Bayan Signage builds outdoor light box signs for street fascias, rooftops, forecourts, warehouses and roadside sites, designed for condensation, sand, heat and shamal winds rather than just rain. Every box is wired with IP65 modules and sealed drivers in our Ajman factory, tested at full brightness and covered by a 5-year outdoor warranty.
An outdoor light box sign is an illuminated cabinet built to live on an open facade, roof or post: it sheds water before it reaches a joint, gives any moisture that gets in a planned way out, and keeps drivers and connections sealed and lifted above the lowest point. Any lightbox can be put outside. Whether it still works after three UAE summers depends on those details. Street-facing shops, petrol stations, warehouses, car parks, schools and rooftop brands all need this kind of box.
In our experience rain is rarely the enemy. Condensation is. Humid coastal nights followed by hot mornings pull wet air into a sealed box and leave it there, and fine dust follows through gaps a few tenths of a millimetre wide. Add surface temperatures that can pass 70°C on a west-facing fascia and an indoor-grade driver will not last a season. We use IP65 modules, IP67 drivers mounted in shade, screened weep holes at the lowest corners and side cable entries with drip loops, and we test every circuit in the factory.
Bayan Signage has made outdoor signs in Ajman since 2016 as the production arm of Bayan Advertising, which has spent 15 years in the UAE market. Galvanised steel frames are welded in-house, faces up to 3.2 m wide are printed in one pass on our own printers, and our electricians assemble and test every LED circuit. Outdoor boxes carry a 5-year warranty on LEDs, powder coat and structure, and our installation crews work across all seven emirates.
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The weatherproofing principles are the same at every size. What changes is the face material and the structure behind it.
An acrylic or polycarbonate face on an aluminium cabinet across the shop width, sealed and drained for a sun-facing street. The most common outdoor box we build.
View details →Backlit PVC flex stretched on an extrusion frame, for faces wider than about 3 m where acrylic would need joints. Light, jointless and cheap to reprint.
View details →A large box on a welded galvanised steel frame, designed for wind on the full face and fixed back to the building structure.
View details →A double-sided weatherproof box on a bracket or post, read from both directions along a road or arcade.
View details →Lit cabinets built into pylon and totem structures for forecourts, malls and roadside retail, with drivers reachable from the base.
View details →We note sun direction, distance from the sea, wind exposure and what the box will fix to, because cladding and render are rarely structural. The survey is free in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.
Draftsmen choose acrylic, polycarbonate or flex by face size, and size the aluminium or galvanised steel frame for wind. The shop drawing shows drainage points, cable entries and driver position.
Galvanised steel frames are welded in our factory and cabinets are powder-coated. Top seams get an overhanging cap and drip edge so rain runs off the front.
Our electricians wire IP65 modules with sealed connectors set high in the box, fit cable glands at the sides and run the complete box at full brightness before it is closed.
Faces are fitted on EPDM gaskets or flex is tensioned on its frame. We check seals, weep holes and artwork against the approved drawing and sign the box off.
The crew that built the box fixes it to structure with the right stainless grade, connects it through an outdoor isolator and RCD, seals every penetration and tests it after dark.
This is the specification we start from for street-facing and exposed sites. Coastal, rooftop and roadside jobs move up the upgrade column, and each change is itemised.
| Component | Our standard | Upgrade options | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face | 5 mm opal cast acrylic up to about 3 m | UV-grade polycarbonate, tensioned backlit flex for wider faces | Acrylic gives the crispest colour; flex avoids joints and cracking on big faces. |
| Seals and top | EPDM gaskets, overhanging top cap, drip edge | Sloped top on dusty sites | Top seams are the first place water finds, and flat tops collect sand that streaks the face. |
| Drainage | Screened weep holes at lowest corners | Breather vents for fully sealed cabinets | A fully airtight box traps condensation; water needs a controlled way out. |
| LEDs and wiring | Samsung or Epistar, IP65, sealed connectors, side glands | IP67 modules for exposed rooftops | Cables entering from the top carry water straight onto the LEDs. |
| Driver and protection | IP67 driver in shade, earthed box, RCD | Surge protection, timer or photocell | Wet weather is when poorly protected signs trip or become unsafe. |
| Fixings | A2 stainless with isolating washers | A4 (316) stainless within a few kilometres of the sea | Stainless straight into aluminium in salt air causes galvanic corrosion at every fixing. |
| Structure | Aluminium cabinet frame | Galvanised steel frame with structural check | On large faces, wind load on the fixings, not the box weight, governs the design. |
Our crews see the same failures again and again when they are called to other people's signs. These are the rules we build by as a result.
It sounds logical, but a fully airtight box traps the condensation that forms every humid night, and the water has nowhere to go. We seal the face and top seams against driven rain and dust, then leave small screened weep holes at the lowest corners so moisture drains and the box breathes. On most repairs we attend for water inside, missing or blocked drainage is the cause, not a leak.
Acrylic sheet comes in sizes around 2 x 3 m, so wider faces need joints that show when lit and can crack where they meet. Above about 3 m we normally recommend tensioned backlit PVC flex at 440 to 510 gsm, printed in one piece up to 3.2 m wide on our own printers. It is lighter, cannot shatter and costs little to reprint, though expect to reprint every few years in direct sun.
