Best wood or material for column base?

[semenza]

I have this potential job coming up.............

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    This column is in good shape the matching one needs new round and square base portions. The large diameter piece is about 18" in diameter and 2 5/8" thick. The smaller is about 16" diameter. and 1" thick. The square is about 3 1/2" tall (thick).  It needs to be painted. PT doesn't seem like a good choice do to concerns with painting, twisting, shrinking, splitting.  I have been thinking cypress. 

    The construction of the square part looks like a 4" x 4" , cut , mitered into a square. The round parts on the intact column are curved quarters with butt joint assembly. But I can't tell how wide or anything else. The round parts on the one that rotted away are boards glued together with a big solid circle cut out.

    The columns are supportive but not really load bearing. In other words the stubby porch roof is constructed so that it will stay put all on its own.

    I don't do a lot of this type of exterior work so any input I welcome.

Seth

 

[JSlovic]

We had similar columns and bases on our house. My wife's decorator made me replace them with wood something about the "ring of truth" when you touched them- they lasted 4 years
I replaced them with fibreglass on urethane bases 15+ years ago they sound fine  I got them from the Melton Classics previous incarnation
Cypress will rot espically plain sawn boards that get standing water on them. It's also prone to carpenter bees
I've had good luck with redwood primed with Kilz no rot and no bleeding for outdoor applications

 

[bkharman]

Would PVC be strong enough?  I know it would be best against rot, but not sure if it can handle the load.

Good luck!

Bryan

 

[Sparktrician]

I'd go with fiberglass.  We used them on a job years ago and despite sounding like "it ain't wood", they have held up well. 

 

[tiralie]

I'd go with fiberglass. 

Or if you can sneak a column base under the existing column and then wrap it with PVC. Those columns rot from the inside out because of trapped moisture from the ice and snow.
The weather in the North East kicks the S--t out of anything sitting on the ground.
Tim

 

[tjbnwi]

Boral. No need to look at anything else.

http://www.boralamerica.com/trim

Tom

 

[semenza]

Hmmm,, my understanding has been that cypress is highly rot resistant  ???

I think redoing both  columns with new non-wood bases and such is going to be way outside where the budget for this will fall. Not sure.  They are really looking to just do the bad one.

Could be this will get referred  to some one that deals with this type of exterior work more than I do. Especially since the person I have in mind has sent me furniture jobs.  Not given up on it quite yet but there are issues involved that I am not sure I want to guarantee.

More ideas are welcome.

Seth

 

[peter halle]

You could cypress and then use one of the this epoxy consolidates to saturate the wood.  That would give added protection.  I did a large sign that others said couldn't be repaired about 9 years ago and it is holding up great.

Peter

 

[semenza]

You could cypress and then use one of the this epoxy consolidates to saturate the wood.  That would give added protection.  I did a large sign that others said couldn't be repaired about 9 years ago and it is holding up great.

Peter

Do you have a brand or a link?

 

[Brice Burrell]

Hmmm,, my understanding has been that cypress is highly rot resistant  ???.......

Seth, only old growth cypress is rot resistant (despite what you may hear to the contrary).  As far as I'm concerned there isn't any wood I'd use outside for trim.    

 

[Brice Burrell]

Boral. No need to look at anything else.

http://www.boralamerica.com/trim

Tom

Tom, I can't see how you can make such a claim about a newer product (remember the first gen Trex and Tendura porch flooring?)  What can you tell us about this product that has you sold?

 

[tjbnwi]

5 years of field testing, doesn't expand or contract, works like wood.

The fact I hate plastics and composites sway my opinion also.

Tom

 

[semenza]

5 years of field testing, doesn't expand or contract, works like wood.

The fact I hate plastics and composites sway my opinion also.

Tom

On the Boral.........  I am having trouble finding info on shapes , sizes, prices.

Seth

 

[tjbnwi]

5 years of field testing, doesn't expand or contract, works like wood.

The fact I hate plastics and composites sway my opinion also.

Tom

On the Boral.........  I am having trouble finding info on shapes , sizes, prices.

Seth

http://www.boralamerica.com/Media/Default/Resources/Trim/TruExterior-Brochure-Trim.pdf

http://www.boralamerica.com/Media/Default/Resources/Trim/TruExterior-Brochure-Beadboard.pdf

Pricing would be from your supplier.

Tom

 

[w802h]

Seth,

It sounds like budget and longevity are primary drivers.  What if you molded a concrete base and supported the column with a PT block that you trimmed with a doughnut made out of boral, PVC, etc.  Is the whole post shot or just the base?

Do you think the other post failed because of more exposed end grain, inferior woodmanship/materials, longer service period, exposure, splashback, etc.  If you can guess why the column base failed it can give clues about how to best solve the issue. 

 

[dbworkshop]

Can't tell how bad the column base is as the pic won't load for me. I had a job years ago where cost was a big factor.  I ended up using abatron. One product to solidify the softer sections and then the epoxy filler to rebuild the missing sections. It was very easy to work with and took paint exceptionally well.  Haven't had a call back yet on it.

Good luck Seth.

Dan

 

[peter halle]

You could cypress and then use one of the this epoxy consolidates to saturate the wood.  That would give added protection.  I did a large sign that others said couldn't be repaired about 9 years ago and it is holding up great.

Peter

Do you have a brand or a link?

Abatron:  Liquid Wood

System 3:  http://www.systemthree.com/store/pc/Rot-Fix-c39.htm

West System:  Can use the 105 Resin with a slow hardener.  Also heating the wood (not the resin mixture) can reduce the viscosity of the resin once it is applied, but it will harden faster - thus the slow hardener.

Jamestown Distributors is a good source and their technical people are supposedly top notch.  They also have their own line of products.

Peter

 

[leakyroof]

Hmmm,, my understanding has been that cypress is highly rot resistant  ???

I think redoing both  columns with new non-wood bases and such is going to be way outside where the budget for this will fall. Not sure.  They are really looking to just do the bad one.

Could be this will get referred  to some one that deals with this type of exterior work more than I do. Especially since the person I have in mind has sent me furniture jobs.   Not given up on it quite yet but there are issues involved that I am not sure I want to guarantee.

More ideas are welcome.

Seth

  Well, not all Cypress is the same, as Brice has noted. If you look in the Weekend Rotex thread over in another section here on FOG, you'll see a Cypress Big Green Egg table that I replaced 3 top boards on due to rot. Not in contact with the ground, not even low to the ground. 

 

[semenza]

The one in the picture is the good one and I believe the older one with better construction. No idea what type of wood.  The one that is rotted is completely fallen apart, no repairing it, and also no idea what type of wood. The column itself has been removed (by owner) is in good shape. Just one base needs replacing. But if it is done with something completely different , then both will need replacing in order to match.

Seth

 

[leakyroof]

The one in the picture is the good one and I believe the older one with better construction. No idea what type of wood.  The one that is rotted is completely fallen apart, no repairing it, and also no idea what type of wood. The column itself has been removed (by owner) is in good shape. Just one base needs replacing. But if it is done with something completely different , then both will need replacing in order to match.

Seth

  You could use Mahogany, Sapele, or Makore,. Makore takes paint well and is fine grained, so the paint looks even on the surface.
I rebuilt a wood glider using quite a bit of Makore and painted the new sections to match the original ones.