Growing up, we had a family reunion every August at my grandparents place. My grandfather built this table where you would put food along with blocks of ice to keep the food cold. He died in 1994, but my grandmother still lived at the farm and this table was still there, albeit covered with bird poop and rotting legs. I asked to borrow it in 2015 for my father-in-law’s 60th birthday. I had to do a lot of repair to make it serviceable.
Grandma had told me that she really didn’t think it needed to come back, so it sat in my driveway until 2017 when I decided that it need to be retired because it was in my way. I took the 1/2 sheet of plywood off for later use since it seemed to be in serviceable condition. I recently ripped a couple strips off for a project that I am working on. I looked at the core and was amazed by two things. One, how many consistent layers are in the core and two, the lack of voids.
It got me thinking about the origin of this plywood, wondering how many of the people that made it were still alive. The resource that old growth timber was and how stable and durable that material was. Today we have OSB and engineered studs and beams that are economical and straight. We have more wood products that are theoretically better for the application, but we don’t have the durability. In my life, we have seen the likes of engineered siding fail, improper air sealing causing sheathing to rot and imported products offgassing to make homes toxic.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a believer in technology and the global economy and I understand that failure is a great teacher. But, wouldn’t it be great if we appreciate things right now?
As we rush into the holiday season, I am trying to make sure that I value the right things, appreciate the things that may never be the same again and focus on the durability in life. I hope that you do that too.
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