Purchase Specialty Porch Columns From Hb& g
From your front porch to your great room, at HB& G we’re all about elevating and enhancing the spaces where you gather. Our selection of interior and exterior columns is designed to complement any decor style and created to be both durable and low-maintenance. Because the last thing you need to worry about is maintaining your porch columns. Discover why the experts turn to HB& G for indoor and outdoor columns, architectural products and so much more.
Bottom Line Up Front Summary
Cedar is a beautiful and classic choice for porch columns. At its best, cedar is resistant to insects and most weather conditions. It does require upkeep: like all wooden porch columns or posts, it can rot over time. To find the best cedar porch column, you should investigate the seller, the type of cedar used, and size according to your project requirements.
If I had to select one cedar porch column, it would be a custom order from your local home improvement store or something like the Vintage Woodworks Cedar Porch Column. This versatile column exudes warmth with a no-fuss design thats versatile for most homes. It can be ordered with no mounting or the mounting of your choice, as well as in multiple dimensions.
Contemporary Craftsman And Custom Designed Porch Columns
In addition to our Classical Porch Column designs, we also offer a collection of non-tapered and unique Contemporary designs. For your square porch column needs, we also offer low maintenance Craftsman and Arts and Crafts designs with plain, paneled or fluted shaft designs. For historical restorations and custom applications, we specialize in the custom crafting of porch columns and other millwork products at affordable prices. We can accurately replicate the classic column designs on your historic building in a selection of lifetime warranted and low maintenance materials. Please contact one of our custom porch column specialists at for an affordable quotation your unique design.
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Is Cedar Good For Support Posts
In addition, cedar is a good choice to use for the support posts, underlying frame and cross beams on decks. The wood is one of the few species which is naturally at home in the outdoors. It is classified as a durable wood by the building codes across North America for outdoor applications.
Five: Where To Buy Cedar Porch Columns
What I look for, above all, is a cedar porch column with a sturdy capital , shaft and base. I look to see what type of cedar is being used, if theres a strong base, and who is selling it.
Checking the sellers reputation, where the wood is sourced, and what is included in the price is also important. The best value cedar porch columns arent those with the lowest price, but ones built to last. Warranties and positive reviews are also positive signs. The more transparent the company is, the better the option.
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Final Recommendations: Epoxy Paste For Rotten/ Worn Porch Columns
Wooden porch columns are strong and beautiful. At the same time, they require upkeep, and over time- especially without proper attention- portions of your porch columns can rot. Once youve assessed the situation, the good news is that you often dont need a full replacement. One solution is to apply a wood filler or paste. Epoxy paste repairs and fills in gaps caused by rotting wood. Its used for long-term repairs, is easy to apply, and can be painted over or stained. Learn More/ Buy Here.
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The Details Of Our Cedar Posts
Above are the original cedar posts we brought home from 84 Lumber, a local lumber yard. They just were not big enough to make a statement. I tried adding four thin ones, but it still didnt feel like home. They were really wonderful about exchanging them for big ones, even though it was quite a haul for Kyle. I do suggest going to a lumberyard for your beams to get the best quality. You will want to make sure they are not warped or waterlogged. You can check your local hardware store for 8×8 cedar posts, but they usually only stock 6×6. We bought 16-foot ones and cut them down. Heres a deal on some 8×8 posts at Menards.
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Three: Add Bottom Trim Pieces
Use a tape measure to determine the length of the four pieces of 1×8 PVC trim for the bottom of the column.
We cut our boards at a 45 degree angle using a miter saw to make them fit together nicely.
Cy will put one piece of trim up against the other pieces and mark where they come together so he knows where to cut using the miter saw.
Be sure to apply liquid nails to the back of each trim piece before nailing it to the base of the column.
Once you have completed the bottom trim, its time to move to the top of the column.
How To Create The Stain Mixture
In a separate container, I created a mixture of about 3/4 Ipswich Pine and the 1/4 Early American.
My recommendation is to mix this and try it on a piece of scrap wood before applying to your columns. Every board takes stain a little differently. Start with a smaller amount of Early American so that you can add more if you think its too light! Increase it until you have your desired color.
After the stain dried, we went back over the columns with a heavy duty exterior poly in satin. This really helped to give the columns a polished, finalized feel. We applied 3 coats of this to ensure the wood was protected!
