Hasta La Ideas

It’s a shame that everyone from name-brand architects to homeowners to neighborhood beautification organizations often miss this important fact: Wood, if not properly maintained, is actually a very poor materials choice for outdoor products and facades.

Outdoor-dwelling wooden objects need to have a protective coating that must regularly be re-applied. And the object must be designed with seasonal wood movement in mind. When these things are not heeded, this happens:

These planters are on Lafayette Street. I remember when they first put them in, and I want to say they looked spiffy for about six months. But in the photo above you can see the vertical boards are pinned in on both sides by carriage bolts, meaning that when they expand and contract there is no place for them to go, and they crack.

Some of the finials have snapped off, allowing rainwater to infiltrate the joints.

Someone on the neighborhood improvement committee has been desperately trying to save these by attaching bracket after bracket. This person also did not account for expansion/contraction and has probably contributed to the splitting over time.