Sawatzky Guest Blog: A Hazelnut Inn Update

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog each month. This month Dan Sawatzky gives us an update on his passion project – The Hazelnut Inn, and points out all the different places that PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU is used to make this themed bed & breakfast look so fantastical!

In Dan’s own words…

Many of our projects are very large and it is not unusual for them to be in our shop for a year or more before they are installed and complete. The Hazelnut Inn is a personal project and has to fit around our customer’s projects. It is also very large and the most detailed we have ever taken, so it will take a long time to complete. We’ve been at it four years so far and it will be at least another year before the first suite is open to guests. But we are making great progress and it is looking spectacular!

While much of the project is fabricated using hand sculpted fibreglass reinforced concrete, we are also using a lot of Precision Board HDU where it is applicable.

From the road things are looking pretty colourful. The building certainly catches everyone’s eye as they drive by!

We used precision Board on many of the details including the roof caps, finales and the primary sign in this picture.

The stature of our heroine is also sculpted from 30 lb Precision Board.

hazelnut inn

The North Star suite is the most complete thus far. It is the unit closest and most visible from the road. We are currently doing the sculpting of the lower section where guests will enter the garden. The North Star sign was fabricated almost four years ago (one of the first projects while we were waiting for our building permit).  We finally installed it on the rudder of the ship in the last couple of weeks.

Adjacent to the North Star entry is the maintenance room for the Inn. This area is where the cleaning supplies, storage and laundry will be for the staff. It is probably the fanciest entry to a staff area in the whole world!

The faux shutters are fabricated from PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU to match the adjacent wood doors.

hazelnut inn

Adjacent to the service area is the Under Hill suite. We are now beginning the theme work on this area. It will have a private 600 square foot garden in front of the unit. The hand crafted gate is soon to be installed.

Today we did the faux brick work around the pocket in the wall which allowed us to install the Under Hill sign at last!

hazelnut inn

While we were at it we installed the Copper Crown sign on the castle suite. It won’t be until later this summer that we do the theme work on this portion of the building.

Inside the building, the North star suite is further along. Inside the ship the sleeping area is almost complete. The headboard, figureheads and clamshell light fixtures are all 30 lb Precision Board.

hazelnut inn

There are many other prefabricated pieces already finished, tucked away for safekeeping for now. As we get into more finishing we will be using more 30 lb Precision Board for fabrication as it is easy to work and holds detail extremely well.

I’ll provide another update on The Hazelnut Inn as we get a little further along. Stay tuned…

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Sawatzky Guest Blog: A Love Letter to 30lb Precision Board HDU

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to announce a series of guest blogs written by Dan Sawatzky of Imagination Corporation, which will be posted on the Precision Board Blog each month. This month Dan Sawatzky goes into great detail on why he prefers to use PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU almost exclusively over lighter densities like 15lb and 20lb.  He also talks about using a range of Precision Board densities depending on the specific project, from PBLT-4 all the way up to PBLT-60.

In Dan’s own words…

We love Coastal Enterprises Precision Board! We use TONS of it each year (literally).

Precision Board HDU is manufactured in a wide range of densities. It is measured in pounds per cubic foot. We have used everything from 4lb (PBLT-4) board to 60lb (PBLT-60) board in our shop (Ed note: the highest density of Precision Board is PBLT-75 and the lowest is PBLT-4). Which density we use depends on what we are creating. For quick sculptures (typically study models) which will be covered in sculpting epoxy we love the 4lb. It is so soft we can carve it quickly with a variety of hand tools. We typically keep a sheet or two of four inch thick stock on hand. We have used various weights of board through the years but generally stick with 30lb (PBLT-30) Precision Board. If we have a project (such as a door panel) that is in a high traffic area we will use 40lb (PBLT-40) or even 60lb board. We keep a couple of sheets on hand for projects like this.

The ’standard’ in the sign industry is 15lb (PBLT-15) or 18lb (PBLT-18) board and occasionally 20lb (PBLT-20) board.

precision board

While most sign people I know tend to go for the lighter densities (15-20lb Precision Board) we favour 30lb board almost exclusively.

