DIY Front Porch Columns

Well, I showed you in my last post how, within 24 hours of moving into our new home, my husband had torn down the sunroom from the front of our house.

 

 

Today, I am going to show you what he did in the next 24 hours!

The second day in our home, Cy came home from Lowe’s with some lumber to add columns to our new open front porch.

Here is what he got:

8 – 1x8x8 white pine boards

2 – 1x6x6 poplar boards

2 – 1x3x6 poplar boards

4 – 2x6x8 studs

1 tube adhesive caulk

1 box wood screws and finish nails

 

We actually could tell exactly where the original porch columns used to be on the concrete and used that as our guide.

First, Cy created a “form” for the columns by glueing and screwing together the 2×6 studs with a 3 inch filler piece on the bottom and top.

diy columns

 

Next, he attached the “forms” to the porch using screws on the top and PL Adhesive caulk on the top and bottom.

diy columns

Then, he wrapped the “form” with the 1 x 6 pieces of pine.

diy columns

diy columns

On the bottom of the column, he used 1×6 poplar boards and topped them with a trim piece.  (You could use any trim piece you prefer.)

diy columns

 

Three feet up from the bottom, he added another trim piece for some decorative interest.

diy columns

 

diy columns

Then on the top, he used 1×3 poplar boards…

diy columns

 

 

As a side note, my hubby would like to add that he did not use pressure treated boards because these columns will be mostly protected from the elements.  However, they still need to be sealed with a good wood sealer and/or primer and then painted with a high quality outdoor paint.

diy porch columns

Looks better doesn’t it?

 diy columns

We haven’t painted the columns yet.

The trim on the whole house is tan, and we should probably paint the columns tan, but I love white columns.

I love white columns and white trim!

If we paint the brick, we will change the trim to white.

But we haven’t decided whether to paint the brick yet or not.  (Though I am definitely leaning in that direction!)

I will share another change to the porch soon!

If you have any suggestions or great links to beautiful front porches, I would love to hear about them!  Thanks!

47 Comments

  1. He is wasting no time. I love the columns. Can’t wait to see what you decide on for painting. I would want to paint the brick, too.

    Ruth

  2. Hi Tracey. What a determined husband you have. I will enjoy watching you guys go through these great changes.

    God bles you all, Amy

  3. Love the new house! I once saw a home improvement piece where the owners painted the brick a light tan, the trim was painted white and they added black shutters. It looked stunning! My house is painted in similar colors, but because it isn’t brick, well….it just doesn’t look as nice as the house in the magazine! Of course, I didn’t tell my husband that…especially since it took him WEEKS to paint! Enjoy your new home!

  4. Looks great…big improvement!!! I hope you decide to paint the brick…our first house was an old brick cape cod and for 6 of the 7 yrs we lived there I wanted to paint it…finally my husband gave in and we painted the brick, it turned out FABULOUS!!! We painted it white, with moss green shutters…it changed the look drastically, in fact we sold it after 1 day of being on the market…(prior to the big surge in the market…) The paint just updated and freshened the look of the house…still white to this day!!! Read up on painting brick, buy the best equipment to do the job, it was a lot of work, but so WORTH IT!! Love your front porch remodel already, can’t wait to see the rest!

  5. Found a painted brick and wood house over at tracys-trinkets-treasures.blogspot.com. Just scroll down a bit–beige paint/white trim/black shutters….gorgeous!

  6. Ooh! It’s looking so much better already! I love that your husband is jumping right in, and he did a great job on those columns. I would definitely paint them white, if it were me.

  7. Wow, he’s a builder. I don’t know that I could build those. They’re beautiful. I like white columns too. I think a light gray painted brick, white trim and white columns, blue ceiling and painted front door (red, blue or black) always looks great. We haven’t painted our brick but we painted our ceilings and columns and I love it.

  8. Hi Tracey, I have “lurked” for ages but today I must comment! Firstly, you guys are SO determined I can’t believe how much your dear hubby has done in such a short time!!! I admired your other house and actually took a lot of inspiration from your bedroom make – over there. I am looking forward to watch what you do with your new home and wish you all many happy years there. I’m sure it will end up looking fantastic!

  9. Embrace the white!! Those columns look great! Hubs did a wonderful job! And I’m glad you mentioned the pressure treated thing… I was wondering!

  10. I think it is looking AMAZING so far, Traci. How lucky you are to have married a handyman! I myself do love painted brick, and I have thoughts of painting ours too at some point. You could always go with a whitewashed brick, white columns, and black shutters for that Americana look … and two cute red Adirondak chairs out front!

