04/21/2020
I built this sign nine years ago, in 2011. It is meant to look like a barrel, and it is about 8" thick. I built each face seperately, of multiple layers of HDU, backed up by 3/4" MDO, then screwed and glued the two haves together.
Only then did I realize that this 3'x4' sign now weighed well over 100 lbs.! I had built a steel bracket to hold it, and just getting the bracket installed on the building was a story in itself.
Installation day, February 2011. I had assembled a crew with Jean Gagnier and two other stout fellows, and to top it off, it began snowing. Heavily. Nonetheless, we persisted. The bracket was secured (we hoped) to the building, ladders in position, a makeshift hoist set up to control the weight of the sign, while the fasteners were secured, with heavy wet snow falling and piling up and making everything thoroughly miserable.
At last the hooks were secure. The bracket sagged only slightly, well within the tensile limits of the steel; nothing creaked or groaned or moved ominously. Relieved, we packed up and left, and there the sign remained has remained, unmolested, for the last nine years.
So, when this past winter, when my client wanted it cleaned up, repainted and restored, I agreed on one condition - he would have to take it down, and put it back up, himself. He was able to make the arrangements, so for the past ten days, the sign has been in my shop for a much-needed repaint and restoration. It's done now, and will be delivered this afternoon.
And it's not snowing, which is great.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
