Pricing guide
What construction site signage really costs, from the plant that prints and installs it
Hoarding, crane banners, project boards, and safety signage get quoted all over the map because every site is different. We print large format on our own equipment in Montreal and run install programs, so we can explain exactly what moves the number, and what to send us for a real price within one business day.
What moves the price
1.Coverage: linear feet and sheer size
Hoarding is measured in linear feet of fence line, and a full city-block perimeter is a very different job than one street frontage. Crane banners and building wraps are driven by sheer size: every additional foot of width and drop is more material and more print. Coverage is the single biggest driver, so a site plan or a fence-line measurement does more for quote accuracy than anything else you can send.
2.Material: solid or mesh, picked by the wind
Outdoor signage lives or dies by the material matching the exposure. Solid substrates give the richest print and full opacity; mesh trades some visual punch for perforation that lets wind pass through, which matters on crane banners, scaffold wraps, and any high or exposed run. The honest rule: let the wind exposure pick the material, because a torn banner gets reprinted at full price, and a wind-loaded structure is a safety problem, not just a signage problem.
3.Print coverage and design
A full-bleed rendering across every panel uses more ink and more design time than bold colour blocks with logos and a rendering at the key corners. Both approaches can look deliberate and sell the project; the second simply costs less per linear foot. Panel count matters too: art built to repeat cleanly across panels is cheaper to produce and to replace than one continuous mural.
4.Installation: access, heights, and safety
Fence-mounted panels at street level, a wrap going up a scaffold, and a banner rigged on a crane are three very different installs. Site access, working heights, and the safety requirements that come with them drive crew size, equipment, and time. This is why two identical prints can carry very different installed prices; give us the site conditions up front and the install line on the quote will be real, not a placeholder.
5.How long it must survive outdoors
A banner for a three-month renovation and hoarding for a multi-year build are specified differently. Longer durations call for materials and finishing chosen to hold their colour and stay attached through seasons of sun, wind, and freeze-thaw. Under-speccing to save on day one usually means reprinting mid-project, which costs more than doing it right once. Tell us the real duration and we'll spec for it honestly.
6.Permits and site rules
Municipalities and project owners set their own rules for what must be posted, where, and at what size, from public notices to safety signage, and those requirements vary by project. We don't set those rules, your permits and site plan do, but they shape the package: required boards add pieces, and placement rules can affect panel sizes and mounting. Share what your site's requirements call for and we'll build them into one quote instead of a string of surprise add-ons.
7.Who you buy from
A sign broker or an agency that subcontracts large-format work adds a margin on the printer's price, and often a second one on the installer's. Buying direct from the plant that prints and installs removes those layers. It's the one cost factor that has nothing to do with your site, and you control it completely.
How to pay less, honestly
Run it as one program, survey to removal
Coordinating a printer, an installer, and your own crew leaves gaps that cost money: panels that don't fit, trips that get repeated, damage nobody owns. One party measuring, printing, installing, swapping, and removing means the panels fit the first time and there's a single number for the whole lifecycle.
Design to standard panel widths
Hoarding art built on a repeating module fits standard panel widths, nests efficiently, and turns a damaged panel into a cheap swap instead of a custom reprint. Ask for the module dimensions before your designer starts and the whole run gets cheaper to produce and to maintain.
Mesh where the wind demands it
Mesh belongs where the wind load says so: at height, on cranes and scaffolds, on exposed elevations. Fence-line hoarding in sheltered conditions can often run on solid substrate. Speccing by exposure, rather than overbuilding everything to the worst case, keeps the budget where it buys visibility.
Buy direct from the printer
No broker margin, no agency handling fee on production. You also keep the same plant for every reprint and phase change, so colours and quality stay consistent across a build that lasts years.
The bottom line
Construction signage pricing comes down to coverage, material, print coverage, installation conditions, outdoor duration, your site's posting requirements, and who you buy from. Running the whole program direct through a manufacturer like Accent Build in Montreal, survey through removal, removes the broker and coordination layers, and a site plan with dimensions gets you a real itemized price within one business day.
For an accurate quote in one business day
Include these in your request and we'll come back with a real number, not a vague range.
- Linear feet of hoarding, or dimensions for banners, wraps, and boards, with heights
- The site address and access conditions (downtown sidewalk, working heights, rigging or scaffold access)
- How long the signage must survive outdoors, phase by phase if that changes
- Artwork status: renderings and logos ready, or design needed
- Any posting requirements from your permits or site rules, plus your install deadline
Frequently asked questions
- How much does construction site signage cost?
- It depends on coverage (linear feet of hoarding, the size of the banners), the material the exposure demands, print coverage, installation conditions, and how long it must survive outdoors, which is why serious quotes are per project. Send your site plan and dimensions and you'll have a real manufacturer-direct number, print and install itemized, within one business day.
- Is mesh or solid material the better buy?
- Neither is better everywhere. Mesh lets wind pass through, which is why it belongs on cranes, scaffolds, and exposed elevations; solid gives the richest print for sheltered fence lines. Let the wind exposure pick, because a torn banner is a full-price reprint and a safety issue.
- Does installation cost more than the printing?
- Sometimes, and it's honest to say so. A fence-level install is straightforward; work at height with rigging or scaffold access involves crew, equipment, and safety requirements that can outweigh the print itself. That's exactly why we quote the install from your real site conditions instead of a flat guess.
- Do you handle the permit requirements for site signage?
- Your permits and your municipality decide what must be posted, and those requirements vary by project. What we do is produce and lay out the required boards and notices to the rules you're given, and fold them into the same program as the marketing signage, so nothing is missing on day one.
- Can US developers and contractors order from you?
- Yes. We price in Canadian dollars, which a favourable exchange rate makes attractive for a US budget, and we accept payment in USD. Our Montreal plant is about an hour from the US border, and many products cross duty-free or at low duty under CUSMA.
Start your project
Send your specs and get a manufacturer-direct price, itemized line by line, within one business day.