It makes perfect sense to us and the reasons are many.

The 30lb board holds detail superbly and is much tougher than lighter weights. It can be machined at the same quick speeds (typically at 300 inches per minute) with our MultiCam CNC router.

Imagine you work on a sign for many hours. During this process you transfer the almost complete piece to a different work table. There’s a screw laying there which you don’t see. If you are using 20lb board or less you will soon have to make a repair. How much did you save by buying lighter board? If you count your time properly you most likely just lost more money than you might have saved by using lessor boards. The 30lb Precision Board can easily survive those types of bumps and bruises without a scratch. Some people I know use a lighter board and then apply a hard coat to protect it. That makes no sense to me for you lose hard earned detail in the process plus you incur extra material and labour costs as well.

The heavier weight material is easy to sell too. We keep a variety of labeled samples on hand for just this purpose.

When I am explaining to a new customer the quality materials we use in our shop I grab a 15lb or 18lb sample piece and easily run my fingernail into the surface. It leaves a nasty scar. The customer is always shocked. I explain that this is what our competition typically uses. Then I hand a 30 lb sample to my customer and ask them to do the same. It doesn’t leave a mark. I ask the customer if they are willing to pay an extra $50 or $100 for that kind of quality. The answer is always YES! As easy as that I’ve sold them on a premium material and made some extra cash in the process.

precision board

We generally keep three thicknesses on hand; 1”, 1.5” and 2”.  We have some other thickness left over from previous projects which includes some .5”, 3/4”, and 1.25” which we draw from as needed. It is less expensive to order extra and stock it than to make a panic order and pay a premium for the rush.

Because of space considerations (lack of storage) and ease of handling we keep only one density in stock. We buy once or twice each year – in bulk. For a single sheet our shipping costs can equal the price of the material. When we buy a pallet or two the freight is generally less than three times the price of shipping a single sheet. The savings add up in a BIG hurry! Plus I’ll bet your dealer will happily negotiate a better price when you purchase a large order. And if we order a year’s supply of glues and primer at the same time- those boxes ride for free on top of the pallet for further savings.

We are about half way through our most recent order of Precision Board. We keep it under a roof out in the storage area. Another twenty sheets is kept in the router room for handy access.

precision board

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Designing Signs for a Tourism Farm Sawatzky Style

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host guest blogs written by some of the signage industry’s biggest movers and shakers, posted to the Precision Board Blog.  This guest blog is written by Dan Sawatzky with Imagination Corporation in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.  This month, Dan tells us how he plans to use PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU and other materials to design signs for a tourism farm.  To do that, he takes us back to the drawing board with a look at his preliminary design ideas.

signs

In Dan’s own words…

We love to use 30lb density Precision Board high density urethane in our projects and do so at every opportunity. Most often we combine this premium product with other materials and components to create our award winning designs. In the process our goal is to create long lasting signs which really work hard for our clients. Each of our projects always has to start with a very strong design, of course, and we are always seeking to push this envelope as far as our clients will go.

A current project of ours is a large tourism farm in the US midwest. They have successfully operated and prospered for more than thirty-five years, building almost everything in house with their skilled team. Recently, the owners of the farm approached us to help them out by re-branding and re-signing the many food outlets and attractions on the farm. They loved our style and wanted to kick things up a notch. With more than fifty food operations and attractions on the property there is plenty to do over the next few years. This was the perfect opportunity for us to design and fabricate our signature dimensional signs and add a whole lot more visual fun to the farm operation.

We’ll start with a number of key projects this year and then work our way through the farm. I’ll do about twenty designs for the first phase. It is a VERY FUN and exciting project! In the next few months I will chronicle some of the projects as they make their way through our shop. Stay tuned…

 

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Creating Faux Stone Artifacts with Precision Board HDU

Coastal Enterprises, manufacturers of Precision Board HDU, is proud to host guest blogs written by some of the signage industry’s biggest movers and shakers, posted to the Precision Board Blog.  This guest blog is written by Dan Sawatzky with Imagination Corporation in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada.  This month, Dan tells us how he used PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU to create ‘artifacts’ (in this case, faux stone statues) for the North Star suite of the Hazelnut Inn.

artifacts

In Dan’s own words…

The website of the Hazelnut Inn describes the North Star Suite thus…

Local lore holds that the North Star was once the home of Temperance Longbottom. An eccentric explorer, Ms. Longbottom gathered artifacts and curiosities from every mythical corner of the world and built her estate around them.  Spend the night in the captain’s quarters of an ancient sailing vessel. Relax in a tub for two. Curl up by the fireplace. Explore the lush private garden, filled with whimsical artifacts. Staying in the North Star is simply a delight.

