Business entrances
Offices, plants, clinics and hotels use a monument to mark the driveway and carry the street address. A lit cabinet keeps the name readable for guests arriving after dark.
Monument signs · Dallas Fort Worth
Custom Monument Signs That Mark the Way In
A monument sign stands where people turn in, at eye level and on its own foundation. Masonry-style, fabricated aluminum or illuminated, we take each one from design and engineering through permits, fabrication and installation, for properties across Dallas Fort Worth.
What is a monument sign?
A monument sign is a low, freestanding sign set on a solid base at ground level, usually beside a driveway or entrance. Instead of standing on exposed poles, the sign face sits on a masonry or fabricated structure that reads as part of the property. Monument signs can be illuminated, carry tenant panels and match the materials of the building behind them.
- ConstructionMasonry-style or fabricated aluminum
- IlluminationLit cabinet, halo-lit letters or non-lit
- TenantsOne name or replaceable tenant panels
- SettingEntrances, campuses, communities and centers
Where they work
Wherever the entrance matters.
A monument sits at the point of arrival. That makes it the natural choice wherever the turn-in, the address and the first impression all happen in the same few feet.
Churches
A roadside monument names the church at the drive, and can share its face with a preschool or ministry on the same campus.
Explore churches
Communities and developments
Entrance walls and matching monuments give a neighborhood or apartment community a front door. A set of signs can tie several properties into one recognizable portfolio.
Multi-tenant centers
The center's name up top and a grid of tenant panels below put every business at the curb, with panels that change as the leasing does.
Construction
Masonry-style or fabricated aluminum?
The construction sets the look, the weight, the foundation and how the sign can change later. Neither is better in general. One will suit your property better.
| Compare | Masonry-style | Fabricated aluminum |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A base and body in brick, natural stone or a stone-look finish, with the sign face or letters set into it | A welded aluminum structure with a painted finish, built as one clean form |
| Look | Solid and traditional, tied to the building's brick or stone | Crisp edges, painted color and a modern profile |
| Graphics | Dimensional letters on the masonry, or a sign cabinet set into it | Lit cabinet faces or dimensional letters mounted to the structure |
| Weight and footing | Heavy, so the footing is sized for weight as well as wind | Lighter, but still anchored to an engineered footing for wind |
| Changing it later | Letters and faces can change while the masonry stays | Faces and panels swap out, and the structure can be repainted |
| Best fit | Churches, apartment communities and entries with stone or brick architecture | Corporate, medical and retail sites with contemporary buildings |
Many monuments combine the two, such as a fabricated aluminum sign cabinet on a masonry base. We recommend the mix that suits your building, your budget and your city's code.
Design
Cap, face and base: three decisions that shape the sign.
Most monuments are built from three parts. The base grounds the sign and often echoes the building's masonry. The face carries the name, logo and address. The cap finishes the top edge, and its profile, whether flat, stepped or arched, sets the tone before anyone reads a word.
Good design starts from the road, not the drawing board. We size letters for the speed and distance of the approach, keep the face above the landscaping and turn the sign toward traffic, which often means two faces set back to back or angled in a V.
- Letter height set for the approach
- Address numerals visitors and emergency crews can read
- Single- or double-sided, parallel or perpendicular to the road
- Colors and materials drawn from the building
Try the combinations
Choose the base, the finish and the light.
Switch between a masonry-style base and a fabricated aluminum structure, change the finish, then compare an internally lit cabinet with halo-lit letters. It is a quick way to find the direction that suits your property before a single drawing is made.
Interactive illustration
Stacked stone suits entrances, campuses and churches, and can match the building it belongs to.
Illumination
How a monument sign is lit.
Lighting decides how the sign reads after dark, and what the city will allow near the road or next to homes.
01
Internally lit cabinet
LED modules inside an aluminum cabinet shine through a translucent face, so the whole panel glows evenly. The most legible option at night and the usual choice for tenant panels.
02
Halo-lit letters
Solid metal letters stand off the face or the masonry with LEDs aimed backward, so each character sits in a soft ring of light. Quieter and more architectural, suited to corporate campuses and residential communities.
03
Front-lit letters
Channel letters with translucent faces mounted to the monument. Bright, colorful and easy to read, built the same way as storefront channel letters.
04
Non-illuminated
Dimensional letters in aluminum or acrylic read by daylight and by the site lighting around them. Simple, durable and often the right call where lighting is restricted.
05
Power to the sign
Lit monuments need power at the sign location, usually run underground from the building or a nearby service. We plan the route during design, and Texas requires a licensed electrical sign contractor for the connection.
Where the property meets the street.
Installation brings it together: utility locates, a footing sized for the sign, a level set and, for lit monuments, the final electrical connection.
Tenant panels
Built for today's tenants and the next ones.
On a multi-tenant monument, the center name stays put and the tenant panels do the changing. Each panel sits in its own opening in the cabinet, so a new business can be added, or a departing one removed, without touching the structure.
We lay out the grid around how the center is leased: which tenants get the larger anchor panels, how many smaller spaces are needed and how every name reads from the road. Blank panels hold the spaces that are still to be leased.
- Anchor and in-line panel sizes
- Panels replaced one at a time
- Blank panels ready for future tenants
- Artwork standards so every panel reads cleanly
Structure, engineering and permits
What holds it up, and what lets it stand there.
A monument looks simple from the road. The work underneath it is not.
01
Foundation
A monument sits on a concrete footing sized for the sign's weight, the site soils and wind exposure. Masonry adds considerable weight, and the footing design has to account for it.