    1. My wife has been bugging me for about two years now that she wanted to paint the brick so I finally gave in and ask my brother to help me paint it gray it turned out pretty awesome I was amazed Between red brick and painted brick we put up cedar shutters and flower boxes I’m not sure how to post a picture before and after we painted the neighbors have been telling us how beautiful the house looks

  11. And why would you want to paint the brick? I like it the way it is. What color would you paint it anyway?

  12. Great improvement! Have you seen Maple & Magnolia’s blog? She has some fabulous porch ideas.

    In our first home, we painted the brick. Be sure to use a sealer (we like Seal-Krete). And if you have one, I highly recommend a sprayer for painting. It took us only 4 hours to prime and paint the entire house! Oh, one more thing, have them tint your primer to match the exterior paint. We painted ours a creamy white, the shutters were changed to a deep blue, and then we painted the front door red. We loved it. ☺

    Good luck and have fun! Fixing up homes are a joy, aren’t they? Happy Wednesday! ☺

  13. You guys just don’t waste any time do you?! lol The porch looks great…I can’t figure out why they would have put the glass doors up there to begin with….the porch doesn’t look like it’s super deep in the pictures, so I can’t figure out why they would have put them up? Oh well, it looks much better already! :) Sounds like you’re getting all settled in already. :)
    Hope you have a blessed day
    Hugs
    Missy

  14. Love the columns! Go for the white. If you paint the house have you thought about painting the inset porch a different color?

  15. LOVE IT! We are in the middle of a porch add – on. And when I say in the “middle of” we started in September – LOL but we are doing most of it ourselves – including columns although my darling husband would probably let me just paint the structural supports at this point! But we have a deadline – July 1st, Parade night, for out local fireman’s carnival and our unofficial party. Must. Have. Done. I would love to send you pictures when it is complete!

  16. What a difference! Just to add my two cents, the unpainted brick is maintenance free. That matters as you get older.

    I’d paint the trim and columns white, the shutters black, and have a lacquer red front door.

  17. Looks like you & your husband are bringing this lonely house back to life and giving it the TLC it’s been longing for. This house is well on it’s way to being a very happy, love-filled HOME! Looking forward to more updates and pictures. PS – I think my husband has the same Shop Vac. Ours is so quiet and sucks up everything….LOVE IT!

  18. Hi Traci. You should go with white columns so that it will match your white door. To make your porch more stunning, you can also add some pots or planters at the door. They can give visual aesthetics to your columns too.

    I sense you’ll have several DIY projects for this house. I can’t wait to see them. :)

  19. Amazing!!!! It now looks like the front of a house! In two days! If it were me, I would not paint the brick. Of course, I am only looking through a camera lens here, but it looks nice to me. I would put wood trim straight across the top of your porch also. I think it would “finish” it out. And that trim across the top makes it easy to hang flowers (I know, I have that trim post across the top on mine). Mine is straight across, but I dream about a cut-out one like you see on Southern plantations. I would paint it all white — I see that there is white in your brick — and later, when time and money is more plentiful, I would paint the rest of the trim white. I never really liked my brick (it came with the house [ha!]), but when I put on white trim work, the brick somehow looked so much more amazing. I think the white will make the brick “pop.” I see how the posts divide your entrance into thirds. How about, on either end, a railing between the post and brick wall to “enclose” the porch and hide the elements that you do not like as much and then showcase the front door? I know, whatever you do, it will look great and more “you!”

  20. All I can think is I’ll bet the neighbors are amazed. I’m sure you’ll give them lots to watch over the summer.

  21. I am SUPER excited for y’all!! This looks so great already!!! You and your family are AMAZING at what y’all can accomplish together!

    I’m following along!!

    His,
    Shari

  22. Traci,
    I’m just in love with all of your amazing work! Especially your furniture re-do’s. I have a quick question. I’m about to redo a sofa table and I want to paint it. It has a glossy finish. I’ve seen you use a liquid deglosser and also sand the surface of some pieces. Which would u recommend is the best way to get the paint to stick? Thanks for your help!

    God Bless,
    Jeana

  23. Way to go, Cy! What a huge improvement already!

    I think white trim is wonderful. And honestly, I LOVE painted brick. I also really, really love whitewashed brick–do you know what I mean? I actually like that look even better than heavily painted brick, and it seems that it would be easy to maintain.

    As for front porches, I think my front porch looks good. (Oh, gosh, does that sound arrogant? I hope not.) I’ve tried to make my front porch sort of an outdoor living room. You can see some photos here: http://www.impartinggrace.com/2011/05/furnishing-outdoor-room-make-your-own.html

    If your porch is deep enough, I think it’d be cool for you to have a bit of seating and maybe a small table with a lamp.

    So glad you’re safely moved in! Love ya!

  24. What a great change already – will be checking every day to see your progress. What a great job your husband has already done. Those posts give such a look of strength to the front porch.
    – Joy

  25. Thank you so much for posting about your husband replacing you front porch columns. Your pix and description were just what my husband and I needed to figure out how to replace ours. Our columns were still on the house….but barely….terribly rotten on the bottom. So much so that you could push them and they would move side to side with ease. (One of the many-many-many items that needs replacing on this house!) Took a few hours…and a couple trips to Home Depot…but we’re done and SO thrilled! Such a great accomplishment.
    I found your post via Pinterest.

  26. Your columns look INCREDIBLE!!! We are building a house and I am going to send this to my builder. Would you please email, how many inches each side of the column is? My email address is blessedmom25@yahoo.com. I would appreciate it so much.

    Thanks,
    Kim

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