8/19/2023 0 Comments Porch rails![]() ![]() The 1/2″ PVC sheet is only $99 at the time of this writing, which is significantly cheaper than buying enough boards to cover our entire stairwell. The sheet was basically a 1/2″ plywood sheet but of PVC. PVC is often used for outdoor trim or decorative structures around deck framing, so it’s a good option for something like this.Īt Home Depot, the options were 3/4″ thick PVC “boards” or a 4’x8’x1/2″ PVC sheet. PVC is a great choice for any outdoor accent pieces because it won’t rot, break down or corrode. Since the house is only 7 years old and we didn’t want to have to do this again in a few years, we opted to use PVC for our porch railing cap. It seems that the water got in through those and ruined the 2x4s and 2x2s of the railing.Īlso on those railing caps, all of the nails were popping out and they were shredding, so we had to put not only put a new one on the new section, but needed to replace the railing caps on the whole stairwell. We’re pretty sure that the entire rot problem started with the fact that the railing cap that the builders used wasn’t actually outdoor treated wood and was something decorative. We ended up adding touch up paint later when it was in place.Īfter it was all built, we slid the new section of railing into place and nailed it into the posts on each side and the spacers on the bottom. We used our paint sprayer, but this was difficult with the angles of the spindles. Then, we painted the whole thing with outdoor paint. If water gets under the 2×2 and sits in that inside portion, it can introduce rot and cause problems again. This is very important to keep water out. Then, we added a bead of caulk around the seam on each end of each baluster. We also used wood glue on each end to secure it. This meant drilling deck screws through the 2×4 top rail and bottom rail into the 2×2. With each piece cut and sanded, we assembled the whole railing as one unit. We still had to cut a few inches off for our railing, but it was easy and cheaper. They are cheaper than trying to buy standard 8′ 2×2 boards and cutting them down to length. To build this, we cut two 2x4s to the length of our section to be the top and bottom rails and then cut the right number of 2x2s down to length for the balusters.įun fact- at Home Depot, they sell short sections of 2×2 to be used as railing balusters. We wanted to rebuild this section of railing to match exactly what the rest of the staircase was, which was a 2×4 on the top and bottom and 2×2 spindles every 3 1/2″. Here’s a preview of how it looked:Ī post shared by DIYers Morgan & Sean McBride out rotten wood spindles from a rotten railing into our backyard caused a huge mess, but it was fun. The clean way to remove a rotten porch railing would be to take a saw and cut the railing and spindles off in 4 foot long sections, then place it by the curb for pickup.įor this project, we choose to do the fun HGTV style demolition and kicked everything out (make sure to watch our video to get the full effect of how this worked) and smashed it with an axe. I don’t have a cleanup crew like they do on HGTV, so I take things apart as cleanly as possible. Usually, I choose the smart and clean way for demolition because it makes things easier on me. There’s two ways to remove a rotten porch railing- the fun and messy way or the smart and clean way. Here’s how it went and things for you to remember and learn from. You also may be able to just replace a small section versus replacing the entire thing.įor us, the entire span of railing and balusters was completely rotten and was not in the same style as a pre-built section at the hardware store, so we had to rebuild ours from scratch. If you only need to replace a baluster/spindle, you can do that a lot easier than replacing the railing or the whole section. There are a few ways that you can replace rotten wood porch railings and balusters, depending on the situation you have. How to replace rotten wood porch railing and balusters ![]() This post will show you how to replace a rotted wood railing by taking out the old on and installing a brand new deck railing that will be save and last a long time. So, we had to learn how to fix a rotten porch railing by creating a new one to match the existing railings on the stairs. Now, the entire deck railing and most of the balusters were completely rotted out. We tried to replace part of it as a temporary fix, but that didn’t really work well. When we did that, we realized the baluster we were going to put it on was rotten and that some of the railing was as well. Last year, when we installed a slide from our back stairs landing to our backyard, we also added a little pirate ship steering wheel for the kids to play with before going down. But sometimes we have to actually repair things around our home that are broken like everyone else. We always focus on creating new things and making over rooms and spaces to bring out our personality in our home. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |