Maybe you have seen Marquee numbers or letters in an influencers Instagram or for a major event. And thought to yourself I would love to have that for my party or event. Large Marquees can make a Big statement and are great for photo ops. Well for around $50 and just over 2 hours of your time you can have your very own Marquee Number.
I know this sounds over whelming but let me show you how simple it is. All you will need is some common tools and some spare time. Here is a list of the tools that were used.
- Jigsaw
- Drill
- 1 inch paddle bit
- Circular saw
- Brad Nail gun
- Caulking
- Caulking gun
- Wood Glue
- Pain roller
- Scissors
- Sanding Sponge
- Clamps
- Tape
- Printed or drawn stencil
- Paint
- Primer paint
- 1 inch Brad nails
- 5/8 inch Brad nails
- Stencil https://www.etsy.com/listing/1255477827/marquee
- Christmas lights (C9/E17 Base, ST40 Vintage Patio String Lights) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078WR9481/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
Next lets talk about the material we will be building this out of. We will be using 1/2 inch plywood for the number cut out and 1/4 inch plywood for the outer border. Now if you are wanting to build commercially strong Marquees that you can rent out over and over lasting a long time with out much maintenance. I recommending using 1/2 inch plywood for the outer border instead of the 1/4 inch plywood we will be using. The reason is when we use 1/4 inch plywood we do not need to cut angles to get the borders to fit. If we use 1/2 inch plywood we would need to cut the border angles to make fit correctly because 1/2 inch is a lot thicker than 1/4 inch. This makes it a lot stronger but requires a lot more time, more tools and skill cutting all the minute angles. I will cover this in a future more in-depth. For now lets make the thinner 1/4 inch Marquee number.
First we need to get the number we will be cutting out. I have decided to make the number 1. Above you can see the how the stencil will look after printed out and taped together out of 12 pages. You can trace the number from memory on to the 2ft x 4ft piece of plywood 1/2 thick as well. Or you can purchase one of the Marquee outlines I have here LINK. Then trace on the 2ft x 4ft 1/2 inch thick plywood.
Then tape, cut and trace the number on the plywood. Next I am going to poke holes with a pencil and mark the wood where each of the X’s are. These are for adding the lights later on in the build. When I am done it should be close to 2ft wide x 3ft tall.
Next before you cut the plywood go over with a ruler or something straight to make sure your lines are even. Some times taping and cutting the stencils can cause slight alignment issues. So better to be safe than sorry. Then you will lightly sand the edges to get any excess wood splinters out of the way. Dont go crazy, just a minute or two passing the sponge over the edges will do wonders.
Next we will cut out the borders using the 1/4 inch thick 2ft x 4ft sheet of plywood. For this we will cut these 4 and a 1/2 inches wide x the full 4ft side. We will have 4 individual pieces of 1/4 inch thick planks 4 and 1/2 inch wide x 4ft long. If there are any splinters just use that sponge sander to wipe them off.
For this next part we will use the left over top scrap piece from the 1/2 inch plywood we cut the number out earlier. With that extra piece we will place along the bottom of the number, it will give us great balance and a place to have extra weight on a windy day. This piece will be cut to 8 and 1/2 inch wide x 2 ft wide. The same width as the number,
Now we use wood glue and 1 inch brad nails to secure it in place at the 4 inch mark facing forward. This will leave 4 inches in the back and 4 inches in the front. The 4 inches in the front is imperative because our sides will be measured to have the same width to match the bottom base.
Now all we will do is take the 1/4 inch planks we cut earlier and place all along the sides, marking the lengths against the Marquee number. Once you mark a section, cut it, glue and nail it against the edge. Use 5/8 inch brad nails and make sure your nail gun is set on low setting. As too much force will go right through the thin 1/4 inch plywood sides. The side borders should always be flush with the bottom base as in photo. Always be safe when using power tools, go slow, watch your hand placement and wear eye protection.
Once your are done with the borders, just add caulking all on the sides, edges and borders. This will help keep everything together. Make sure to get paintable caulking. Avoid silicone caulking as it is not paintable. Let dry according to manufactures recommendations.
Be generous with the caulking and have a wet rag on hand as this will assist you greatly.
Now just sand any edges rough parts around the marquee. Do not sand the caulking.
Now you are ready to cut the holes for the light. This may vary depending on the lights you buy or have. The lights I am using will require a 1 inch paddle bit to cut out the hole. I used the “X” on the stencil to mark the sign where I want the lights. Be careful as putting the stencil together may misalign some of the “X”s. I would suggest to double check for symmetry before drilling holes. As once you drill the hole, it is not really fixable. So before your major commitment of cutting the hole, make sure you are pleased with the location of the “X”s. No going back now.
If you are using lights you already have on hand, no problem. Just take out the bulb and trace the socket on a scrap piece of plywood. Then you can measure and purchase the paddle bit that fits. Or if you have some paddle bits you can place one over the traced socket until one looks like it fits. Then drill a practice hole and see if the socket fits in there. The socket should fit snug but come out with out too much hassle.
Once you have cut out all the socket holes, you can lightly go over the holes with the sanding sponge if there are any splinters sticking out.
Next just paint it with a primer, let dry and go over it with a high gloss white. The high gloss acts as a protectant and give it a nice shine. I used a spray paint primer and a roller for the high gloss paint.
Almost there, next just insert your light bulbs into the sockets of the marquee. Make sure you take into consideration your direction of electrical outlet when aligning the sockets. Now setup at your event or party and have everyone ask you where you bought your marquee from!
If you would like to see the video to this build, check out Maker Decor on YouTube. Or just follow the link.
