Signage Reborn

While working on the Middle Gate restoration, I decided to give the garden sign a slight makeover. The sign was created in 2016. 

Each winter it is brought into the garage to protect it from weathering. This year the frame was in need of re-staining.

The sign itself, which was acquired in Taiwan, has held up well. Some of the varnish is starting to dull, but for now a simple cleaning was all that was needed. 

In a year or two I may attempt a refinishing, but right now the prospect of sanding and refinishing would be a major undertaking. I am also afraid of damaging the wonderful craftsmanship of the carved characters, so waiting until I have a better plan is probably the best approach for now.

In the meantime, the frame and sign look much improved.

Revisiting the Middle Path

The Middle Gate between the house and garage had been installed in the spring of 2012.

Since that time it required little to no maintenance. By 2025 it was in need of re-staining, but during the preparation I discovered that the bottom rails supporting the bamboo screen had rotted. Additionally, the lower rail on the right support also rotted and needed replacing.

The bamboo screens had also become unsightly. They had been installed in 2018 and I left them in place after the rest of the garden fence screens had been replaced with cedar boards in 2022. Bamboo always looks good the first year or two after installation, but quickly fades and becomes unsightly over time. It was now time to switch it out for cedar boards.

These changes resulted in a major restoration of the gate that took almost five days to complete. First all the small cedar embellishments had to be removed, sanded, and re-stained. This did not include the cedar boards on the doors. They stayed in place.

The bottom support rail, and bottom supports for the screens had to be cut and stained, and installed. For this repair, I used steel brackets to hold the bottom rails. 

This should reduce the likelihood of rot.

Then the entire gate frame had to be re-stained green.

After replacing the cedar embellishments, I had to cut and stain new screen boards. 

I also added two flowerettes to the top opening to hide the exposed bolts holes.

The door boards were re-stained, but due to their age and weathering, they have retained a dark patina. Otherwise, they are in good shape.

Although the restoration took much longer than anticipated, it looks much better and I should be able to get another 10+ years of use from the gate.

Longevity Embraced

The Woodland Gate had been constructed back in 2017. Over time its held up well with minimal repairs. The bamboo on the doors was replaced in 2024, but otherwise no major maintenance.

Last winter I noticed a significant problem. The two main posts that support the roof are attached to metal brackets that are cemented into sonotubes. Originally, I added additional support with braces on both the front and sides. Doing so prevented side-to-side, and back-and-forth movement. However, there seems to have been some back and forth movement still occurring, probably from the snow rake removal process each winter. As a result, some of the cement on the right side sonontube appeared to be showing sings of stress. 

In an attempt to prevent further movement, and extend the life of the gate before collapse or planned removal, I decided to add two additional braces in the rear of the gate

Technically off property, these additions were necessary to extend the life of the gate

I kept the height somewhat higher on these braces. It does make for a bit of a jumble when one sees all of the braces attached, but it will ensure that the gate can remain for a few more years.

I also added post protectors to prevent rot at the base, and then spray painted them green to match the stain that would be used on the posts.

The older exposed stain was showing signs of distress, so I took this opportunity to re-stain the main support structure of the gate. 

I decided to skip the process of creating faux tenons for the new support braces. Instead, I attached small flowerettes to conceal the bolts that were used to attach the posts. I stained them natural cedar to allow them to stand out and be more visible.

Finally, I added two new copper caps to the new support posts.

Overall, the gate looks like new. 

Now only time will tell if these adjustments will help save the gate from further decline or collapse

Lantern Landscape

Wanting to add a bit more interest to the new bed located along the garden shed, I added a couple of new features.

First, I moved the Indonesian Showa style Yukimi Lantern. This lantern had been placed near the bamboo end of the Dragon Spine several year ago. 

I never decided on its final location or had considered how to purposefully incorporate it into the garden. With the addition of the Tsukubia to the Dragon's Spine last year, the lantern no longer seemed correctly placed. With the reworking of the shed and bed, I now had the ideal location.

The lantern needs its own home, uncluttered by other hardscape features. It also fits in well with the slightly slanted topography within the bed.

Eventually I may need to make some adjustments as the nearby shrubs grow, but in the meantime I should get a few years out of this placement.

I also decided to make an adjustment to the mini-bamboo fence I created for this bed. Originally I used black rope as the "rails" of the bamboo posts. 

However, very quickly the rope began to be damaged by critters who would chew through it. 

Instead, I used very thin bamboo poles as a replacement. 

They seem to be working fine. I still preferred the rope, but for now these will have to do.