Porch Railings

[Bill Wyko]

WOW Mike! That turned out fantastic. Great job. ;D

 

[Dan Clermont]

Mike!

That looks absolutely awesome!!! Give yourself a pat on the back

Dan Clermont

 

[nclemmons]

Mike - really great job - I'm amazed at how closely you were able to match the originals.

Thanks for sharing -

neil

 

[Mettes]

Hey Mike,

great job, looks fantastic.  And thanks for the detailed description could come in handy one day...

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Hi Neil,
 

I'm amazed at how closely you were able to match the originals

I had a router bit custom ground to match the profile on the outer layer ($200 ). I'm being real careful around nails.

Mike

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Here's another trick for lengthening parts when you can't have any cavities near the seam (no pocket holes or blind holes).

[attachimg=#]

I use this method on the bottom part of the rail. It gets beveled pretty drastically on top and any pockets in the laminations would be exposed. The left hand Jorgensen clamp straddles the seam and is slightly loose next to the seam. This helps align the parts horizontally. The weight of the clamps hold the parts in vertical alignment.

The glued butt joints are not as strong as the original plastic but I stagger the seams when I laminate the rail. I thought scarf joints would be overkill ;D
Mike

 

[colotimber]

Congratulations Mike, work truly worth being proud of.

Dan Judish

 

[colotimber]

Mike,

In reading the information on Azek's site it recommends using siding ss or ring shank nails to attach the product to the substrate.  What do you use and if you are using round head nails how are you covering the heads of the nails when you finish. Additionally if you apply 4/4 trim to say a post do you also use construction adhesive as additional holding power?

Thanks

Dan Judish

 

[Brice Burrell]

Dan, as you can see I'm not Mike but I use a ton of Azek each year. I use ss screws to attach the stuff and I've never used construction adhesive on wood (I did construction adhesive and tapcons to attach Azek to concrete). I use a body filler (Bondo) when painting and TrimBonder when it doesn't get painted.

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Hi Dan,
  For attaching say 1x4 trim to something I use these guys:
http://www.swansecure.com/siding_fasteners/collated_nails/wire_coil_siding_nails.HTML

  For filling holes I use this:
http://www.bondfill.com/products/.HTML
It's a little on the expensive side and I haven't tried a lot of other products.

For attaching something like the post cladding I would use stainless screws. I tried gluing some Azeck with construction adhesive and wasn't impressed by how well it stuck. I used polyurethane and it stuck somewhat but I could peel it off   I suggest getting some scrap and try your glue of choice. Perhaps I needed to sand the Azek first or wash it with TSP?
Mike

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Hey Brice,
  How much does that Trim Bonder cost? Have you found it for sale online anywhere?
Mike

 

[nickao]

But Nick,
  It is wood, it just has a primer on it. ;D
Mike

http://www.azek.com/viewProject.php?name=Historic+Crocker+Art+Museum-Sacramento+CA

I had no idea it was real wood!

I called after you stated that and they still consider it NOT authentic. Only material at the time of construction could be used. Mahogany etc. Oh well I guess in CA they are ahead of our Historical society here at accepting the look of authenticity instead of true authenticity. I would have used the Aztek.

Railings look fantastic!

 

[Mike_Chrest]

Thanks Nick,
  I know someone who does movie set construction and they offered to put faux grain on em for me ;D

  I like the idea of using three layers of breather mesh in the vacuum bag. I'll try that next time I have to glue up something pointy.

Mike

 

[Brice Burrell]

Hey Brice,
  How much does that Trim Bonder cost? Have you found it for sale online anywhere?
Mike

Mike, I don't remember, I ordered some last spring through my lumber lard, if I have the time I'll track down the invoice and look at the price. I do remember it isn't cheap. I don't like to leave the Azek unpainted, it doesn't take much to get it dirty looking. I spent the day bondo'ing an Azek job today that will be painted white.

 

[peter halle]

I haven't used the trimbonder stuff at all.  I did look at the website this morning though.  Then I called a local dealer.  Calking gun $60.  One tube $30.  No discount by the case.  ouch.  I'll try it though because it can make my work better.

peter

 

[Brice Burrell]

I haven't used the trimbonder stuff at all.  I did look at the website this morning though.  Then I called a local dealer.  Calking gun $60.  One tube $30.  No discount by the case.  ouch.  I'll try it though because it can make my work better.

peter

Peter, I used a regular calking gun and only buy the amount you need, the stuff has a one year shelf life.

 

[peter halle]

Brice,

Thanks for the info. I suspect that the salesman gave me the wrong info based on his statements versus yours.  I don't buy much from them although they are the go to place for hard to find things and restoration mouldings.  My closest supplier now sells Certainteed pvc at a significant discount from the Azek.

Peter

 

[colotimber]

Thanks Mike and Brice, It's interesting how many of the fabricators are either in the Northwest or east of Colorado, I am assuming for the dry climate here the less likely hood of wood rotting.  We do have a problem here because of the extremes in temperature fluctuations, moisture thaws during the day and then sub zero at night, with one crack in the wood and shortly you have sizable crevice.  I talked with my supplier (big big company) and he said that he could get it in a couple of days  they don't even stock Azek.  This application is also for a deck railing.

Thanks again

Dan Judish