Young House Love

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How To Box Out Curvy Porch Columns

And I’m calling this bad boy done. Commence the rejoicing! And to recap why we wanted to box those columns in:

  • the carport has 4 columns that are already chunky and square, so up until this point the house had a split personality with 3 curvy columns in the mix
  • boxed in square columns are more true to a mid-century ranch, so we wanted to get back to that (many other ranches in our neighborhood have ’em already)

PorchDone 10 After Angle 2

Back to finishing things up. After getting this far within one afternoon we had high expectations for how quickly the finishing touches would go. I mean, how long could finishing one column, caulking the seams, and painting take?

Porch 14 Halfway There

Well, it didn’t help that we got derailed before even unholstering our caulk gun. When all three columns were done we stepped back and thought the de-scalloped header looked good, but a bit unsubstantial in comparison to our beefed up columns. So we picked up three more 1 x 6″ boards at Home Depot and attached them right over top the original 1 x 3″ header that we added with some wood glue, nails, and screws in a few places. You can see how it looked while it was in progress here:

PorchDone 3 Thick And Thin

But even that detour didn’t take too much longer. What did take forever? Caulking. There were so. many. seams. But we didn’t want to be anything less than thorough, since getting rain or other moisture behind the wood = bad news bears. We used this exact same method in our first house when we rebuilt the header five years ago (primed wood + paint and caulk to keep it all sealed) and it worked out great without any rotting or warping – so we wanted to make sure we were just as thorough this time around.

PorchDone Caulk

And since everyone asks what kind of caulk we use (that wall full of 10,000 caulk tubes can be intimidating) we like Dap window and door caulk, in the white, paintable finish (paintable is key).

Once the caulk dried, it was time to paint. Since the boards came pre-primed, all we had to do was match them to rest of the porch – and because the previous owners left us a couple gallons of house paint, there was happily no cost here. The labeled said it was “Creamy Color,” which is about the laziest paint color name I’ve ever seen, so I’m happy to discover that it’s no longer in the system.

PorchDone 4 Creamy Color

We debated using this as an excuse to repaint all of our trim from “creamy” to white, but we weren’t ready to tackle that big of a project quite yet (there’s trim all around the house, and the back of our house is two stories high at some points).

Predictably, Sherry did the cutting in (look at her brazenly painting the bottom of that column without taping it off) and I was Roller Man.

PorchDone 5 Painting

After one coat plus some touch-ups, we were done. And as you may remember from the start of this post, there was some rejoicing.

PorchDone 13 BA Angled

Now when we roll up to our house, the outside looks a little more like us.

PorchDone 8 After Side Close

Getting rid of (well, concealing) the more ornate and traditional columns just makes our exterior feel crisper and more updated (not to mention it’s much more true to the columns that a mid-century ranch would actually sport). Plus those three curvy columns no longer fight with the four square ones in the carport. Hurrah.

PorchDone 14 BA Angled Close

And here’s a close-up so you can see the slight detail on each of the posts where the 1 x 8″ boards (on the front and back of the column) meet the 1 x 6″ boards that we nailed to the sides. Note: there’s a handy sketch of why square columns call for two 8″ boards and two 6″ boards in this first porch post here.

PorchDone 11 Post Detail

Budget-wise, our entire cost was in primed boards since we already had house paint and a tube of caulk. Here was the breakdown:

  • Four 1 x 3″ boards for original (thin) header: $20.50
  • Four 1 x 6″ boards for thicker header: $41.33
  • Six 1 x 6″ boards for sides of posts: $62.08
  • Six 1 x 8″ boards for front & back of posts: $74.12
  • TOTAL: $198.03

If we had known the 1 x 3s were going to be too small we wouldn’t have bought them (which means you could probably recreate this for $20 less). We could’ve bought cheaper boards for the rest of the project too – like basic whitewood – but I like working with pine because it’s noticeably smoother and straighter than the cheapest stuff. Plus, we liked skipping the priming step and this is the same stuff we used for our first house’s porch makeover five years ago (we like knowing that’s holding up well half a decade later).

PorchDone 7 After Angle

Now that this project is done, we’re in the mood for more outdoor projects, so thank goodness spring has finally hit Richmond.

PorchDone 12 After Full

And we’re pretty excited that in the three springs since we moved in, the house has evolved quite a bit in the curb appeal department…

Exterior Before

What’s on your spring to-do list? Any big projects that you’re hoping will get the ball rolling? Or are you just excited to down some lemonade and call it a day?

PS: I was this close to naming this post “Porch-a de Rossi” because it was the only porch pun I could think of. I blame my excitement for the new season of Arrested Development.

