Hand-carved wood signs
Solid cedar, cherry and mahogany, cut by hand and finished to survive a New Jersey winter.
What you get
Hand-carved wood signs, made properly
There is no substitute for real timber when a building deserves it. We carve solid cedar, cherry and mahogany — species chosen for grain, stability and how they take a finish. The letterform is cut into the board or raised from it, so it holds a shadow line and stays readable from an angle.
Wood is a living material, and we treat it accordingly: end-grain sealed, every face primed, marine-grade coatings built up in layers, and hardware selected so nothing bleeds rust down the face in year three. Where a client wants the look of carved timber with none of the maintenance, we will say so and quote HDU instead.
- Solid cedar, cherry and mahogany stock
- Hand-carved and sandblasted relief lettering
- Marine-grade primers and topcoats, built in layers
- Gilding, painting and glass inlay finishes available
- Post-and-panel, hanging bracket or wall-mounted
Questions
Before you commission a sign
Two weeks is typical for most carved and dimensional work once the design is approved. Hand-carved and sculpted pieces, and anything with gold leaf, run four to six weeks. Permit review by your township is separate and can add several weeks, so it is worth starting early.
Yes. Most New Jersey municipalities regulate sign size, height, setback and illumination, and many require scaled drawings for zoning approval. We prepare the drawings and submit the application as part of the project.
HDU is high-density urethane — a closed-cell board that carves like clay and holds crisp detail. Unlike timber it will not rot, warp, split or absorb water, so it is the better choice for most exterior signs. We still carve solid cedar, cherry and mahogany when a client specifically wants real wood.
Genuine 23K leaf is almost pure gold, so it does not oxidise or tarnish. Properly laid and sized on a well-prepared surface, exterior gilding regularly lasts decades. Imitation leaf and gold paint will dull within a few years, which is why we use the real thing.
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