Construction project (off topic)

[Captain Kidd]

The bases of our church columns are deteriorating. Our building was built in the '50's I believe. I painted the columns about 7 years ago. I should have paid more attention to the columns at that time.

One was particularly bad and something had to be done. A guy came and gave me a quote for new columns - $30,000!!!! Don't need new columns - just some repair.

One question was how much weight are they bearing? Was there perhaps a steel pole inside the columns? I was hesitant to start anything but went after it anyway.

Here are two pics after I pulled out some of the rotten wood. It wasn't hard to do. The wood crumbled in my hands.

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A couple of pics that show the base consisted of three layers, each layer in 6, 6, and 5 pieces.

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I only have rudimentary tools: power planer, band saw, table saw, power sanders, hand-held router. Making the curves was going to be the challenge.

I didn't photo doc the whole process; but, between measuring the diameter and tracing the original pieces, I was able to cut out, rough plane, and then rough sand the pieces. Pretty crude actually. And my band saw played out halfway through the project.

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I used two part epoxy to fill some gaps and that rotten place in the column itself. A little more sanding  and paint and it's a 1000% better!

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Not perfect by any means. Some flat spots, joints that weren't perfect, etc.

Here's the epoxy I used:

https://www.amazon.com/Abatron-WoodEpox-Epoxy-Replacement-Compound/dp/B009WBJ1IU/ref=asc_df_B009WBJ1IU?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79989522876739&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=46105&hvtargid=pla-4583589120810267&th=1

It is a little crumbly but it worked ok. I was expecting more of a putty consistency.

The other three columns are in better shape but need some attention. Won't really know until I start poking around. I learned a few things on the first one which should make doing the others a little better and quicker.

And the whole columns need painting again. Might hire someone this time. Not sure I want to be 20' up on a ladder doing them again (and my wife sure doesn't want me up there).

[Doug SC]

Water had to be getting into the column from the top I would think or capillary action drawing it up into the wood. Job looks plenty good. I often use a rasp and files to shape wood.

[Noemi - Ensenada 20]

Much better!  Abatron is what architects use on buildings. 

FYI, the retired professor of wood (don't know what his real title was) here recommends for bare wood:  Wood Life sealer, then primer, then 2 coats of good paint.  The Wood Life part is something that most people don't know. 

He painted his house using this method, and 20+ years later, it still doesn't need repainting!

[Captain Kidd]

Much better!  Abatron is what architects use on buildings. 

FYI, the retired professor of wood (don't know what his real title was) here recommends for bare wood:  Wood Life sealer, then primer, then 2 coats of good paint.  The Wood Life part is something that most people don't know. 

He painted his house using this method, and 20+ years later, it still doesn't need repainting!

Never heard of Woodlife. Searching online looks like a Rustoleum product. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Thanks

[Frank B.]

Great job...particularly with limited equipment to prefab the replacement parts. I've had to do a number of wood structural repairs with epoxy but none that were not hidden.  I make my own paste with wood flour I have left over from the boat build.

Speaking of column problems...I am having a new roof put on my house as part of a construction project. The roofers did a good job except:

They overloaded the boom bucket with old shingles and......

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Seems like the bucket hit one of the brick columns that hold up my front porch roof...

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However, James, the magic mason, who has been doing some other small jobs for me, saved the day taking all that rubble and stacking it back up, replacing a few bricks that were not usable and all is well.

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[Captain Kidd]

Frank, that had to test your patience a bit! Good recovery. It's a wonder the roof didn't suffer any damage.

[Frank B.]

Frank, that had to test your patience a bit! Good recovery. It's a wonder the roof didn't suffer any damage.

I was in the back working when it happened.  It was LOUD.  My first thought was that's not normal, I hope no one was injured or killed from whatever that was, and fortunately no one was. My brick is out of production, so they were  initially going to try to get a close match.  James, my 73 YO magic mason who only works half days and small jobs because of his age, says "not to worry, I can fix that".  We were all skeptical but gave him a shot.  I was amazed but James said it's what 45 years of experience is all about.  Took him two half days and except for a few scars on some of the bricks, it look like it never happened. So now the roofing contractor just owes me a few shrubs in the bed that got crushed.

The porch has a fairly heavy joist coming out from the main house framing and didn't sag at all with the column gone, but the roofers cleared the area and put a temp column in immediately. 

I have re-learned that when dealing with a bunch of contractors, patience and understanding is necessary. Somewhat advanced age helps with that, like "in the big scheme of things does this really matter"?

[Riley Smith]

I have tried to write this darn post 3 different times and got interrupted each time. O well, guess that means I'm still needed by SOMEBODY! But at any rate, Dale the column looks great! Much bettah! That point, the base of a wooden column, is a focus for rot and bad things. I have some moulding on the porch I consider dispensable, because it rots so easily in a place much like that column. No big deal, when we're doing maintenance, we just tear that one off and slap another piece in place. Sort of like a sacrificial anode! There is no cure for the water so the next best thing is to make it easy to replace.

ANd THIS column behind my shoulder ( actually it's mirror brother) had to be remanufactured when we were neck deep in alligators. In this picture, the place we're standing received a garden hose of water when it rained, at the beginning of the whole project. The column was GONE. We did a big job of rebuilding the wall without major disruption to everything else we were tearing apart. The contractor found a guy that turned the column on a lathe but we had it in two pieces, which were then glued together and installed on a knee wall. There are four original columns and if we hadn't been able to reproduce it, the problems would have increased exponentially!

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[Captain Kidd]

The square base is iron and is open on the inside of the column. In the one picture you can see the brick floor through the hole in the base. The hole's diameter is almost as large as the column. The three layers that make up the three "rings" of the base are just wide enough to catch the inside edge of the iron base which also has slots on each side to let any water/moisture escape. Obviously water still got to the wooden base.

[Riley Smith]

Dew. surface tension, any deposits,cracks in the paint. All kinds of things you never even considered. They work against you in this place. Most of the exterior of the old house is cypress which is very good at fending off this problem. Good, but even then because it is soft, it will still erode and wear away as the bonds that make it wood relax under the assault of the most corrosive thing in the universe (water). And the material revers back to dirt.