Routed letters

Routed letters: solid, sharp and timeless

Routed letters are individual letters and logos milled out of a sheet of material. No bending, no welding and no mounting frame is involved: each letter is a single solid piece with a clean, crisp edge. That is exactly why they look more substantial than printed lettering — the letter has thickness, catches the light and casts a shadow on the façade.

We draw, rout and install routed letters for façades, reception desks, meeting rooms, showrooms and interiors, for companies, local authorities, care institutions, schools and hospitality.

Why a routed letter rather than a sticker

Cut vinyl on a flat surface remains a two-dimensional image. A routed letter stands proud of the façade, and you see that difference straight away: in raking light a shadow line appears that lifts the letter off its background.

Service life counts too. Vinyl fades and lifts at the edges after a few years; a routed letter in aluminium or stainless steel lasts decades. For a name that has to stay up for a long time — the company name on the façade, the name of a building — that is the decisive consideration.

Materials

• Aluminium: the most common choice. Light, does not corrode, and can be powder-coated in any RAL colour or in a metallic finish. Suitable indoors and out.
• Stainless steel: the most premium look, brushed or polished. Heavier and more costly, but unbeatable on a prestigious façade or reception desk.
• Solid acrylic: colourful, affordable and with a deep gloss. Mainly indoors; outdoors it is more sensitive to UV.
• Aluminium composite: economical for larger letters where the weight has to stay down, with a flat finish.
• Plywood and solid timber: warm, at home in interiors and in hospitality.
• Corten steel: a warm rust colour, strong alongside greenery and natural stone.

The thickness of the material shapes the effect as well. A thin letter looks light and modern; a thick letter looks monumental. We show you that difference with samples before anything is routed.

Fixing: this is where you see the difference

The way the letters are mounted decides whether the result looks well finished or not.

On stand-offs

The letter sits a few centimetres off the façade, carried on concealed bushes. This gives a shadow effect and works on an uneven façade, because small differences in level disappear. Our standard choice for façades.

Bonded flush

The letter lies against the substrate. This calls for a flat, clean surface and is mainly advisable indoors.

With threaded rods into the façade

Concealed threaded rods in drilled holes, chemically anchored. The strongest option for heavy stainless steel letters.

On a backing plate

All letters mounted on a single backing panel, which installs faster and guarantees the alignment between them. Practical for long names and for mounting on a difficult substrate.

We always supply a drilling template, so that the letter spacing on the façade matches the drawing exactly.

Permits and the façade

Individual letters on a façade in Flanders generally require a Belgian planning permit, even without illumination, and the rules differ from one municipality to the next. In protected village views and on heritage buildings the regime is stricter, and sometimes only a non-penetrating fixing is allowed.

We help put the file together: a façade elevation with dimensions, a photomontage and the fixing detail. For insulated cladding or a cavity wall we establish in advance which anchoring will not damage the façade.

Illuminated or not

Routed letters are unlit in themselves. If you do want them to work after dark, there are two routes: a separate luminaire that washes the letters with light, or a switch to built-up letters with integrated illumination. The latter is a different product; see our page on illuminated signage.

What determines the price?

Routed letters have no fixed price per letter. The cost follows from the material and its thickness, the height of the letters and the number of characters, the complexity of the typeface — thin serifs and fine joins rout more slowly and are more fragile —, the finish and the colour, the method of fixing, the working height and whether a lift platform is needed, and the permit file if you outsource that to us.

Send us your logo as a vector file, the letter height you want and a photo of the façade, and you will receive a photomontage together with a fully substantiated quotation.

Putting your façade to us

Send us a few photos and your logo. We will draw a proposal to scale, indicate what is feasible in permit terms, and only then put a price to it.