Built For Plains Weather.
Des Moines anchors a ring of hard-working Iowa towns, and every one of them is full of small businesses that deserve a professional lighted sign without the big-city price tag. Our DIY LED sign kits ship to the entire metro, prepared in our shop and ready to assemble.
Iowa weather doesn't play — wind, hail, and winters that test everything bolted to a building. That's why our cabinets are aluminum with welded corners: light enough to install yourself, tough enough for the plains.
The Lighted Sign Cabinet, And The Price Difference
Shipping To Des Moines And Every Town Around It
Kits ship to West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston, Waukee, Indianola and up to Ames — and everywhere in between. If FedEx delivers there, your sign kit can too.
An aluminum cabinet doesn't rust like steel and doesn't crack like plastic channel signs. Welded corners keep the frame rigid through freeze and thaw. It's the right sign construction for Iowa — and because you install it, it costs a fraction of full retail.
Call it what you like — an illuminated cabinet sign, a light box sign, or an outdoor lighted sign box — it’s the same product: an aluminum LED sign cabinet, built in our shop and shipped to your door as a ready-to-assemble kit.
Every prepared kit includes: an aluminum frame cut to your size with welded corners, LEDs mounted inside, and a 12-volt power supply with wiring hardware as listed in your written quote. Sign faces and graphics are available separately through DIY Graphics.
Programmable LED Message Center Signs
A lot of Des Moines owners shopping for a lighted sign are really after the changeable kind — a programmable LED sign that shows something different tomorrow than it does today. That product goes by a pile of different names: an electronic message center (EMC), an LED message board, an outdoor LED display, a scrolling LED sign or a digital marquee sign. They all describe the same thing — a grid of LEDs you update yourself from a phone, tablet or computer.
The usual setup on a Des Moines storefront or roadside pole is both signs together: the lighted cabinet up top carrying your business name permanently, and the message center below it carrying today’s special, price, hours or announcement. One says who you are. The other says what is happening right now.
Check this before you order. Many towns around Des Moines regulate electronic message centers separately from static signs, and limits on brightness, hold time, dwell time and animation are common. Confirm the rules with your local township or zoning office first — the same as you would for any freestanding sign. Easy financing available; ask about it when you request your written quote.
How Your Kit Gets To Des Moines
Kits ship FedEx Ground about 95% of the time, so a Des Moines address is no harder to deliver to than a book order. The same goes for Ankeny, Waukee, Norwalk and every small town in the ring around the metro — if FedEx runs the route, your sign kit goes.
What shows up. It shows up as a set of long boxes. The frame is cut into four sections, or six with splice joints on a bigger cabinet, sized deliberately so the packages stay inside ground limits. The LEDs are already mounted in the sections, and the power supply and hardware are boxed in with them.
Delivery day. There is nothing to coordinate. No appointment, no liftgate, no curbside handoff — the driver leaves boxes and goes, and one person can bring them in.
Open the boxes the day they land. Look the sections over even if the cartons look perfect, and do it before install day rather than the morning of. Photograph anything crushed, torn or bent and keep the packaging exactly as it arrived — that is what a carrier claim is built on. Finding a problem the day a box shows up is a phone call; finding it with a crew standing on a ladder is a lost day.
Where to put it. Iowa winter is the one thing to actually think about. Do not let the boxes sit out through freezing rain or a thaw-refreeze, because the power supply and the LED sections are inside them. If you are assembling in an unheated garage, let everything come up to temperature first so you are not turning brittle-cold hardware.
Measure Twice. Order Once.
Your kit is cut to a size, welded, and pre-lit before it ships, so the size has to be right the first time. In Des Moines that means three phone calls before you order, not after.
1. Ask what you're allowed
Start with the City of Des Moines permit and development center if you are inside city limits, or Polk County for the unincorporated area. West Des Moines, Ankeny, Urbandale, Johnston and Waukee all run their own sign codes, and in a metro this fragmented the suburb you are actually in matters more than the metro name. Ask for the maximum sign area and height for your zoning district, whether your sign counts as wall-mounted or freestanding, and what setback applies. Sign area is usually tied to your building frontage, so the answer is specific to your address — not to the block or to the business next door.
2. Ask your landlord
If you're in a plaza or center, the landlord's sign criteria sit on top of the city code and are often stricter. Cabinet depth, face color, letter height and mounting method are all commonly spelled out. Get the criteria sheet in writing before you pick a size — it is cheaper than rebuilding a cabinet that the center won't approve.
3. Ask about engineering and wiring
Iowa has a state building code that applies where a city has not adopted its own, and wind and snow loading are real considerations on the plains. A freestanding or pole sign commonly needs a footing design and drawings sealed by an Iowa-licensed engineer, and a lighted sign generally needs a separate electrical permit. Plan on a licensed electrician for the final hookup and inspection either way. We build the cabinet; the permit, the footing, the disconnect and the sign-off are local work done by local people.
