How to Upgrade Porch Columns
- 1). Review porch post materials. Study home design books and porch remodeling magazines to gain ideas that fit your home. Figure out if columns need replacing or enhancing. Add decorative touches to upgrade wooden columns; for example, install heavy exterior crown molding around the upper perimeter of each column or add Victorian touches if appropriate. Take down premade round wooden posts and replace with square posts as another option.
- 2). Sketch the porch with columns made of wood and stone products. Draw the porch with columns covered in stacked stone 4 feet high, for example. Create square posts for the upper half of each column. Incorporate railings to fit with the new columns as well. Consider building just two center columns in wood and stone as another option, leaving plain wooden columns for the rest of the porch.
- 3). Replace older, outdated columns with more sizable premade round columns. Enhance a brick house, for example, by installing round colonial-style columns from the home improvement store. Use graph paper to draw the columns to scale, because the diameter must fit the structure of the house. Install properly sized columns that unify the porch, windows on the front facade and shutters in a seamless fashion.
- 4). Construct brick columns to replace outdated wooden columns. Use brick columns on a brick house only, in most cases. Install brick support columns in the same color of brick used on the home. Build brick steps and a brick walkway to fit with the new columns. Paint the house and the brick columns to match if the bricks on the home are too old to match. Use white paint over brick primer to give the house a fresh, new look.
- 5). Utilize metal posts and metal railings for a New Orleans look. Remove decayed wooden posts or worn brick columns on the front of your home. Install porch columns using metal support posts to hold up the weight of the roof, but add decorative metal railings. Use this method to upgrade porch columns if your home is in an urban setting, for example. Install metal posts and railings in a rural setting by painting the metal surfaces hunter green to blend with surroundings.
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