Route 66 Glow, Modern Guts.
Tulsa might be the neon capital of Route 66 — this town has been in love with glowing signs for a hundred years. Our prepared DIY LED sign kits ship to Tulsa and the whole northeast Oklahoma ring, carrying that same glow at a do-it-yourself price.
Modern LEDs inside a welded aluminum cabinet give you the classic lit-sign look with none of the old maintenance. The kit arrives prepared — lighting mounted, power supply included as quoted — and assembly is honest bolt-together work.
The Lighted Sign Cabinet, And The Price Difference
Shipping To Tulsa And Every Town Around It
Kits ship to Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bixby, Jenks, Sand Springs, Sapulpa and Claremore — and everywhere in between. If FedEx delivers there, your sign kit can too.
The vintage signs Tulsa is famous for needed neon benders and transformer repairs. Yours won't: edge-mounted LED modules and a 12-volt supply deliver the glow with modern reliability. When a module ever needs replacing, our Install Hardware page has you covered.
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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa
Roughly 95% of kits leave here FedEx Ground rather than by freight. That is a design decision, not a shipping accident — the frame is cut into sections specifically so the packages stay inside ground limits and land at your door like anything else you order.
What shows up. Long boxes: four welded frame sections for a standard cabinet with the LEDs already mounted inside, six with splice joints for a longer one. The power supply and mounting hardware come packed in with the sections, so there is no second box to wait on before you can start.
Delivery day. Nothing to arrange. A ground driver reaches a Route 66 storefront with no rear access and no dock the same way a mail carrier does, and one person can carry the boxes inside.
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. Get the cartons under a roof if hail is in the forecast — the LEDs and the power supply are in with the frame sections. A garage or shop is the right place to bolt the cabinet together anyway, so that is where the boxes should wait.
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 Tulsa that means three phone calls before you order, not after.
1. Ask what you're allowed
Start with the City of Tulsa permit center if you are inside city limits, or Tulsa County for unincorporated addresses. Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bixby, Jenks and Sand Springs are separate cities with their own sign codes, and the suburbs are where most new retail is going up. 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
Oklahoma wind loading drives the engineering here. A freestanding or pole sign commonly needs a footing design and drawings sealed by an Oklahoma-licensed engineer for your specific site, and an illuminated sign generally needs an electrical permit in addition to the sign permit. Route 66 and downtown overlay districts can add design review. 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa
| 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 Tulsa Businesses
Can you retrofit my old fluorescent sign instead?
Often yes — LED retrofit kits convert older cabinets to modern lighting. Ask through the contact page with a photo of your existing sign.
Single-sided or double-sided for a roadside spot?
The same frame supports either. Double-sided earns its keep on pole signs where traffic passes both directions.
Can I put a lighted sign on a historic Route 66 building in Tulsa?
Often yes, but expect an extra step. Overlay and historic districts can add design review on top of the normal size limits, which can affect face color, mounting method and how the sign is lit. Ask the City of Tulsa permit center what district your address falls in before you order, since the cabinet is welded to one size.
Who should do the electrical hookup?
A licensed electrician — and that is true on a retrofit of an old cabinet too, where the existing wiring is often the real problem. You can do the assembly and the mounting. The power connection is licensed, inspected work and these kits are not UL listed, so it is a trade call every time.
How much does a lighted business sign cost in Tulsa?
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 Tulsa?
No — we are not a Tulsa 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 Tulsa?
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 Tulsa 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 Tulsa, OK
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.