Installation & access
Installation — the half where a correct banner still goes wrong
By the time a banner reaches site it is already right or already wrong, and most of what happens next is avoidable. Panels arrive unlabelled and are unrolled on a pavement to identify them. A crew measures a frame for the first time. Access is booked for the morning the banner lands. None of that is a printing problem, and all of it shows up as one. This page is how we avoid it — and it is useful even if your own team is fitting it.
Fixing by position
What holds a banner depends entirely on what it is held to, and each has its own failure mode.
| Position | How it is fixed | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Hoarding frame | Eyelets to the rails with bungee or ties, panel by panel | Eyelet spacing matching the rails. If they do not line up the crew improvises, and improvised fixings are where tears start. |
| Scaffold | Tied at every eyelet to the standards and ledgers, lift by lift | The scaffold must be designed for a sheeted condition — that is the scaffold designer's confirmation, not ours. |
| Facade | Tensioned against a frame, cable line or anchors on all four edges | Tension, not hanging. A panel fixed only at the top will flutter, and fluttering is what destroys it. |
| Fence or boundary | Ties at every eyelet, often by the site team | The easiest to do and the easiest to over-tighten. Snug, not drum-tight — the panel needs to move a little. |
| Poles or gantry | Pole pockets top and bottom, or eyelets with cable | Pocket sized to the actual pipe. A pocket that is too tight is unfittable at height, which is discovered at height. |
Mesh is tensioned evenly across the edges, never stretched into shape from two corners. A panel pulled square by force carries the distortion for its whole life.
How a multi-panel job is sequenced
- 1
Labelled before it ships
Each panel marked with its drop and position, and packed in installation order — so nothing is unrolled on site to identify it.
- 2
Survey before the crew
The frame or facade is measured against the panel schedule before installation day, not on it.
- 3
Access confirmed as a date
Boom lift, cradle or scaffold booked against the programme. It is a named line in the quotation for exactly this reason.
- 4
Installed in reading order
Bottom-up or end-to-end so the site keeps a working access and the graphic reads correctly as it goes up.
- 5
Checked against the schedule
Every fixing point present, tension even, no slack edge — and photographed on completion.
What the site needs to provide
Short list, and the one that most often holds up a crew is the first.
- A confirmed access window, and a clear area beneath the working position
- Permit to work, induction or gate pass requirements told to us in advance, not on the morning
- Power, if the position needs it
- Confirmation that the frame, scaffold or anchors are complete and signed off
- A site contact who can make a decision if the condition differs from the survey
Removal, planned at the start
A banner comes down with the same access it went up with, and that access is far easier to arrange while the scaffold is still standing or the cradle is still on the roof. Agreeing removal at the start usually costs less than arranging it later, and it avoids the common ending where a wrap stays up months past its purpose because nobody has budget to take it down. If removal is in scope we price it as its own line, with the access named.
What we say plainly
We install with our own crews, including facade work and work at height, and installation is quoted separately from supply against the actual site. If your team is fitting it, everything on this page still applies and we are happy to be asked — a banner fixed correctly by your crew is a better outcome for both of us than one torn at the eyelets in the first month and blamed on the print.
Questions we are asked
Can our own team install it?
Yes, and plenty do. Follow the eyelet spacing we supplied, tension evenly across all edges rather than pulling from two corners, and use bungee rather than rigid ties anywhere exposed. Ask us if the position is unusual — we would rather answer than replace.
How tight should a mesh banner be?
Snug and even, not drum-tight. Mesh needs to move slightly in a gust; a panel stretched rigid transfers every gust straight into the eyelets.
Who arranges the boom lift?
Either of us, but it is named and priced rather than assumed. Access is one of the most commonly forgotten lines in this trade and it is never a small number.
What if the frame does not match the panels?
That is why we survey before the crew mobilises. If a frame was built differently to the drawing — which is normal — we would rather find out at survey than with a crew and a lift standing idle.
Can a single damaged panel be replaced?
Yes, when the job was panelled for it from the start, which is how we panel hoardings and facades. Replacing one panel needs access again, so it is worth raising while other access is already on site.