Repair A Rotted Porch Column
Replacement Material:
I like to use mahogany or cedar for my rot replacement material; you see cedar in these pictures.
We rough-sized our stock on the table saw, leaving it long, and glued it together with epoxy and clamps. We allowed it to dry overnight and the next morning we used a thickness planer thin down the glue-up to achieve a fit snug in our middle section cut-out. We dry fitted the repair and then glued and clamped the middle repair into the post.
When dry we glued and clamped the two outer sections and allowed to dry overnight.
Two-Part Epoxy:
In situations like this we like to use a product called West System epoxy to bond the repair materials. This epoxy is a versatile, 2-part, marine-grade epoxy that bonds and coats fiberglass, wood, metal, fabrics and other composite materials to provide superior strength and moisture resistance.
Two-step bonding, or structural adhesion, is the preferred method for most situations because it promotes maximum epoxy penetration into the bonding surface and prevents resin-starved joints. We work the epoxy into the wood surfaces with a throw away bristle brush.
NOTE – Before mixing epoxy, check all parts to be bonded for proper fit and surface preparation, gather all the clamps and tools necessary for the operation.