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Benefits Of Exterior Wood Columns Porch
Exterior columns are beneficial for many reasons. For example, although they primarily support structures, they also serve decorative purposes. However, standard exterior pillars serve four main purposes as follows
- Excellent supporting structures: The main purpose of exterior columns is to support porch and deck roofs. The right column structures can handle a decent amount of weight, thus supporting porch and deck roofs for many years without faltering.
- Aesthetic appeal: Many people like exterior columns and pillars because they elevate exterior aesthetics. Decorated columns, such as capitals that feature flourishes and accents, significantly improve the propertys outlook.
- Different designs: One of the main reasons structural columns make excellent decorative features is that they come in varied styles and designs. For instance, you can opt for a stone or wooden pillar system. Alternatively, you can choose fiberglass. Additionally, you have a wide range of shapes and styles from which to pick.
- Durable: Finally, homeowners also love structural columns because they are durable. This is especially true for homeowners looking for both style and function. Modern pillars can complement or replace walls without weakening the homes overall structure. Like walls, they can also last many decades.
Popular Porch Column Ideas For Every Style Home
Porch columns are used in a variety of ways on homes of all sizes and styles. These upright pillars can support just a slice of a roof around a small entrance or establish the boundaries for an expansive screened area. Columns serve a practical purpose by helping physically support the structure of a porch or overhang, but they also provide a decorative accent on a home’s facade. These components add another layer of detail and visual interest to the exterior and add prominence to the front porch or entry.
As with most decorative and practical elements in a home, porch columns have several considerations, including material and style. Although most front porch columns are made of wood, posts can also be fashioned out of other materials, including fiberglass, aluminum, stone, and more. It’s important to consider durability, cost, and aesthetic appeal when choosing the best material for your porch columns. As for style, front porch columns will typically reflect the overall style of the home. Depending on the desired effect, the columns can be rounded, square, tapered, or ornately decorated. If you’re designing a new home or looking to update your exterior, use our guide to porch columns to help you find the right fit for your home.
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How We Built Our Diy Porch Columns
We built our DIY porch columns out of common pine boards to save money on this project and loosely followed this plan from Beneath My Heart to fit the dimensions we needed. We protected the pine boards with a heavy duty exterior poly. 3 coats to be exact!
For anyone worried about using pine boards, its been 2 years since completing our DIY porch columns, and they still look almost brand new. I have been so happy with this stain color. In my opinion, its timeless and really pops on the front of our house!
About Clear Western Red Cedar Porch Post Prices And Patterns
The prices for these porch posts vary based on the dimensions and the quantities you order. Many of these porch post patterns complement our baluster and newel designs. Those products that share design elements also share part numbers. For example, the baluster B19, newel NP19 and porch post PP19 share complementary design features. The height of the square portion can be altered for a small up charge.
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Best Cedar Porch Columns Guide
- Patio Heater Rentals Guide – July 13, 2022
In my grandparents neighborhood, I was always struck by the traditional home with stately porch columns. From classic columns to colonial and contemporary, theres something about porch columns that I think really completes a home. And cedar is one of the most popular options for a classic wooden column.
In this guide, Ill cover the basics of buying the best cedar column for your porch. Ill tell you the honest pros and cons for choosing cedar over other porch column materials. Ill also help you select the right porch column size, shape, price and styles.
The goal? Buying the best value cedar porch column so that you dont waste your money.
Five: Fill In Seams And Nail Holes With Paintable Caulk
After you build the column, you will want to fill all nail holes and seams with paintable caulk.
Once the are filled, you can paint the columns with a durable exterior paint. Or if you want your columns to be white, you can just clean the PVC column and leave them unpainted.
We still have to finish the landscaping and the walkway for our exterior makeover, but we are thrilled with how the columns turned out. They are perfectly chunky!
Here is what our front porch looked like when we bought the house
And here is what it looks like as of now
If you would like to watch a video of how we built the columns, you can check that out below
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Pros Of Cedar Porch Columns
Cedar is a popular material for porch columns for good reason. This beautiful wood is among the most popular for its timeless appeal. Cedar porch columns are offered in an array of colors and stains. With different types of cedar, you can have everything from a reddish hue to a more golden brown.
More importantly, cedar has some advantages for weathering the outdoors. Its an insect repellant and can weather everything from sun to rain to heat and cold. Its easy to cut, so its popular as a DIY and also not as complex to install as some other porch column options. Since its widely available, its notably more affordable than some wood porch column options.
