Outdoor information labels - howto suggestions?

[Chris Green]

We have a 9 acre smallholding which has some fairly spread out and not often looked at pipework, electricity supplies, etc.

After a recent episode with a stop c*ck down a hole on which I needed to tighten the gland nut I've decided some labels with a little bit of information on them would be very useful - this is mostly for myself but might be of use to the rest of the family, visitors, house sitters, etc.

Taking the 'stop c*ck down a hole' as an example it would be really useful to have a note that says:-

"Stop c*ck for all outside water. 16mm gland nut"

I hadn't remembered that it only turns off the outside water (we have the standard stop c*ck under the sink for the house) and I certainly hadn't remembered the size of the spanner required for the gland nut. Knowing the spanner size would have saved quite a bit of time and bad language. :-)

So has anyone got any suggestions for a good way of fixing a label near the above, it'll need a small stake in the ground or something to fix onto bricks. I have a Dymo that produces supposedly weatherproof labels so all I need in addition is something smooth and sound to stick the label onto.

I've looked at plant labels but they mostly seem just a bit too small and designed for sticking into soft ground only.

[GB]

I am almost certain that you are better off with a database on your computer, or a map / aerial photo.

With the map, you can stick the labels on the map and hang it up indoors.

That way, when your family are looking for "Stop c*ck for all outside water", they can locate it on the map. Otherwise, they are left to run round a 9 acre bigholding checking all the labels they can find.

[Chris Green]

Yes, I suppose that's a point, though I think both a 'map' *and* labels 'on the ground' would be best. So I'd still like to find a way to mount outside labels.

[GB]

Can you emboss metal labels with your machine?

[GB]

Not very practical, given the price, I'm afraid.

[Chris Hogg]

Oh for the days when you could emboss a metal label for (IIRC) 1d; most mainline railway stations had a machine.

[GB]

I remember! :)

[Andy Burns]

Buy a set of numbered "traffolyte" tags, they will weather better than most types of label, wire one onto each tap, with a document explaining where each numbered tap is fed from, what type of spanner is req'd etc.

[Chris Green]

No, it's one of the more modern 'industrial' Dymo labellers that produces stick on Vinyl (or Polyester) labels.

[Chris Green]

Oh yes, I remember those!

[Chris Green]

I guess that's a reasonable approach, there can be more than one copy of the sheet describing things too so they can be pinned up in useful places like by the switches in the garage and in the little store room by the stable where there's both electrics *and* plumbing.

I could even go very clever and put the details on my Wiki and use a phone or tablet to access that while I potter about fixing things! :-) Realistically a printout is probably a better idea for someone looking for a way to turn the water off when there's a connection dropped off somewhere in the orchard or paddocks.

[Rob Morley]

Laminate the labels, cut them into tags with a fixing hole at each end

- nail into mortar or wire to a tent-peg style stake (bit of aluminium angle?) or the tape itself. Although embossed metal labels (aluminium, brass?) appeals to me more - cheap punch sets on eBay should be fine for soft metals. Or you could stamp the information directly on the metal stake.

[Bill]

In message [e-mail]>, Chris Green [e-mail] writes

When we had a complete replacement set of rigging and guardrails made for the boat, I used luggage labels I had bought from Staples. They were Rexel Luggage Tag Kits and consisted of laminating pouches with leather straps that the rigger could just unclip from the old stay and clip to the replacement. They survived outdoors for almost the whole winter and others, as plant labels, have lasted for years. They are just like old fashioned labels for suitcases and you can write on both sides of the internal paper or card before laminating. The ones I have seem to be out of stock everywhere, but, if you have a laminator I see no reason why you couldn't punch a hole and then laminate any size label you fancy, then tie them on to, say, a long skewer at each point.

[spuorgelgoog]

These people look very competitively priced for small metal embossed markers

And for the super-organised you can import a spreadsheet file :-)

Then nail to a square-section wooden fence stake that comes with a ready-cut pointy end.

Owain

[tabbypurr]

Aluminium from drink cans. A set of letter punches costs nothing like that. Or do it with a hammer & nail. But don't tie ali with steel, it rots the a li.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

Actually any circular object of te same size was OK. We used to collect punch scrap from the metalworking machines or get one opf te prentices to fins some scrap 16swg steel and put the right punch in a fly press..

[newshound]

Not dealing with the "post" issue, but one reasonably easy way to make durable lables for outdoor use is just to print them on to normal paper or thin card, then laminate in laminating pouches. Depending on what size you need, you can make a dozen or more in a single A4 pouch. Allow

5 mm or more of "border" where the laminate is sealed outside the paper or card. More if you are going to fasten the label to a post with a pin or stapler, so that the pins don't go through the paper.

Inkjet will fade in sunlight, monochrome laser will last a long time.

[Bob Eager]

I'd probably get some of that plastic with a coloured coating you can engrave through to get white underneath. Hand engraver and a stencil, then screw the label on the brick. Overkill, but that's me - I put up kitchen cabinets with Rawlbolts!

[FMurtz]

"Address not found" for both URLS

[Andy Burns]

Both OK here.