02
Engineering
We detail the internal frame, the anchor connections and the footing, and provide engineering where the city requires it with the permit.
03
Setback and sight lines
Cities control how close a sign can sit to the street and keep the corners of driveways and intersections clear, so drivers leaving the property can see oncoming traffic. We place the sign to meet the code for your address.
04
Permits and approvals
New monuments generally need a city sign permit in DFW. Business parks, planned developments and HOAs may add a review of their own. We prepare drawings for each approval in the right order.
05
Utility locates
Underground utilities are located and marked before anything is dug. It protects the site and keeps installation day on schedule.
06
Landscaping
Planting beds and irrigation often surround the base. We plan the sign so sprinklers do not spray the face and shrubs do not grow over the name.
Project gallery
Monument signs from the Signs Express portfolio.
Stone, stone-look and fabricated monuments for businesses, churches, apartment communities and multi-tenant centers, including signs photographed in the shop before delivery.
How we deliver
One team, from survey to switch-on.
Every monument signs project follows the same six steps. Here is what each one means for this sign type.
- 01
Discover
We stake the proposed location, check sight lines from both directions and note utilities, slope and landscaping.
- 02
Design
Base, cap and face are drawn to scale with your building materials, tenant layout and address numerals in place.
- 03
Engineer
The footing and internal frame are sized for the sign's weight, the site soils and wind exposure.
- 04
Permit
We confirm setback and sight-line rules, get owner, HOA or development sign-off where needed, then file the city permit.
- 05
Fabricate
Cabinets, faces and letters are built and finished at our Carrollton facility, with lit components wired before delivery.
- 06
Install
The footing is poured, the structure set level, cladding and faces completed, then lit signs are connected and powered.
Related projects
Proof, not promises.
Dallas Fort Worth
Monument signs, city by city across North Texas.
Much of the newer development in North Texas suburbs favors low monument signs that share the materials of the buildings behind them, and some cities and planned developments write that preference into their standards. Older corridors in Dallas and Fort Worth mix monuments with legacy pole signs. Business parks and HOAs can add rules of their own. We build monuments at our Carrollton facility and take each one through the approvals its address requires, whether the site is in McKinney, Allen, Richardson or Arlington.
- Dallas
- Carrollton · HQ
- Richardson
- Plano
- Frisco
- Allen
- McKinney
- Arlington
- Fort Worth
Free project review
Start with the entrance.
Send the property address, a photo of where the sign will stand and your logo. We will suggest a construction style and a lighting approach, and outline the approvals your site will need.
- A photo of the building or site, even from a phone
- Your logo or brand files, if you have them
- The city where the sign will be installed
- Landlord sign criteria, if the space is leased
Straight answers
Monument Signs: your questions, answered.
Something else on your mind? Call (469) 901-3108 or send the details through the quote form.
What materials are monument signs made from?
Most are masonry-style, fabricated aluminum or a combination. Masonry-style monuments use brick, natural stone or a stone-look finish on the base and body. Fabricated monuments are built from aluminum with a painted finish. Faces and letters can be aluminum, acrylic or both, and many signs pair an aluminum cabinet with a masonry base.
Can a monument sign be illuminated?
Yes. The two most common approaches are an internally lit cabinet, where LEDs shine through a translucent face, and halo-lit letters, where LEDs wash light onto the surface behind solid letters. Lit signs need power at the sign location and electrical work by a licensed electrical sign contractor. Some cities limit sign lighting near homes.
Can a monument sign list multiple tenants?
Yes. Multi-tenant monuments pair the center name with a grid of individual tenant panels. When a tenant moves in or out, only that panel changes, so the sign keeps up with the leasing without new construction.
Do you build masonry monument signs?
Yes. We design masonry-style monuments with brick, natural stone or stone-look bases and can match the masonry on your building. The faces, letters and cabinets come out of our Carrollton facility, and we coordinate the full build through installation.
Do monument signs require a permit in DFW?
In most DFW cities, yes. Plan on a sign permit, and in some cities a review of engineering, placement and lighting as well. Business parks, planned developments and HOAs may add their own approval. Each city and zoning district has its own rules, so we look up the requirements for your property and handle the applications.
Should a monument sign be single-sided or double-sided?
If traffic approaches from both directions, a double-sided sign set perpendicular to the road, or a V-shaped sign angled toward each approach, is usually the better choice. A single-sided sign works when it faces one main approach or sits against a wall or landscaped backdrop.
Do you install monument signs near me?
Yes, throughout Dallas Fort Worth. Monuments are built at our Carrollton facility, then delivered and installed by our team, whether the property is in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Arlington or Fort Worth.
What should I send to get a monument sign quote?
The property address, a photo of the proposed location, your logo and a sense of the style you like: masonry, aluminum or a mix, lit or non-lit. If the site has landlord, HOA or development sign standards, send those too.
Keep exploring
Related sign types
Pole & Pylon Signs
Freestanding signs raised on poles or pylons, so drivers see your name in time to turn.
Church Signs
Monument, building and campus signs that help first-time guests find the church, the parking and the front door.
Commercial Signs
Complete sign programs for retail centers, office and industrial properties, managed from survey to maintenance.
Illuminated Exterior Signs
LED-lit letters, cabinets, monuments and pole signs that keep your name readable after sunset.
Start with the space. End with a landmark.
Your next landmark starts here.
Tell us what you are building and where. We will help you choose the right sign system and handle the approvals, fabrication and installation.