Issue link: https://nbm.uberflip.com/i/1482193
G R A P H I C S - P R O. C O M N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 2 • G R A P H I C S P R O 2 9 housed within a J-box, a raceway, or other UL/NEC600 approved enclosure, with on/off switches and disconnects for safe servicing of the sign. Yes, behind the wall, so really, all of the channel let- ters components must still be housed inside of an enclosure, so a raceway is used behind the wall for this purpose. You would never build a wireway behind the wall for this purpose as it's not appropriate, and nobody would benefit from it as it would be hid- den behind a wall. e Velveeta cheese box is the perfect solution for remote wired, flush mounted channel letter sets. In fact, you could say that every channel letter set gets at least a Velveeta box somewhere... either the letters are attached, or it's located behind the wall (remote wired). Self Contained: row this term out there and electricians like to scratch their heads as they assume you are clueless as to what this means. Whenever channel letters cannot be flush mounted due to wall obstructions, or an office area behind the wall, the channel letter sign must contain all of the wiring components it needs to operate, requiring only one single pass-thru for power, and minimal anchors to hold the sign on the wall. If it's got all that it needs to light up, and it's properly grounded and shielded, then in all practical terms, you could put a 3-prong cord on it rather than wiring it to a J-box. is makes the sign almost portable, and allows the electrician to install a water-tight GFI enclosure for the electrical hookup directly behind where the sign is mounted. is eliminates one more unsightly pass-thru hole if the tenant decides to leave. It also allows the client to have the sign removed and reinstalled easily at their new location, without too many concerns about the wall construction at the new place. I hope this helps you visualize the differences between raceways and wireways. Some fabricators create their own terminology, and assign certain parameters to each of these terms. Don't let that worry you a bit, simply find out what terms they are using for this, and adopt that for them accordingly, but never for- get the basics of when and why each of these two methods are used. Good luck, feel free to send me your photos of really unique wireway designs you have worked on. I'd love to see them! GP Matt Charboneau started his career in the sign industry in 1985 as Charboneau Signs, later changing it to Storm Mountain Signs. In 2017, he published the Pre-Sale Sign Survey Field Guide, and provides sign design training at his site: Learn Sign Design. com. Contact him at Matt@stormmountainsigns.com; www.learnsigndesign.com; and 970-481-4151. Charbo Notes The following is to be sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" " Raceways and wireways, there's quite a selection providing us places to hide wire connections Pre-fab or stick-built with built-in lift rings, These make your install a wonderful thing"