface, make sure that
you have the approval of the building owner. Before hanging any banner across a
street, call the city hall to see what regulations and restrictions apply.
Banners that stretch across a street can be attached from their
grommets to steel cables above and below the banner. The cables can be mounted
to either buildings or poles. Ropes tied to the corners can be used to pull the
banner taut, preventing flapping in the breeze.
When installing a banner over a street, you should use a
heavyweight banner material, such as 19 oz. or 22 oz. material. Using two
¼” aircraft cables secured to two poles, on opposite sides of the street
is also recommended. If the metal cables are secured to a wall, some sign
makers use a backplate on the interior face of the wall, which disperses the
load over a much larger surface area.
By using turnbuckles, you can tension the cables. Banners should
be secured to the cables using snap hooks put through grommets spaced every 12”
on the top and bottom of the banner. By
using additional grommets, the considerable wind load is dispersed among the
points of attachment. As an alternative to using grommets, some sign makers
believe that a stronger way to fabricate a banner is to sew steel D-rings into
the corners.
The four corners of the banners should be reinforced and secured
tightly to the poles using ratchet straps.
For over-the-street installations some also recommend cutting wind slits in
the banner material to reduce the wind load.
Without wind slits, the banner would be similar to a boat sail. The wind
caught in the banner would put tremendous pressure on the poles. Because the wind load on over the street
banner can be considerable, their size should be limited to 90 square feet or
less.
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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
© 2018 Jim Hingst
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.
© 2018 Jim Hingst
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