Steel Column Replacement

All of your home's components age over time and, unfortunately, may eventually require major repairs to withstand Father Time's effects. One such repair is the replacement of a front porch column or pool patio support post.

If you have a damaged column supporting a front or rear porch, a high-wind event such as a hurricane or even a severe summer thunderstorm could cause that structural member to fail, potentially bringing down the roof it supports. Replacing a broken, rusted, or otherwise damaged column is not as simple as it may seem. Fortunately, we've been replacing rusted columns for decades.

Rusted Column Repair

Our experienced crews can replace your patio column and provide a long-lasting solution so you won't have to worry about it again.

Fabricating a New Patio Column

Porch columns are typically made from steel, concrete, or aluminum. Selecting the proper replacement material is critical.

Steel Columns

Steel is an excellent choice because of its strength. A 3" x 3" x 1/4" steel column can support approximately 20,000 pounds, while a typical 4" x 4" wood post may support only a fraction of that amount under comparable conditions.

Steel columns can be painted and protected against corrosion. However, because the base of a steel column is often embedded in or bolted to concrete, moisture exposure at the connection point can eventually lead to rust. Even so, a properly installed and maintained steel column can provide decades of service.

Concrete Columns

Concrete columns are another excellent option. They do not rust, split, warp, or rot and offer exceptional durability. The primary drawback is their weight. Concrete columns are significantly heavier than steel or aluminum, making transportation and installation more challenging.

Aluminum Columns

Aluminum is often the ideal material for replacement columns. It is lightweight, strong, and resistant to corrosion. Unlike steel, aluminum will not rust, and unlike wood, it will not warp, split, or rot. These characteristics make aluminum an excellent long-term solution for porch and patio support columns.

Can a Rusted Patio Column Be Repaired?

In most cases, a severely rusted steel column should be replaced rather than repaired. Once rust has significantly deteriorated the steel, there is often not enough sound metal remaining to safely weld new material to the damaged area. Any repair performed under those conditions would be unreliable and potentially unsafe.

For this reason, complete column replacement is typically the most practical, durable, and structurally sound solution.

Securing New Replacement Columns

Your new columns base plate can be secured with a surface mounting or concealed. Surface mount will have exposed bolts. If you have a screen enclosure don’t worry, that will cover the bolts but if not, the bolts are visible.

We can hide the bolts by cutting the concrete slab and lowering the base plates. When finished we will pour concrete over the bolts and you won’t see them. It’s extra work but not that much more expensive.

Jacking Up an Existing Roof

Before replacing your porch column with a new and improved one, we must first remove the existing column. Because the column is typically supporting a heavy roof structure, a temporary support system must be installed.

We use adjustable screw jacks for this purpose. Wood supports are generally not recommended because they can shift, compress, or fail under heavy loads. Screw jacks are more stable and can be adjusted precisely without the need to hammer them into place. This minimizes the risk of damage to the underside of the roof, soffit, or fascia.

Some porch columns are decorative and provide little or no structural support. Columns located at corners, however, are often load-bearing. Whether a column appears structural or not, it is always best to err on the side of caution and install temporary supports before removal.

When we jack up a roof, we place a wood bearing plate between the top of the jack and the roof structure. This increases the contact surface area and distributes the load more evenly. Once the temporary support is in place, we mark the location of the existing column at both the footing and roof connection points. These reference marks help ensure proper alignment of the new column during installation.

Porch Column Replacement

If the column is attached to a guardrail or handrail system, the rail must first be detached to allow the column to be removed. The railing may require temporary support until it can be reattached to the new column.

To remove the existing column, we first remove any decorative trim or casing at the top and bottom. These pieces are often secured with nails, adhesive, or both. Because removal can damage the trim, replacement pieces may need to be fabricated.

Once the trim is removed, the structural column and its connection hardware become visible. If the column is attached with a flange, we remove the fasteners and disconnect the column. In other cases, different attachment methods may have been used, and the column is simply cut free using a reciprocating saw.

Patio Post Column Replacement

Don't Wait too Long

Many times a family will continue to put this off and its understanding. Paying to fix these is typically not on the top of their priority list. But we have seen many roofs sagging because of the delay and that just bumps the price up because we have to fix that too. In the case of columns supporting heavy roofs the result of a delay is usually a complete collapse not just a sagging roof.