Wood Column Repair
We've seen this a lot over the years... a deteriorated column base due to excessive moisture entry. This particular column has lost its' structural integrity. The photo above shows a common deteriorated wood column - lower section and the column base. Structural integrity has been compromised and the lower 5' length needs to be replaced.
Here is the process we used to repair this damaged wood column.
Four wood columns provided support for this front porch roof. All four columns were 16" inches in diameter and approx. 18' high. The design was tapered, Tuscan.
The lower 5' section of the far left column was rotted and needed to be replaced. We removed this damaged section and had our wood turning duplicate a replica of this piece in mahogany to the exact dimensions. We then slid the new replacement column piece under the original and fastened them together.
This is a new mahogany wood column in the glue-up phase. Our wood turning uses barrel construction techniques with full splines along the stave shaft. The wall thickness is 1 1/4" thick.
This is the new wood column turned to the exact diameter of the original column. Notice the base was made separately. The new column fits snugly into the base. This was a superbly crafted piece of workmanship with close attention to detail.
The new base was substantial with proper drain holes for condensation as well as ventilation slots. All hardware used was stainless steel.
We found that as we slid the new column under the existing, that the old column was 'out of round' due to age and deflection likely from excessive moisture infiltration over the years. The old column was approx. 1/4" out of round. We needed to adjust the connection with sanding and filler to allow for a smooth and continuous transition along the column length.
We aligned the new column to the old and attached interior anchors. All attachments and parts were epoxied together and then the finishing process began.
Several coats of polyester resin were applied and sanded to bring the lower column taper into alignment with the upper column taper. Not pretty but it worked well.
One of the carpenters commented "I love it! Polyester and mahogany!"
I had to laugh. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do to make it work.
A little primer along the repaired column length and we were ready for the final finishing and painting by the home painter. All in all this repair came out better than expected.
