Front Porch

[Chuck Smith]

Well, I was poking around (literally) with a screwdriver, and found some rotted wood on my front porch. I thought there was some minor damage, but it turned out to be much more extensive than I thought, though not too bad. The floor boards are the original 1932 5/4 tongue and groove Yellow Pine planking. The columns and some of the decking had been replaced at some point, and I found some of the structural replaced with pressure treated lumber.

The only direct replacement tongue and groove 5/4 boards I could find were Mahogany. So I sprung for it.

Lets start with the damage. (Photos below)

Here is the end, where when I pried up a rotted board, I found the Carpenter Ant queen. It was only a small nest.

Like I said, the boards are original 1932. Now, the porch slopes slightly towards the house. The 6" that overhangs on the outside, and a couple of 6" sections up near the house rotted out. Also, as it turns out now, the bases of 3 of the columns rotted away too. I found two, and repaired them. Two days ago, I found a third. I sprayed the wood with Dursban, and the ants came pouring out. I checked the 4th and it is fine.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

In the last pic above you can see I used two scraps of 1x4 to support the column. The 2x4 rotted away, but the plank under the comlumn on the outside edge was solid. Luckily, or I could not have supported it this way.

In these pics, you can see the pressure treated lumber someone added. YOu can also see the ants chewed through the untreated wood.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

A few more angles. (I have a ton of pics but I have a feeling it will take me a week to have time to upload them all).

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

The last pic above was out of order. You can see some of the new boards.

Here I reinforced where I removed a rotted beam. I also added one, since the end of the crossbeam was gone.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

In the last pic above, you can see the wedge supporting one side of the column, and the two 1x4's on the other side. In the first pic below, you can see where I added a cross beam to support the end of the rotted beam. The next pic is the new boards down, and the column has two sides of the base replaced with pressure treated 2x6. I had a piece painted white for another job I ended up using on the porch. The last pic, I have all of the base installed.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Here you can see the rotted wood I picked out. It was behind the riser, and also some of the beams. More pics and details later.....

~Chuck

[JCurtis]

and all while expecting a baby...

Hows the Mom and dad to be?

The Mahogany looks great on the porch. Cant wait to see the finished project.

My best To Chris

[pbeering]

Looks good Chuck!

[cat320]

Looks like you have been busy Chuck the mahogany looks good too bad you will have to paint it to mach the rest looks real good natural with sealer.

[Mick]

Looks good, Chuck. :waving . I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one with these problems. My Mother-in-law just (last month) moved into a cabin we own after her husband died. Have already had over $15,000 of renovations done. Yesterday I saw that the enclosed porch roof is pulling away from the house. It had been added after the house was built and looks like they used untreated lumber and just enough to "get by". So I propped it up till the rehab guy comes back out tomorrow.

[Chuck Smith]

Yeah, considering most of the porch is from 1932, and exposed, I am lucky. One of the stringers is broken right at the bottom step. I replaced the top step, and 2 risers with pressure treated. I have the other risers, just need to pick up the treads, then I will rip off the old, fix the stringer, and install the new. I think part of the concrete slab the stringers are sitting on shifted over the years. I need to get it all level again. I have a feeling I will be finding more rot there, as it sits on concrete, is untreated, and has some moss growing on it.

Chris was due last Friday, the 3rd. One way or another, by Friday junior will be here. She just wants him out now, she's had enough, and I don't blame her!


First pic, got the top step off, stringers are solid.

Second pic you can see the damage to the beams. The outer is about 1/3 gone in the center. I scraped off all the soft wood, painted it with solid deck stain with fungicide, 2 coats.

Third pic, looks like just a little problem near the door.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Got the boards ripped up.

~Chuck

[William B.]

Thats lookin good Chuck.

William

[Chuck Smith]

The ledger board near the door only had minor damage. I added a piece of 2x6 pressure treated to it with screws and lag bolts. The whole damn porch is only nailed to the house....

I added 2x6 pressure treated in between the stringers at the front edge. It is screwed to solid wood. You can see the new mahogany boards. I was using a clamp and a piece of the old decking to pry the new boards into place nice and tight.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

I guess it was "luck" but when I brought a scrap of the old boards with me to the lumber yard, the mahogany was a perfect match. When I started getting closer to the end, I knew I was going to have a problem. The original baords were random widths (about 1/4" difference max). The new boards were uniform. I ended up splitting one down the center, and gluing in a strip to make it wide enough. I pounded it in with a sledge.

Looking at the porch, the column on the left needed a new base, so in the second pic the last 4 boards are just sitting in place. The steps were not nailed yet in the last pic, so the boards look a little "off".

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Here is the center 99% done. I just need to cut the ends even. At the lumber yard, they cut boards to 8' for me. Some started out at 16, 17, 9, etc. The kid was lazy, and not accurate. Some were a foot longer than I needed. He didn't feel like cutting them, and I didn't pay for the extra board feet.

As for the base of the column on the left, just need to cut it. I have the wood in the garage.

The railing on the right side, I have in the garage. Of all places, the top of it rusted through, at the bottom step. I filled it with my MIG welder, and grinded it back to shape. Need to wire brush some rust spots, prime and paint it....

I came home from work 2 days ago, and saw a pile of sawdust on the new step! omg :mad: :headwall It was coming from under the column on the right. Got a saw, and cut the corners off the base. It was solid. Got a screwdriver, and dug into the deckign and it went right in. :(

Dug out all the rot, and saw one ant. Mixed up a small batch of Dursban, sprayed the wood, and the ants came pouring out (dying). No sign of any more ants. SO now i have to do that column base, and the decking under it.

I checked the last column (remove a piece of base) and it was solid, no sign of decay, moisture, or ants.

In the first pic below you can see the larger gap between the top step tread, and riser. The stringer is broken on the bottom on that side.

~Chuck

[Chuck Smith]

Since moisture was such a problem, I replaced the step with two 2x6's. I replaced the riser with a 1x6. The riser was a 1x8, and the tread a 2x12. Moisture was getting trapped in the corner gap, and rotting the boards. Now I have a gap at the back of the tread, and in the middle. I also painted the striger while it was exposed (what part I could). I bought 4 tubes of caulk, and I think I will use them all on all the gaps in the decking. Especially on the ends of the deck boards. The front of the house almost faces due North, which is no help. Right now is only the second time my sump pump pit went dry in the basement since we moved in. Yet, the rotted boards I found were soaking wet. It hadn't rained in a week.

~Chuck

[SIPLOWGUY]

Nice work Chuck!