Column question - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Robie · 03-18-2009, 08:11 AM

This is a picture of one of eight columns on a 100 year old home. As you can see, it needs to be replaced. The other columns aren't as bad. Two companies I have contacted don't want to make up just one.
The customer researched these years ago and the price kept her from going ahead.
My question: Do these old columns typically have a timber inside the cavity to support the roof or was the column used as the support?
She wants to just do a cosmetic repair and I am not sure if anything is inside this.
Thanks.

SLSTech · 03-18-2009, 08:24 AM

The ones I have seen support the roof - run a jack up on both sides to hold the load & take it out - you can temporarily brace it up with maybe a 4x4 or 6x6 (check with an engineer or someone that knows what the loads above are & what it will take to hold it)

It appears to be to far gone & mangled in prior repairs - but if it is possible to repair, get all the paint off & go with an epoxy system from West Marine (or similar) - again check with the engineer to see if you need to put a metal support & plate in there, if the column is enough, etc...

They do make some new ones from foam, fiberglass, etc... which might be a cheaper solution than a wood column & when finished you would never know the difference

Chris G · 03-18-2009, 10:23 AM

They are hollow on the inside. Here is one that I repaired.

That one you have there is probably too far gone.
Best to do as previous post said and pop it out to have a look, (much easier than it sounds)

That one looks like a straight taper as opposed to a progressive taper, so it shouldn't be too hard to find a reproduction. The capital and base may be a little more difficult.

The first thing I would suggest is to contact an architectural salvage outfit and see if they have anything in stock. At the very least they may have the base and capital.

gallerytungsten · 03-18-2009, 11:35 AM

As others have suggested, you need to jack up the structure and remove the column to see what's what.

However, I think that you may well be able to repair the column. If it's completely hollow inside, you can perhaps sister some pieces of 1x along the entire joint. You might have to do this several times, in effect almost building another column inside the column, if you went all the way around.

Of course, you'll want to use treated wood or something weather-resistant like cypress.

jaros bros. · 03-18-2009, 04:53 PM

You might want to check with your local lumberyard and see if they can order a fiberglass replacement. They can be structural if you want and the detail at the top might be found as well.