A 6 m by 2 m face is 12 square metres of sail. A strong shamal gust can put several hundred kilograms of load on the fixings, far more than the box weighs. Boxes that size are built on a galvanised steel frame, fixed through the cladding into the building structure, and checked before installation. Small boxes still go into solid block or concrete, never render or ACP alone.
Drivers are the part most likely to fail, so they belong in a shaded, ventilated spot that can be reached without a crane: a parapet void, a plant area or a sealed box at low level. Specify IP67 drivers with 20 to 30% headroom over the LED load. An indoor or IP20 driver in an outdoor box often lasts only a few months.
A sign that trips the RCD after rain or a wash is telling you water has reached the electrics. Switch it off and have it inspected rather than resetting it repeatedly. Every outdoor box we install is earthed and protected by an RCD, and one service visit a year to clear weep holes, check gaskets and clean inside keeps both brightness and safety where they should be.
We price each outdoor box from its drawing and its exposure. Send the sign size, your artwork, photos of the facade and the street, and roughly how close the site is to the sea, and you get an itemised quote, usually within 24 hours.
Acrylic suits faces up to about 3 m; beyond that, flex on a tension frame is usually more economical than jointed sheet.
Rooftop and large boxes need welded galvanised steel frames and fixings designed for wind, which can cost more than the cabinet itself.
Sites near the sea need A4 stainless fixings, isolating washers and extra attention to coatings, all priced as separate lines.
Outdoor isolators, RCD protection, surge protection and timers or photocells are listed individually so you can see what is included.
A ground-floor fascia needs a tower; rooftops and high facades need a boom lift, crane or rope access, which affects installation cost.
Taking down and disposing of an old box, and repairing the facade behind it, is quoted separately when needed.
Outdoor boxes usually need an authority submission, and roadside or rooftop signs may need more drawings and calculations.
Most outdoor lightboxes need approval for their size and content before installation. In Dubai that is usually Dubai Municipality, or the free-zone or master-developer authority where the plot falls within one, such as JAFZA, DMCC or TECOM. Sharjah and Ajman boxes go through their municipalities, and Abu Dhabi has its own authorities and free zones. Roadside signs near major roads may also involve RTA or the local roads authority.
Our technical draftsmen prepare the elevation, shop drawing and specification for the submission, with structural details for large and rooftop boxes, and check the Arabic and English trade name against your licence. We follow the application through. Requirements vary by emirate and by site, and they change, so we confirm the current rules for your exact location at the survey.
Drainage, gaskets, side cable entries, sealed connectors and shaded IP67 drivers are part of our standard outdoor build, not an extra.
Galvanised steel frames for large and rooftop boxes are welded in our Ajman factory and designed with the cabinet, not bought in separately.
Our large-format printers produce backlit flex and film up to 3.2 m wide in one pass, so large faces have fewer joints.
LEDs, powder coat and structure are covered for 5 years, with a warranty document handed over at completion.
Every outdoor connection is made by our own electricians, with earthing and RCD protection tested before the sign is handed over.
We keep the drawings for every box we make and offer cleaning, resealing, reprinting and repairs, including for boxes made by others.
For the LEDs, IP65 or better is the outdoor standard, and drivers should be IP67. The box itself does not need to be airtight; it needs to keep driven rain and dust away from the electrics and drain any water that gets in. An IP rating on the LEDs alone does not make the whole sign weatherproof.
Usually it is condensation rather than a leak. Humid air enters at night and condenses as the box cools, then has no way out. Blocked or missing weep holes, cables entering from the top and failed top seals are the common causes. Most cases are fixed by adding drainage and resealing the joints.
For faces up to about 3 m, acrylic gives a crisper, more premium look and lasts longer. Above that, tensioned PVC flex is lighter, avoids visible joints and is cheap to reprint. Flex prints fade faster in direct sun, so plan on reprinting every few years, which takes a single visit.
Yes, if they are built and fixed properly. The risks in a storm are wind load on the fixings and dust getting inside. A box on a correctly designed frame with good gaskets will ride out shamal winds, though it may need a clean inside and out afterwards to restore full brightness.
It depends on face size and material, the structure, how exposed and how close to the sea the site is, access and permits. A small fascia box on a ground-floor shop costs far less than a rooftop box on a steel frame. Send us photos and sizes and we will send an itemised quote, usually within 24 hours.
A properly built box usually lasts ten years or more. The LED modules we use are rated for around 50,000 hours, and our outdoor boxes carry a 5-year warranty on LEDs, powder coat and structure. Flex faces typically need reprinting every three to five years in direct sun; blocked drainage and drivers in hot, sealed spots are what shorten a box's life.
Yes. We fix leaks, replace faces and drivers, reprint flex and convert fluorescent boxes to LED. After an inspection we tell you honestly whether the box is worth repairing or whether a new one is better value, and we can often reuse a sound frame or structure.
Yes. We install across all seven emirates from our factory in Ajman, including Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. The site survey is free in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.
Send your logo, the fascia size and a site photo. Our estimating team replies with options and an itemised price, usually within 24 hours.