DIY Kit vs. Hiring A Des Moines Sign Company
The short answer: a full-service sign company sells a finished project — survey, fabrication, installation — and prices it that way. We are not a Des Moines sign installation company. We build the lighted sign cabinet itself, ship it to your door, and coach you while you or your contractor handle the install. That one difference is where the savings come from.
| What happens | Full-Service Sign Company | DIY Sign Guy Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Who builds the cabinet | They do | We do — cut to your size, LEDs mounted inside |
| Who installs it | Their crew | You, or a local contractor you hire |
| 4′ × 8′ lighted sign example* | $3,112 | $984 kit + your installation |
| Permits & inspections | Usually handled for you | You check with your township — we help plan a cabinet that fits the rules |
| Best fit | Complex installs, no time to coordinate | Owners and contractors comfortable with bolts, a level, and an electrician for hookup |
* Example comparison based on the specifications shown on our pricing page. Savings are potential, not guaranteed; prices subject to change.
Lighted business sign kit pricing shipped to Des Moines
| Frame depth | Price per foot of frame length | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 4-inch — most popular | $41 per foot | Wall-mounted storefront signs |
| 7-inch | $47 per foot | Wall installs and double-pole signs |
| 10-inch | $67 per foot | Pylon and single-pole roadside signs |
Every kit is pre-lit with a 12-volt power supply included as quoted. Sign faces and graphics are separate. Prices subject to change without notice — get your written quote.
Straight Answers For Des Moines Businesses
Is the kit hard to assemble in cold months?
No — assembly is bolt-together with pre-mounted LEDs, and it can be done in a garage or shop before mounting day.
Do you really ship to smaller Iowa towns?
Yes. Kits ship FedEx Ground, so anywhere FedEx delivers, your sign kit goes — the Des Moines metro and every small town around it, no freight terminal required.
Do I need a permit for a lighted sign in Des Moines?
Assume yes. Sign permits are issued by whichever city you are actually in — Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny and Urbandale each write their own rules — or by Polk County in the unincorporated area. An illuminated sign commonly needs an electrical permit alongside the sign permit. Get your approved size before ordering, because the cabinet is welded to that size.
Who should do the electrical hookup?
That one goes to a licensed electrician. The assembly and the mounting are yours — that is the whole point of a kit — but bringing building power to a lighted sign is licensed work that gets inspected, and these kits are not UL listed. Price the electrician in from the start so it is not a surprise at the end.
How much does a lighted business sign cost in Des Moines?
Less than most owners expect — because you skip the full-service labor. Our aluminum LED sign cabinet kits run $41 per foot of frame length in the 4-inch depth, $47 for 7-inch and $67 for 10-inch, pre-lit with the power supply included as quoted. As an example comparison, a 4' x 8' lighted sign quoted at $3,112 by a full-service company runs about $984 as a kit — savings are potential, not guaranteed. Sign faces and graphics are separate, prices are subject to change, and every kit is quoted in writing to your exact size.
Do you install signs in Des Moines?
No — we are not a Des Moines sign installation company, and that is exactly why the price works. We build and ship the lighted cabinet; you or a local contractor handle the mounting, with a qualified electrician for the electrical hookup. Real guidance from the builder comes with every kit, and your local township sets the permit and inspection rules.
Do you sell programmable LED message center signs in Des Moines?
Yes. An LED message center — also called an electronic message center, an EMC, a programmable LED sign, an LED message board or a digital marquee — is an outdoor display built into a sign that you change yourself from a phone, tablet or computer. It ships to Des Moines the same way our lighted cabinets do, and it is quoted in writing to your size. Many towns regulate message centers separately from static signs, so confirm brightness, hold time and animation rules with your local township before ordering. Easy financing available — ask when you request your quote.
What is the difference between a lighted cabinet sign and an LED message center?
A lighted cabinet sign shows one fixed printed face and lights it from behind — it carries your business name permanently. An LED message center shows changeable messages you update whenever you want. Most businesses run both on the same structure: the cabinet on top for the name and logo, the message center below it for today's special, price or hours.
What is an illuminated cabinet sign?
An illuminated cabinet sign — also called a light box sign — is an aluminum box with lighting inside and translucent faces: the classic lighted sign above a storefront. Ours ships as a prepared kit with the frame cut to your exact size, LEDs already mounted inside, and a 12-volt power supply included as quoted.
Answers by Dean, the DIY Sign Guy — building signs since 2004.
Get A Written Price For Des Moines, IA
Tell me what you need and I’ll send you a straight, written quote — from the guy who actually builds it. No showroom visit, no pressure.