Comments

  3. Sally says

    Looking good! Any chance we can get a post on how you know what size of lumber/trim to buy? The whole “a 1×8 isn’t really 1×8” thing is really confusing to me! I’m really interested on the planning stage of projects like this. Do you just go with whatever is closest to your measurements, or is there some other system you use?

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, that’s the lumber to buy (you get a 1 x 8″ board, but when you measure it you’ll see that it’s more like 1 x 7.5″ – they just aren’t really the size they’re advertised – so weird right?!). We just go with whatever fits the area we need to use it :)

      xo
      s

  5. Amy says

    I had old, rotting porch posts replaced last fall with plain 4x4s, and now that they’ve had a chance to cure I’m going to box them out (they look pretty scrawny as they are!). R.e. your process: did you caulk the seams of the post boards? I had thought I should use some kind of wood filler to do that, but now I’m thinking I was wrong.

    Also, did you caulk around the base of the posts, to protect from water seepage/eventual rot? My 4×4 posts are on metal ‘lifts’ to keep them from soaking up water at the bottom, and I was planning to leave a sliver of space at the base of the cover boards I use, and then caulk, to prevent the water soak-age. I wondered if you guys had to address that problem?

    Thanks for sharing this project just as I’m about to start my own, by the way! I’ve been feeling a bit intimidated to tackle my posts, but now I think I can get started on it. :D

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we used clear caulk at the bottom just because we had some around and it looked neater (plus it’s silicone and even more water-proof, so we loved that).

      xo
      s

  6. Caroline says

    Honestly, I like the before better because it makes the house looked more cottage-y. But I know that’s not your style, so if it works for you guys…mission accomplished. Just promise to never acquire a truly historic home and try to modernize it. The historic preservationist in me just might implode! :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, that’s a promise! We actually think these columns are more true to mid-century ranches like ours (many other ranches in our neighborhood have them, and the turned columns were most likely added in the 70s/80s)

      xo
      s

  7. kate says

    Booo…I kinda liked them better the old way! Not that the new way looks BAD at all, just my personal preference! I thought the old way looked kinda…gingerbread-y? But not in a crazy way? Oh well, it still looks good this way :)

    Reply

  9. Sarah S says

    “Porch-a de Rossi” is AWESOME! So excited about more Arrested Development! Your front porch and yard look great :-D

    Reply

  12. Rachel says

    It looks so good! At first I was a doubter that changing the columns would make much difference but it really does!

    Reply

  13. Jen@The Decor Scene says

    We started this past week on our big project. We took a week off of work to work on our nursery. Our little one is due in late July and we needed to get our butts moving on the room already. Well a week later and the room is cleared out, walls fixed, primed, painted and the closet was painted and the closet organizer is partially in. Makes this future mama happy that we got a lot done in one week. :)

    Reply

  16. JenB says

    It looks super! The straight, clean lines are sharp-looking.

    I totally ripped off one of your posts from last week. I bought bamboo blinds for our family room yesterday. I’ve installed one and have three more to go. I’ve tried curtains but did’t like them. The long length got in the way of toy shelves and I’m not keen on shorter curtains. I saw your post and said, “Shazam!! That’s what I need!”

    Thanks, again and again for the inspiration!

    Reply

  17. Cara D says

    My husband always rolls and I cut in too. I hate painter’s tape. A good brush is all you need.

    my husband is soooo excited about the new arrested. We are staying netflix members for that alone.

    Reply

  18. Jenn says

    I noticed when you were writing about using primed pine that you said “we like knowing that’s holding up well half a decade later.” Do you ever old-house stalk? ;) Sometimes I drive by my old house to see what’s going on over there. Ahhh, memories!

    Reply

  19. Ingrid says

    I really like those columns, and it looks like you’re almost through renovating your house inside and out. Does this mean you getting ready to move again?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We still have stuff on the ol’ to-do list (you can see that here) but we’re definitely open to getting a rental or a new house when the times comes. This is definitely our passion, not to mention our livelihood these days :)

      xo,
      s

  20. Caitlyn says

    I read in one of your other posts that you guys are thinking of cutting down that big magnolia tree? PLEASE don’t do that!! Such a crime against nature to cut down healthy trees!! Especially just for vanity reasons. Seriously. I don’t mean to be rude, but I would lose a lot of respect for you guys if you chose to do that.

    You may not even be allowed to. Most cities have by-laws to protect trees on private properties from being cut down for exactly this type of reason (called Respect for Trees). Where I live, you could face a $100,000 fine for cutting down a healthy tree without authorization.

