Porch Columns

The purpose of porch columns is that they are designed to supply support to a roof or/and floor system. When choosing the ideal column for your house, know that there is a wide selection to choose from, and with this, comes an array of sizes. You will have the choice of metal, masonry, wood and even poured concrete. Porch columns must be strong enough to handle the load. The foundations and the footings are a must and have to be proper. This prevents frost heaving or settling.

One should also keep in mind when working with porch columns is that footings must fall below what is called the frost line, this is around four feet in many parts of the world where frost is an issue. There are a few problems with porch columns, and these problems are common. The main problem that has emerged is the fact that they deteriorate rather quickly.

What makes brick columns a problem is because the bricks are porous as for the cement between them, so they tend to absorb considerable amounts of moisture and this causes the mortar and also the bricks to become damaged. The problem with wood columns is that they rot after some time and many of them attract insects for the simple reason that a few companies do no treat the columns properly as they should. The people who hired the company to do their porch will not even know that the wood was not properly treated as they often cover it with paint. Also, that is most likely the reason they got builders in to do it, because they know nothing about building, it is not their profession, so how would they be able to tell the difference? Only months, maybe years later when the wood starts to deteriorate, they will find out that it is due to the fact that it was not done properly in the first place.  

Although columns look very sturdy and supported, it is not something out of the ordinary when hearing of one shifting. In this case, the column needs to be rebuilt starting at the footings. This is especially common in houses that were built many years ago, as they may not have had the precise materials to use, in order for the porch columns to last lifetimes, not like the kind of materials that are available today. Or it could just be that the columns are now old and need to be replaced. This is often a dangerous procedure as the porch columns are basically holding up the roof, so if the columns give in, the roof could too. But rather have it seen to before it gets to that stage where the roof is about to cave in, that’s just about the safest route out of a situation like that!

So, be very careful when choosing the type of porch columns you want, take every aspect into consideration and go for something that is going to be most beneficial for you, material wise, how long it will last and whichever is the most cost effective.