Load Bearing Porch Posts That Are Strong & Stylish
The difference between an inviting front porch and hazard attached to the front of your home is the posts. While the style of the columns often earns the most attention from homeowners, load bearing porch posts are also important as a practical architectural feature. We’re digging into both angles right here.
At Turntech, we’re a custom woodworking company that sells our pieces nationwide. Custom porch posts are one of the signature products that we craft. We’re exploring the need-to-know info about load bearing porch posts to help with your replacement and we’re also showcasing some of your style options.
Weight Bearing Porch Posts Requirements
Numerous home improvement projects can necessitate new weight bearing porch posts. Replacing or updating your porch columns if they have become damaged, rotten or moldy certainly demands it. Of course, if you’re replacing the entire porch itself, you’ll need to install proper posts as well.
- Choose a Stronger Material – Since this column has a tough job to do, you want to choose a tough wood species. We recommend mahogany or Spanish cedar due to the strength and durability. Although douglas fir and red cedar are attractive, they have the tendency to chip and may not be ideal for load bearing porch posts.
- Sizing – If you are replacing pre-existing posts, the best bet is to keep the sizing identical. This ensures they will be more than up to the job of supporting the porch roof. Of course, if you’re building from scratch, we’re happy to give you professional advice on choosing the right size. As a rule of thumb, the taller the column becomes, the wider it needs to be to compensate. Dig into our front porch size guide for all of the information you need.
Load Bearing Porch Column Styles
Whether it is fully decorative or a load bearing porch column, you can select nearly any style. One of the major advantages of working with a custom woodshop like Turntech is that we can create almost any style of post. Whether you want to match the original style or you want to design something completely custom, our team can design and craft it.
Two major styles of load bearing porch columns you can choose from include the slimmer post style and the more robust pillar style. Even with the size difference, both column styles are able to be used for structural support.
In addition to choosing the main style of column, you can also select from a wide range of different custom turning options. On porch posts, the most common touches are beading and tapering that makes the main section of the column stand out. For the larger pillar style columns, tapering, fluting and roping are the most common touches. You’ll be able to select all of these details and more when you design with us!
Your load bearing porch columns first and foremost support your porch roof. Of course, they are also one of the biggest elements of your porch curb appeal and provide a perfect venue to showcase your style. Here are a few projects where weight bearing porch posts completed the look.
Check Load Bearing Porch Post Prices
Doing any major work on your porch is certainly and investment. Replacing or upgrading the load bearing porch posts is no exception. Getting an idea of the material price is an essential way to start the planning process. The average price for one of our load bearing porch columns is around $400 while more ornate columns can cost over $1,000 per piece.
If you are custom designing columns for your porch, we’ve created a way to make the estimating and quoting process easier than ever. Check out our custom column calculator to get started!