Instructions For Wrapping Front Porch Posts With Wood
Step 1: Measure the width of your boards
Step 2: Measure the thickness of your boards
Step 3: Double the thickness of your boards
Step 4: Subtract this double thickness measurement from the width of your boards
Step 5: Rip 2 of your 4 boards on the table saw down to this measurement.
Step 6: Measure the height of your posts and cut all 4 boards to this height. .
Step 7: Once youve cut your boards to the proper height, you need to seal the end grain exposed by your cut . This process is incredibly annoying because you think youre finally ready to see how awesome your posts are going to look, but if you skip this step, the bottom of your boards will eventually rot out from soaking up moisture and you will say to yourself, Self, why were you so lazy when you did this? ha.
For PAINT applications, prime the bottoms of the boards, let them dry for 5 minutes, then prime them again. Wait ten minutes, and apply a coat of finish paint to the bottom. I recommend you apply at least 2 coats of finish paint.
For STAIN applications, use a clear coat of polyurethane and apply at least 2 coats of it, waiting for it to dry between coats.
Step 8: Begin by installing one of the RIPPED boards on the SIDE of your post. We want to save the full width boards for the front and back of our posts so that no joints are visible from the street where people drive past with a wagging finger of merciless judgement.
Thats it! Heres a picture of our finished project:
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Adding Cedar Pillars To Our Dream House
We turned the plain white front porch pillars on our house into cedar pillars, and we couldnt be happier with the results!
But invariably, with either houses or weddings, youll see some amazing idea at some point down the road and feel a little pang of disappointment that you didnt think to incorporate it into your plans. Dont get me wrong we LOVE our house. There are really very few things wed change about it if we could do it all over again.
But there are a couple of things wed do differently, some small and some significant. The door to the backyard from the basement, for example, is lined up right behind a pillar instead of being between two pillars, which would have made a million times more sense. All of our windows are the standard white-framed windows that pretty much everyone has in their house, but wed do black-framed windows in a heartbeat if we could go back in time. And there are the inevitable dark corners that could use some extra light, and rooms that could use another electrical outlet or two.
Sometime last year, my husband and I were talking about how good our house would have looked with cedar pillars on the porch instead of white. It occurred to us that, unlike most of the other things we wished wed done differently, this one was actually pretty easy to fix.
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What Are The Benefits Of Fiberglass Columns
Fiberglass columns are created using a proprietary fiber-reinforced polymer composite material that is engineered to provide both structural support and aesthetic appeal. This durable and low-maintenance option is insect-proof, rot-proof and weatherproof, meaning it’s able to withstand the elements, unlike other products on the market. And our fiberglass columns are available in a variety of styles to provide both historical and architectural authenticity. All HB& G fiberglass columns comply with current IBC/ICC code criteria.
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Diy Porch Columns Stain Color
This post may contain affiliate links, please review my disclosure policy.
DIY porch columns are a GREAT weekend project to give some major curb appeal to your home.
After we framed out our old skinny columns with pine, landing on the right stain color for our porch columns was a bit daunting for me. I wanted the color to really stand out against all the white and black that is our home, but didnt want the color to lean too far rustic. I tried to find a nice medium between the bright orange columns that are often seen and a darker, weathered look.
Below is a look at our house before we built the wooden columns. Its pretty underwhelming. Before we built the columns, we opted to rip out the railing to make the porch feel a bit bigger.
I knew that framing out the columns would make a difference, but I dont think I realized how much!
Weve been slowly upping our curb appeal over the past two years. I actually just wrote up a post on what weve done so far. One of our first projects was framing out our old porch columns. Its been an absolute game changer for the front of our home!
Learn More About Decorative And Structural Porch Columns
Whether you’re looking for structural porch columns or decorative interior and exterior columns, HB& G offers a variety of materials to choose from. Each provides its own unique benefits, style and maintenance level. Check out our helpful Information Center or keep reading to learn more about the decorative and load-bearing columns available from HB& G Columns.
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What Wood Is Most Rot
Cedar. Cedar is highly moisture resistant. Its posts rarely warp, even when installed outside. Mahogany and white oak are also extremely resistant to rotting. A piece of advice, though consider applying stain to make your posts even more resistant to rotting. Stain repels moisture. Painted columns also resist rotting fairy well.