    Yes I sound like a hippie, but I don’t care. As someone who lives in a concrete jungle, it breaks my heart when I see people doing horrible things to nature. Nature was there before houses were!

    Reply

  21. Jes-ka says

    Our friend bought a house last year, and we moved in literally right after the New Year. Since then the backyard (which is mainly concrete with a rim of planters along the fences) had just overgrown. Where we live, it’s just fog fog and fog up until it decides to be spring.

    So I spent a couple weekends weeding. There were So. Many. Weeds. but it’s therapeutic for me. I was even offered money to come weed the neighbors yard! XD

    Finally got to the planting stage this past weekend. It was so fun to put pretty things in the dirt. Not to mention I got all dirty! But that’s the fun part for me.

    I love your new columns! You guys do such great work. :)

    Reply

  22. cathy says

    It would look awesome to have your bench painted a gorgeous bright colour so it doesn’t blend with the bottom brick as much! love everything you guys have done so far. i agree with Anele @ Success Along the Weigh about ideas for sprucing up a condo. maybe a reader re-design?

    Love ya!

    Reply

  23. Megan says

    What a difference in the before and after! You guys are amazing.

    Our front porch is my big project for the year. I want to rip up the flower beds and redo them (rock gardens = disaster), get a new front door in an accent color, hang an outdoor chandelier, and get furniture. I’ve bought a church pew from the Habitat Restore for $20 that I want to paint and reupholster. I’d love to find some other cheap furniture, too!

    The only problem is our front porch is tiled and unlevel, so water pools at the front door. Fixing that problem is going to be the biggest part of the project.

    Reply

  24. Renee says

    The new columns and header look great! Updating our porch, or lack of, is on my to-do list too. I’m dreaming of a stacked stone base like the craftsman style. Whatever happened to those exterior paint swatches? Maybe another project you’ll revisit down the road? We have a mostly brick house (yellow brick, ugh) with a teeny bit of siding that I want to paint sometime.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We ended up having to repaint over them for book shoots and then the idea kind of faded away. We’re not sure we have the steam / budget to repaint the whole house at the moment and we’re less convinced just painting the porch (without doing the rest of the siding around the back) is a good idea. So it’s on hold for now.

      -John

  25. Meg says

    LOVE the new columns! Chunky monkey time. :-) The before/after you’ve got going on right now is incredible!

    We just got gutters put on — sounds bland, but it’s taken 4 years for THAT to happen! I was pretty psyched!! We’re hoping to tackle patching and painting our home’s foundation and painting our deck and porch…oh, and planting our veggie garden and foundation flowers. Ugh, I’m tired already just thinking about it. One project at a time! :-)

    And, by the way, we’re pretty psyched about the return of the Arrested Development gang in our household, too! Long live the Bluths!

    Reply

  26. Betsy says

    Looks awesome! When you first mentioned boxing out the columns, I wasn’t sure what I thought about it, but I understand your vision upon seeing the finished product. It really suits the house.

    And I *like* your brick unpainted. I think it’s great. So there. :-)

    Reply

  27. Gina says

    I am cracking up at all of these suggestions to paint the brick exterior because so many people seemed to come out against it when you guys did it inside. I’m in Pittsburgh and painting a brick exterior is saved for truly and profoundly ugly or mismatched houses, because it’s too much work and brick is so pervasive here that no one really thinks of “natural” brick as a drawback. Must be a regional thing.

    Reply

  28. Sarah says

    Great job and a nicely done upgrade. Maybe it is on your list, but would love to see the porch bench given a colorful paint job. I know, the projects never end! Glad spring has arrived in your area. We are waiting…not so patiently, I might add.
    Love all you do. Btw, I am part of the 60ish 1% who follows your blog. Ya help keep me thinking young!

    Reply

  29. Maya says

    This is off topic but I was over on Katie Bower’s blog and saw a comment she posted in response to someone’s question regarding freebies on her post title “My first house photoshoot”. Her comment says: ” True..they only accept monetary endorsement deals. It’s a completely different beast!”

    Can you expand on what this means? It seems like she was saying that even though you don’t actually take freebies, you get money for endorsing things. I was under the impression that YHL doesn’t operate that way.