With this legend in mind we are busy creating the many ‘artifacts’ to be housed there. Two statues are among this collection and they are in construction currently in our studio. We decided the perfect medium would be PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU. For the basic shape Peter downloaded two 3D models from the web. These were imported into EnRoute and sliced into sections two inches thick. The two statue slices filled two full sheets of Precision Board. Since we planned on doing the bulk of the modeling ourselves, and in the process modify the statues considerably, we used a 3/8” bullnose bit with a 50{afbea94bd31582343c3017644f03ec8d7d8fa2386ecb82c250661e06c0c6e111} overlap. The reliefs were pretty rough and basic but provided exactly what we needed.

These slices were then glued up using PB Fast Set. A steel frame was embedded with two heavy duty threaded steel rods protruding out of the back. These will go through the exterior of the wall to be securely bolted to the interior framework of the building. We used plenty of course threaded screws as we assembled the Precision Board, countersunk to hold the material in place while we finished the piece. After using some sculpting epoxy to fill screw holes and apply other details, Peter used a die grinder to surface and shape the model. Some portions of the statue needed to appear broken, and by using a chisel and brute force, Peter did just that. The result was very convincing!

artifacts

The first statue is now in the painting stage with base coats applied and already looks pretty fabulous! By the time we finish the paint it will be impossible to tell from a real stone statue.

Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans almost fifty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder.

Coastal Enterprises manufactures Precision Board HDU, a versatile, cost-effective and eco-friendly urethane sign material that is particularly effective for making professional-looking indoor and outdoor dimensional signs.  It is a closed-cell rigid substrate that does not rot, warp or crack.  You can request free samplesget a quote or sign up for periodic newsletters packed with helpful information.

Why Dan Sawatzky Exclusively Uses PBLT-30 Precision Board HDU

Dan Sawatzky with Imagination Corporation has been working with Coastal Enterprises for more than ten years and uses our Precision Board PBLT-30 exclusively in their shop. The question Dan gets asked most often is why they only use 30 lb density or higher of Precision Board HDU. For Dan, the answer is simple. It makes sense. Read on to hear more about how real world experiences helped guide his decision to exclusively use PBLT-30 in his shop.

sawatzky

“30 lb Density HDU is not common. Many suppliers are reluctant to stock it for that reason. But I believe it well worth the effort to get it in,” says Sawatzky. “It is so much stronger than lighter weight HDU’s. It is much more resistant to dents, hail, birds pecking it, flying rocks or golf balls and just about anything else that might harm our signs and dimensional projects. There is nothing more frustrating than working on a project for hours and hours only to bump it accidentally, making a repair instantly necessary. Repairs take time and cost money. That’s profits! Too much to take a chance in my view.”

In addition to Precision Board HDU, Dan Sawatzky and his team use our companion products, saying “we also use their glues and primers with great results!”

You can read more about it in this blog that Dan wrote for EnRoute Software‘s website.

Dan Sawatzky is best described as a creative force and visual storyteller extraordinaire. His art career spans more than forty years of magic. Dan’s passion is to design and create imaginative places that take people from the normal world to a setting of delight and wonder. Sawatzky’s Imagination Corporation is a small family company that specializes in the design and creation of dimensional signs and environments. They tackle projects of any size from small signs to entire theme parks. Their work has garnered numerous national and international awards.  Give them a call at (604) 823-2216 or visit their website.

You can read Dan’s blog, Speaking From Experience, updated daily on our website.

If you want to get your hands on some free Precision Board samples to try for yourself, submit a request or give us a call.  We’d love to hear from you!