The inspiration for this column came to me one Sunday morning as I was greeting people at our church, where my wife and I are ushers. In between people dashing through the door to avoid the drops of rain falling from the steel-gray clouds, I looked across the street. A project at a multifamily building was finally completed.
The final job was to erect a new sign near the sidewalk. This sign was covered by a simple roof structure that was anchored to the ground with two rough-sawn 8x8s. They were either oak or cedar. I suspect cedar, based on the nut-brown color. A week before, I had seen all the lumber on a pallet ready to be installed. That’s how I know the posts were solid wood.