    You can see the comment on page 2 of the comments.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think Katie’s referring to our “side gigs” like our lighting line, our book, etc. We don’t accept freebies or write sponsored posts, and we always fully explain when something’s a side gig that we’re getting paid for (ex: in the Benjamin Moore post it clearly says “this partnership is just like any other side gig that helps pay the bills, like writing a magazine column or our book” along with fully explaining that in our lighting post. Even when we wrote our book we detailed how we make money from that in the form of an advance and hopefully royalties someday. We try to be really transparent with you guys about those side jobs that help us put money into Clara’s college fund. Hope it helps :)

      xo
      s

    • Maya says

      That’s what I thought. I guess she used it in a way that made it seem like what you do is no different than what she does. Another reader of hers pointed this out in that comment thread.

      Thanks for clarifying!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sure thing! We’ve definitely learned that just like parenting and decorating, everyone would run their blog in a different way, so we’re all about “to each his (or her) own!” :)

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks Krystle! I still remember going crazy trimming those bottom branches when John was off running an errand so I could surprise him when he got home!

      xo
      s

  31. Lauren says

    I love the columns! We recently overhauled our curb appeal by painting the entire house. We have a midcentury ranch as well and the previous owners had painted it like an old farmhouse: bright yellow, rusty green, and barn red. It was…horrid and did no justice to the original design of the house at all. So those colors had to go. The first thing we did was paint the shutters. So my husband got up on his ladder, and made his way to remove the first shutter. I was at the bottom holding the ladder when my husband let out a loud yell and hurled himself off the ladder. The ladder flew one way, my husband flew another….and then a giant bat flew out from behind the shutter and right towards my head! Luckily it flew off and my husband was fine so no harm done. But, I rell ya, DIY can be a scary business sometimes! haha.

    Reply

  33. Linda says

    It looks great! Since you mentioned ranch style a bunch I thought it was high time I shared this article with you (I saved it awhile ago but kept forgetting to send it). It’s about how ranch style homes are making a comeback! As soon as I read it I thought that you guys would like it… (not sure why the link has “classifieds” in it, but the article is from the Real Estate section).

    http://mobile.philly.com/classifieds/real_estate/?id=198832431&viewAll=y#more

    Reply

  36. Brent says

    I picked up one of these babies: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202102481?catalogId=1005#.UWxFzEpki5c the other day, and I can’t BELIEVE how much easier it makes caulking. No more caulked fingers or using plastic spoons. It’s 5 bucks, and also comes with a caulk remover, too. Definitely worth it. Probably isn’t much help now that you’ve already done all that caulking, but perhaps for future projects :)

    The new header and posts look great!

    Reply

  37. Ethne @ Wom-Mom says

    Oh, I love those before and afters, especially from the very start!!! I remember one of your first front yard posts with Sherry’s mom sweeping the driveway in her heels. Too funny.

    Reply

  39. Shelly says

    As always, well done!! Looks like a million bucks and I think John could be a pro carpenter…just put of curiosity, have you ever considered painting the brick? You might detest the idea, was just wondering.

    Reply

  40. Natalie says

    You guys did such a great job– I’m always so impressed by how easy you make these projects look! Can’t wait until I own a home and can refer back to all of your posts!

    Reply

  42. Jennifer says

    Oh, you have no idea how excited I am…I had no idea that there is going to be a new season of Arrested Development!!!

    The columns look fantastic! The whole exterior does. I personally like the brick, and feel the lower the maintenance, the better. I love, love, love the yellow door. We are in the process of trying to select a color for our door, but we are having a lot of difficulty finding the right one. We’ll get there, I guess.

    Reply

  43. Olivia says

    I don’t think the new columns look very good. They’re so plain that in some of the pics, they look like they’re photoshopped boxes, not real, three dimensional columns. (Especially the rightmost column in the picture immediately after “(we like knowing that’s holding up well half a decade later).”) Have you guys thought about putting some kind of trim on the tops/bottoms to make them look more seamless with the rest of the porch? I didn’t like the old columns either but they tied into the header and looked like they belonged. These just look really builder-basic.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I promise they don’t look photoshopped in person :) Now that they go with the existing 4 columns in our carport (which have always looked like this without any ornate trim or molding) we’re really happy with them. We also couldn’t add trim to the base of them since they would “fall off” the porch by overlapping awkwardly (they line up perfectly now, but couldn’t get any chunkier with more molding). Many of our neighbors already have these type of columns (they’re true to the original “ranch” style, which isn’t typically very ornate) so we’re psyched to have them too :)

      xo,
      s

  47. Peggy McKee says

    You mentioned Dap caulk for exterior. Any preferences for bathroom–between tub & tile? Many thanks, Peg

    Reply

  50. Marie says

    You two are masters at getting a bing bang for your buck! The “after” looks like much more than a $200 improvement. Every project I want to tackle has a big, hefty price tag. :(

    Reply

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